100 likes | 245 Views
Greening Asha. Disclaimers . This presentation was thrown together in the last 10 minutes ! There are no stats, no figures, no numbers to back the slides Your presenter is a birkenstock-wearing, organic granola-eating, hippie treehugger . Overview. Why? How? Case Study: Geetanjali
E N D
Disclaimers • This presentation was thrown together in the last 10 minutes ! • There are no stats, no figures, no numbers to back the slides • Your presenter is a birkenstock-wearing, organic granola-eating, hippie treehugger
Overview • Why? • How? • Case Study: Geetanjali • Gotchas! • Q & A
Why? These are NOT our reasons for going green: • It’s hip and trendy (green is the new black) • Everybody’s doing it • Paris Hilton thinks global warming is not “hawt”
Why? (contd..) • Respect the rights of people. And the rights of the world we live in. • Environmental justice and social justice usually go hand-in-hand • High correlation between environmentally friendly practices and social justice. Likewise between environmentally unfriendly practices and social injustice. • Virtuous cycle • Eco-friendly & socially just practices communities that are empowered, participative and more aware sustaining eco-friendly and socially just practices • Eco-friendly products, healthier environment, healthier people, healthier local economies • Imperative – we don’t have a choice • Asha is in a position to inspire/influence partner organizations
How? • Eco-friendly materials for events • Tableware, food and drinks • Less is more. Encourage your attendees/audience to use less resources • Eco-friendly choices for stationery • Newsletters, envelopes, lesser printouts • Carpool for your meetings. Even better, take the bus • Publicize your efforts! • Green Auditing • Evaluate all your activities through the green lens • Don’t be cowed down by obstacles! • Hey, we were eco-friendly for several thousands of years and we survived
Case Study: Geetanjali Background • Annual Tamil light music concert • 600+ audience • Dinner and snacks are served The Problem • Terrible ecological footprint! • Every year, we would generate a HUGE quantity of trash at the end of the event
Case Study: Geetanjali (contd..) Possible Solution • Biodegradable dinnerware? • Compost food waste? Problems with this solution • Eco-friendly dinnerware will not withstand hot, runny desi food for several hours • Cost? • Will the audience accept this? • Where do we even begin?
Case Study: Geetanjali (contd..) • “Eco-friendly dinnerware will not withstand hot, runny desi food for several hours” • We found tableware that actually worked decently! • “Cost?” • We spent just $300 more than we would have with regular tableware
Will the audience accept this • You bet! They loved it! (and yeah, some folks missed the rich flavor of styrofoam seeping into their food) • Where do we even begin? • Wealth of resources. Asha Seattle welcomes your questions!