Com Pro’s Earth Day Tree Planting Initiative Plus Earth Day Activities for Your Workplace

Earth Day is a great day to show gratitude to the planet we call home. Enjoying nature with a great hike in B.C. or bird watching reminds us why preserving our planet is important.

However, that’s only one part of Earth Day’s mission. Protecting, preserving, and improving the planet takes a team effort.

Our team at Com Pro is proud of our work supporting reforestation projects worldwide with PrintReleaf.

On Earth Day, we’re inviting as many organizations as possible to plant more trees in Canada.

We’ll talk more about our tree planting initiative and how we celebrate Earth Day later. First, here are ways you can take action and engage your workplace on Earth Day and beyond.

Volunteer, Get Out in the Community and Get (a Little) Dirty

Lots of organizations do fantastic work for the environment all year round. Donating to an organization like Nature Trust BC is a great way to support environmental causes.

However, if you think your staff won’t mind getting down and dirty, here are some hands-on volunteer activities for you and your team:

• The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup – Lead your workplace to clean up a shoreline. Get outside with your team and have fun!
• Watershed Watch Salmon Society – Volunteer to improve B.C.’s wild salmon habitats.
• Local Events – Look out for local community Earth Day events where a team of employees can raise awareness. Ask your community centre or find events on Eventbrite if you don’t know where to look.

Volunteering is a great team-building activity that makes a difference in your community. If there aren’t events in your community, start one! Organize a park cleanup or throw a street party. Don’t forget to invite your neighbours and local companies to join you!

Make it fun! Wear matching t-shirts, take pictures and amplify the Earth Day message by sharing your activities on social media.

Earth Day Activities for Inside the Office (with Prizes!)

As much fun as it is to get out of the office on Earth Day, it isn’t possible for many workplaces. Here are some fun ideas that keep activities in-house but still meaningful:

• Run a Contest – Organize an office-wide contest in the spirit of Earth Day. Fire up your employees with a friendly competition to see who can recycle the most plastic or toners in the month leading up to Earth Day.
• Throw a Party! – Set up some games, trivia, and food during lunchtime. Serve your party snacks out of sustainable and compostable dishes and cups from companies like Greenmunch or Dry Leaf. Show everyone how to throw an eco-friendly party.

Of course, if you throw a party or run a contest, you need to have prizes and favours. Here are a few ideas for eco-friendly prizes employees will love to win:

• Seed Packets – Head over to Butchart Gardens’ online store or West Coast Seeds to stock up and awaken someone’s green thumb.
• Reusable Cutlery – Tru Earth has a great set of reusable bamboo cutlery perfect for taking to the office.
• Sustainable Gift Bag – You can’t just put these goodies in a plastic bag. Check out Ice Green or Credo Bags for handy and reusable bags your employees can use time and again.

A contest or a party is a fun way to raise awareness on Earth Day, but it can leave people wanting more. Strike while the iron is hot and use the festivities as a jumping-off point to launch bigger initiatives that help the environment.

Ways Your Office Can Make a Lasting Impact After Earth Day

There are lots of ways you can do your part, but here are a few initiatives you can implement in your office that make an impact beyond Earth Day:

• Bike to Work Campaign – GoByBike BC Society encourages British Columbians to use bicycles for transportation. Get a workplace team together and see how much CO2 you save.
• Save Energy – Switch to LED or halogen bulbs to save electricity. Help your A/C unit draw less power by refreshing air filters regularly.
• Improve Print Practices – Print on both sides of the paper, print in greyscale, or partner with a responsible Managed Print Service provider. There are lots of ways your office can adopt more sustainable print practices. Click here to learn about print sustainability practices you can use in your office.

Duplex printing and switching light bulbs may not sound dramatic, but these small changes can make a big impact. They also represent a commitment for your organization to support environmental goals on Earth Day and beyond.

At Com Pro, our commitment to environmental sustainability is part of our identity. Our partnership with PrintReleaf helps our Managed Print clients offset their office printing by planting trees. Yes, you read that right. Keep reading to find out more.

Print It, then Plant It: A One-of-a-Kind Environmental Initiative for Your Office

PrintReleaf offsets the environmental impact of your organization’s printing through reforestation projects worldwide. How does it work?

1. You print, and we measure your paper consumption.
2. We calculate your paper footprint and convert it to a number of trees.
3. Trees are planted on your behalf, in reforestation projects worldwide.

One tree is equal to 8,333 pages. When you print 8,333 pages, you plant one tree. Sounds incredible, right? You bet it is!

In 2021, we planted over 12,000 trees in Canada, Madagascar and the Dominican Republic. Last year was great, but we hope to do more.

This year, our focus will be on forests right here in our backyard. Help us fund Canadian reforestation projects and “releaf” forests based on your paper footprint!

Find out more about PrintReleaf. Team up with Com Pro for Managed Print Services, and we’ll hook you up to our PrintReleaf Program, so when you print, we plant!

No matter what you do on Earth Day, thank you. The more people who recognize that it’s our environment—the better.

If you’re looking for a community-minded Managed Print and IT partner, give us a call. We’re here to help.