Minding the environment is very important in this day and age. It is a fact that we currently have a negative impact on your Planet and if we don’t change the way we do things, we may lose it altogether. Translators are not exempt from this rule, and we should all take into account the way we conduct our daily routine and find if there are a few things we could change, in order to be more environmentally friendly.
The fact we depend on a computer to conduct our business is a negative aspect of our work, we are dependent on electric power, one of the main causes of greenhouse emissions. However, there are a few steps we can take to reduce our waste and minding the environment.
Reduce waste
Reducing our waste is one of the main ways of minding the environment. The huge amount of waste we produce is causing lots of problems, from the nasty plastic containers that end up in the sea, to the excessive use of paper that will lead to more trees being killed. We all have a responsibility to our planet, so we should all be mindful of it.
One of the ways I believe translators can be environmentally friendly is by reducing the usage of paper. I believe most of us do. Reducing the number of documents printed is a good way of minding the environment. I only print a document if it’s really necessary, my invoices are produced and sent electronically. So, I only use paper for what’s really needed.
Our coffee. It’s our fuel, companion and guilty pleasure. I’m sure most of my colleagues will agree with this statement of mine. If you are a freelancer and you work from home, you probably just go to the kitchen and make your own coffee. But some people prefer to get their coffee at their local shop. It is a good exercise and also allows some socializing. Although, those plastic cups are not very good. So, to avoid that nasty waste, you can either take your own cup or make your own coffee. I know a lot of coffee shops in Australia that embraced the “bring your own” culture. There are others that use compostable materials, so if you don’t take your own cup, you can still be environmentally friendly.
Encourage change
Changing our habits is very important, but encourage others to change theirs is a great way of minding the environment. Human beings learn by example, we always tend to follow others, so a good way to making changes is to encourage those changes.
A little sentence on your email footage, encouraging your clients to be mindful of the environment and not print your message is a great way to help change. It has been done for a long time but we need to continue the trend, so less and less trees are killed and less and less paper ends up in the bin.
We won’t change the Planet alone, but if we all do a little bit and encourage others to follow, bit by bit we will make a difference.