Invest In the Planet (Earth Day 2023)

How will you and your business recognize Earth Day in 2023? There are many simple ways to ways to help the planet, both for Earth Day 2023 and beyond.

Check out these simple ways your business can get involved in 2023 for Earth Day—and learn about the Earth Day 2023 theme: Invest in Our Planet.

Earth Day: Invest in Our Planet

The Earth Day 2023 theme is "Invest in Our Planet." If you check out EarthDay.org, you can download resources, find local events, and even register your own 2023 Earth Day events for others to find.

So, what does Invest in Our Planet mean for you and your business or organization? As EarthDay.org states, it's our responsibility to "Build Our Only Home."

Investing in our world means keeping it clean and healthy for ourselves, but also for future generations. Investing in the health and longevity of our world is not only a strong investment for you and your business—it's an essential one.

2023 earth day illustration — Stock Illustration from Envato Elements

Think from a community perspective, as well. What kind of example do you want to create for your community? Do you want your business or organization to clearly be part of the solution—or visibly part of the problems our planet faces?

This might sound overwhelming, especially on a personal level. How can one person tackle such a large, global issue. Or how can one business or one organization?

That's why it's so important for us all to work together. Individuals can't bear that responsibility alone. That's another reason why things like voting are so important too. Larger corporations and government entities often have more sway and impact. We can use both our votes and our influence as consumers to make a statement.

So, What Is Earth Day?

Let's discuss some Earth Day background. What is Earth Day?

The first Earth Day was over 50 years ago, back in 1970. Earth Day is about environmental awareness and consciousness. Giving this cause a day helps keep that cause in the public eye—but every day we should keep these important causes in mind.

If you'd like to learn more about Earth Day background, history, and growth, check out The History of Earth Day from EarthDay.org.

what is earth day? — Stock Illustration from Envato Elements

The six topics highlighted in 2023 for Earth Day are:

Climate Literacy. We've a responsibility to educate about climate and environmental concerns, especially in academic situations.
End Plastics. Plastic is a significant pollutant in our world, with single use plastics being a major contributor.
Plant Trees. Planting a tree is surprisingly accessible. You can do so for as little as $1. It's a simple but impactful way to help.
Vote Earth. Your voting power can help support policies that also support the health and well-being of our environment.
Global Cleanup. It's our responsibility to clean up our communities and keep them clean. This is a global need and initiative.
Sustainable Fashion. The fashion industry—fast fashion, in particular—has a significant impact on our planet. Learn what it is, and how you can help fight it.

What Can We Do for Earth Day 2023?

Let's take a look at those Earth Day topics and explore some things you and your organization can do to recognize Earth Day in 2023.

Climate Literacy

If we don't educate ourselves and our community about the importance of environmental and climate related topics—how can anything change for the better? Schools must make this information clear and accessible.

But this information isn't exclusive to younger citizens. This is information we all need. If someone doesn't know these issues exist, how can they be expected to help?

As a business or organization, you can contribute to climate literacy too. Encourage open discussion about ways to help the planet. Make it known to your members or employees how your organization plans to contribute in positive ways to help the planet.

earth day 2023 illustration — Stock Illustration from Envato Elements

Here are some ideas that you can explore, for your business or organization:

If your business is undertaking an environmental initiative, don't make it a secret! Let everyone in the workplace know—and make it known why it's important.
Holidays are a great time to decorate and get festive. Earth Day can be another time for decorations—try flyers that explain why Earth Day is important. You can have fun with it too—our Earth is something worth celebrating!
Take a look at your community. Is climate literacy an initiative? Libraries and schools may need donations to help make this information more widely available to the public.

Ending Plastics

The usage of plastic is a bigger environmental issue that you might think. From harming the environment, hurting our wildlife, damaging our oceans, and even impacts on human health, curbing the use of plastics is an essential. It can seem overwhelming though, considering the sheer quantity of plastics around many of us in everyday life.

Single use plastics, in particular, can really add up fast. Imagine, for example, if you had bottled water available in the workplace. If 10 of them are consumed every weekday, that's already 200 plastic bottles a month.

2023 earth day ending plastics — Stock Illustration from Envato Elements

EarthDay.org and their efforts hope to make the issue of plastics more visible. Their focus is also on larger scale uses of plastic and plastic waste.

Examine your organizations use of plastic and the potential waste associated with it. Just looking at those numbers can prove to be surprising.
Think of ways and places where reusable, sustainable materials can be utilized instead. For example, rather than using plastic cups, you could make stainless steel tumblers available to your team.
Reusable utensils are also a great idea. Make them easily available.
Packaging and bags can also create a lot of waste. Consider making options like reusable bags easily accessible too.
Consider a volunteer clean-up. It can be a great way to contribute to and connect with your community.

Planting Trees

Planting trees might sound like a difficult task, but it's never been easier to help global reforestation. Donations as low as one dollar can get a tree planted!

EarthDay.org specifically partners with The Canopy Project in its reforestation efforts. But there are other organizations out there too!

planting trees earth day 2023 — Stock Illustration from Envato Elements

So, why is planting trees so important? Forests are considerably big contributors to decreasing the carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Not only that, forests and trees are a vital part of so many ecosystems, across the globe. Reforestation can help restablize land after natural disasters. It can also help encourage local fauna, and much, much more.

Looking for an easy way to get your business or organization involved for Earth Day 2023? Sponsor a tree! You can do this business wide or make sign ups simple and easy for members of your team.
Look into local programs and local needs. Local parks and resources may have needs specific to your community regarding forestation and local habitat. You can organize fundraisers and contribute to help keep your local habitats healthy.
Want to make this information feel even more present and real? Take your organization out to enjoy the local habitat, to further illustrate why it's worth protecting.

Voting for The Earth

It's no secret that voting matters. You can use your vote to help support climate and environmental causes—it's essential that we do! The message has to be loud and clear that we, as a global community, want to invest in our planet.

earth day 2023 vote — Stock Illustration from Envato Elements

As a business or organization, this matters too. Be mindful of who and what you support and sponsor. This not only impacts laws and regulations that impact climate and environmental concerns. It's also a reflection on your organization and your stance on these very real, very serious issues.

Are you registered to vote? Consider making it easier for your team to register, if they aren't already. Proving easy sign ups, guidelines, and other tools can get more folks armed and ready to vote.
Help make voting accessible to everyone. If it's time to vote, consider giving your team adequate time to do so. Polls often close in the evening, giving someone with a 9 to 5 professional obligation a smaller window to vote. This can get extra complicated with family and extracurricular activities. A little extra time in the day to help everyone get to the polls could be a great idea.

The Global Cleanup

Ever heard of The Global Cleanup? The Great Global Cleanup is a worldwide effort to clean up our environment and work towards a cleaner world. This includes many of the topics we've discussed earlier, like plastics.

Keep in mind, even if we're mindful of the products we're using and our waste materials, there's so many spaces, even in our own communities, that need our help. We need to keep our world clean, and in many cases, it needs our help with clean up.

You can find an official clean-up effort on EarthDay.org. Consider making sign ups available to your team, and maybe even offer an incentive to those who take part.
This is another great opportunity to connect with your community. There may be several spaces in need of help—any place from highways to your local parks or trails. Taking the time to help keep our spaces beautiful help keeps them healthy and safe for generations to come.
How about your own back yard? Be mindful of litter and how your business might be contributing. Is trash disposed of in an economical way? Is there litter on your premises? Are there adequate, responsible, and accessible ways to properly dispose of waste available to you and your team?

Sustainable Fashion

So, what's sustainable fashion, and why does it matter? Well, it's important to start this conversation with a look at fast fashion. You may have heard the phrase "fast fashion" before, and the name itself reveals a lot about what it means. It's clothing items produced quickly—they're designed to be produced and sold quickly.

According to EarthDay.org: The fashion industry produces 150 billion garments a year. 87% of that (40 million tons) ends up in landfills where they smolder and pollute the air. Or they end up in an incinerator.

That's huge. To make matters worse, factory workers are often grossly underpaid, far below a livable wage—and child labor is often a serious concern, as well. The goal here is quick, fast, cheap production (and profits). There's also a huge waste fingerprint associated with fast fashion.

sustainable fashion 2023 earth day — Stock Illustration from Envato Elements

Sustainable fashion, in contrast, is more footprint conscious. The production of these items is economically and socially responsible. Take a moment to think about where your garments came from, who made them, and the impact this might have on our world.

So, what can you and your business or organization do to help?

Consider buying items made from recycled materials.
Know where your items are coming from. Who made them, and what are they made of? Are they from responsible and ethical sources?
Consider buying local—this supports your community and can support sustainable fashion. Or be aware of the community and practices you're engaging with, if they're further from your location.
Buy second hand. Reusing items that still have plenty of life in there can help reduce waste.

Learn More About Earth Day

Want to learn even more about Earth Day, and ways you can recognize Earth Day in 2023? Check out these other articles from Envato Tuts+.

How Will You Observe Earth Day 2023?

There are so many ways you can observe Earth Day 2023, just like there are so many ways to help the planet. Keep in mind that Earth Day isn't the only day to invest in our planet. Our world needs love, care, and most of all action if we want to preserve its health and beauty for many years to come.

Remember to check out EarthDay.org for even more information and ways that you and your business can get involved.