Sep 19, 2022
Sylvie Binder and Piper Fialkoff
Climate Week NYC 2022 marks the fourteenth year of individuals, businesses, and governments coming together to discuss actions for a cleaner, more sustainable future. This week hosts over 500 events (many open to the public), focusing on areas such as the built environment, energy, and sustainable living.
So, this week, commit to making a change with small but mighty actions. Below are a few suggestions for reducing your carbon impact, which our team is practicing as much as we can! We certainly don’t like gatekeeping sustainability — we just want to spread knowledge and shift the power.
Recycle electronics: Items such as phones, laptops, tablets, televisions, and batteries are filled with rare earth metals, which are non-renewable resources that release toxic chemicals when dumped in landfills. Check with your building to see if they have a disposal system for electronics, or look for drop-off sites on ecycleNYC!
Recycle Pesky Plastics: Our plastic recycling system is broken. Check out Terracyle for free programs for your hard-to-recycle goods.
Ditch Single-Use Items: Practice bringing your own utensils and drinking vessels to avoid single-use plastics! Cut down on takeout waste: DeliverZero offers reusable containers to order your food in! Simply wash and return after you’ve finished your meal.
Reduce Food Waste: Food waste contributes 8–10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Composting is key to maintaining healthy, balanced soils. NYC has over 200 drop-off composting sites — you can find your nearest site here.
Clean out your inbox: A surprising virtual tip — emails are stored in massive computer systems that require tons of energy and resources to operate. Clear out your inbox and unsubscribe from mailing lists from time to time.
Access your energy data: Sign up for GridRewards to learn key times to reduce energy consumption and track your carbon footprint!
Nobody’s perfect, but incorporating these small changes can help make sustainability a more accessible lifestyle. As a company, we recognize that buildings account for more than 40% of greenhouse gas emissions and a third of global energy demand. They are a key piece of the puzzle to fighting climate change — that’s why we work every day at Logical Buildings to lower carbon emissions in the built environment. Innovative action, backed by science and collective willpower, can make a massive difference.
Wishing you an impactful Climate Week from the Logical Buildings Team!