CUPE’s National Environment policy calls on us to cut emissions that cause climate change, fight for environmental justice, eliminate plastic waste and other steps.
We know what our environmental problems and challenges are. Enough talk has happened on issues like climate change and water quality. Clear steps will move us forward. As citizens, as workers and as union members pressuring employers, we can and must be part of the solution.
This Earth Day let’s act to improve our world. Here are some actions to take:
- Form an environment committee, climate committee or create a union position for a sustainability rep to work with employers to take green action at work.
- If you have greenspace at work, plant trees and put in a vegetable garden to grow food for your workplace.
- Carpool, get to work with active transportation (bicycle, walk), and take public transit. This greatly reduces carbon emissions that cause climate change.
- Put zero-waste programs in place where you work by recycling, composting, and banning plastics.
- Use technology (online meetings, document sharing, electronic documents only) to cut down on travel and paper waste.
- Partner with climate and environmental justice groups.
- Do CUPE’s climate change workshop at your workplace.
- Read CUPE’s environmental policy for background on actions you can take at your workplace.
Earth Day used to be about cleaning up litter in parks and streets. Now we need to take bigger steps by cleaning up how we work and live. Let’s act together for Earth Day 2023.