Given the below, it is fantastic to see the U.S. recently signed into law, clean energy and climate investments that will trim America’s emissions by ~1 billion metric tons by 2030

• The last time Earth was at the current C02 levels was 2-5 million years ago when there were no humans on the planet, sea levels were 60-100 feet higher, and the planet was >10 degress warmer (F) than today

• The U.S. is the largest emitter of C02 since 1750, we've emitted almost twice what the 2nd highest emitting country has produced

• ~65% of the states in the U.S. are vulnerable to drought

• By 2050, the oceans could have more plastic than fish, and currently each one of us is breathing in, or drinking micro plastics the size of a credit card each week

• The area burned by wildfires each year appears to have increased since the 1980s (Click on Figure 2 in the link)

So when my <1.5 year old dehumidifier recently stopped working and I looked for a replacement, I was surprised to find the majority of portable dehumidifiers in the U.S. are only lasting a few years.  They run out of freon and there is no way to recharge them.  It seems these manufacturers are focused on selling as many dehumidifiers as they can without caring about the repercussions their product design / lifespan has on the planet.  Why do I say this? 

Many of these dehumidifiers will end up in landfills or burned (for the towns whose trash goes to incinerators) because many consumers either lack the knowledge to take them to an electronic recycling event, or they would rather throw them out than take the time and effort to recycle them.

As change agents / leaders we’re frequently focused on continuously improving a product or service.  As you think about the product or service you’re working on or responsible for, ask yourself the below questions and see how much is your product or service being designed with the environment in mind.  If the answer is not much, what can you do to change this and further help the U.S. or your country reduce its carbon footprint (i.e. greenhouse gases generated by our actions)?

For a product:

• What does the product’s lifespan mean for the Earth’s resources (i.e. raw materials)?

• How biodegradable is the product once it reaches end of life?

• For non biodegradable products, how will consumers recycle your product to keep it out of a landfill / prevent it from being burned?

• How biodegradable is the product’s packaging?

• For non biodegradable packaging, how will consumers recycle it to keep it out of a landfill / prevent it from being burned (hint: Only plastics 1, 2, and 5 are really recycled)?

For a service:

• How much utilities (i.e. electricity, water, etc.) does it take to deliver the service?

• How much is the service delivered electronically instead of via paper?

• How polluting is the service (e.g. if chemicals are involved, what impact do they have on the Earth and its inhabitants)?

• If transportation is involved in the service, how much fossil fuels are burned to power the vehicles / transportation?

• How are any products used in delivering the service, disposed of at end of life?

There is a finite amount of resources on this planet.  There is only so much room in landfills for our trash.  We only have one planet for a home.  Thinking of the planet your children, your grandchildren, your nieces, and your nephews will be inheriting, how much will you stand up and contribute to the sustainability of the planet with your product / service?

Call to Action

• Want help shifting your product / service to be more sustainable for the planet? Reach out to Rosanne for support.

• Using the comments feature, what is an example of how your product / service has been designed with the environment in mind?

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About the Author: Rosanne Essiambre helps change agents and departments in one-on-one and group settings to be seen, be heard, and be effective in bringing about change in the organization and/or in their personal lives.  She provides consulting and facilitation to organizations to improve communications and collaboration, smooth out the change / transformation journey, get to the root cause of an issue so it can be solved for good, improve processes, and implement successful lessons learned. And she conducts workshops, trains, and speaks on Energy Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, Resilience, Being a Change Agent and more. If you or your organization could use support with your change effort or some inspiration, contact Rosanne for a complimentary discovery session. Rosanne is a Change Agent Coach, Facilitator, Six Sigma Black Belt, Change Management / Continuous Improvement Consultant, Speaker, and Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner with more than 20 years experience working on a variety of transformations across a diverse set of industries both domestically and internationally, while continuously improving herself.