Hands-on environmental work gets your employees outside for some good old fashioned team bonding through service. A few ideas are:

• planting trees
• cleaning up litter
• removing invasive species
• installing a community garden

Get in touch with an environmental group that operates in your area to coordinate an employee volunteer event.

Fundraising for an environmental cause is a great way to get your employees engaged with sustainability. You can do this in a number of ways, including: 

• Matching employee donations to a selected nonprofit through a giving dashboard
• Creating a custom fundraising page that supports reforestation.
• Starting an activity-based challenge, where employees track steps, workouts, or other healthy activities, and make donations on their behalf (for example, match every mile)

If your company doesn't already have a green team or sustainability committee, Earth Month is a great time to start one! Corporate green teams can work on a range of projects that improve your business's corporate sustainability. This might include: 

• investigating opportunities to increase your supply chain sustainability
• reducing your office environmental footprint
• conducting green workshops that educate fellow employees about ways to be sustainable
• rolling out internal sustainability initiatives such as a zero-waste program

Working with an environmental auditing organization can help you identify areas where you could improve your energy efficiency, reduce your carbon footprint, or shrink utility bills.

The right organization can help you navigate available incentives, determine what opportunities will serve your organization best (ie. opting for renewable energy sources) and create an achievable plan to implement their suggestions.

The average office employee generates a lot of waste. You can reduce your office footprint by: 

• installing (or improving) recycling stations near communal areas (with clear recycling guidelines)
• starting an office compost to cut down on food waste
• encourage reuse of supplies like folders, envelopes, and binders

By setting business-wide or team-wide goals and following up on them, you can motivate your employees to significantly reduce their office waste footprint.

One of the best ways to celebrate Earth Month is by engaging an environmental expert or nonprofit representative to teach your team about the environment and sustainability. Consider booking an expert for an in-person workshop, traveling offsite to learn in the field, or scheduling a virtual presentation.

Host a Meatless Monday challenge to see if your entire workplace can go a whole day without meat! Why go meatless? According to research by Oxford University, adults in the UK who follow a plant-based diet account for approximately 75% less greenhouse gas emissions than those who eat more than 3.5 ounces of meat a day. A few tips to encourage participation:

• Provide simple recipe ideas that use readily available ingredients
• For an in-person team, host a plant-based potluck (or catered lunch)
• For a remote team, encourage team members to share photos of their meatless meals on designated messaging channel (such as slack).

You know who we're talking about: the person who walks or bikes to work, brings their lunch from home in the same reusable container every day, fills their water bottle from the tap and recycles religiously. These are the employees who walk the walk — and they've got the green "cred" to prove it. By recognizing their commitment to the planet, you can demonstrate your sustainability priorities and inspire their team members to follow suit! 

Aside from planting trees or participating in sustainability initiatives, we believe that one of the best ways to celebrate the Earth is by simply getting outside and enjoying it. After all, we protect what we care about — and a strong connection to nature is great for our physical and mental health.  So round up the team to enjoy some bonding time in the great outdoors! Take a self-guided hike or engage a local nature guide to enrich the experience. A few tips to encourage participation:

• Select a trail that is accessible to all team members
• If more than half an away away from the office, provide transportation or encourage carpooling
• For a remote team, give employees a few hours off in the afternoon and encourage them to share photos from their hike.