Goal: Be an Unsolicited sustainability consultant

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I wanted to raise awareness about environmental impact, to make others reach out to me and say, "Wow, I never considered that. What other changes can I make to help?"

 

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Completed: April 5th, 2018

 

• Why?  This goal is focused on branding. I am very passionate about environmental conservation and sustainability. I want to be the first person someone thinks of when they want to be eco friendly.  What do others think of when they hear my name? Tree hugging hippy? Close enough.

• What was the biggest obstacle?  Picking an area of focus. I want to talk about recycling, supporting pollinators, organic agriculture, permaculture, renewable energy, clean water, wildlife rehabilitation, climate change, etc. But spreading myself thin wouldn't be productive. I needed one topic.

• What was the biggest motivation?  A lot of people are clueless as to how small actions (like using plastic toothbrushes or razors) accumulate into big problems. By bringing attention to these issues, I hope people will think, "Wow, I never considered that. What other changes can I make to help the environment?"

 

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How It Happened:

     When it comes to environmental protection, I don't believe that incredible new technological advancements are going to be our solution for making a positive impact. Rather, we just need more people to care. We need more people to make many little changes together. For example, plastic-eating bacteria is cool, but let's just use less plastic to begin with, right? That takes behavioral change. My professional dream would be to influence others to make changes in their lives that benefit the earth.

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But how was I to form myself into the influencer that I aspired to be?

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     I needed to start somewhere. I set out to share content online (starting with Facebook) to help make my friends aware of current issues as well as open their eyes to solutions they could play a part in. This was helpful for two reasons:

1. My friends caught on, and it made a difference. Comments such as, "I've never heard of this, thanks for sharing!" were very rewarding. I had a colleague reach out to me in excitement after she purchased reusable produce bags. She had seen a video I posted about them and wanted to use them as a way to reduce her own waste.

2. It was branding for me. A majority of what I shared was related to environmental issues and solutions. People started thinking of me as a "green girl". Friends started sharing eco-related content with me that they thought I would like; I happily received the same video about reusable stainless steel straws five different times because various friends had seen in on their feed and thought,

"How cool. This is something Lauren would like."

 

 

     Through this, I knew I was getting closer to my goal. Friends enjoyed my content and were eager to receive it. But, I wanted more; my goal was to have someone come directly to me for help. Eventually, I received my first direct message regarding the topic. Let me tell you, I was on cloud nine!

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Since then, I have received additional inquiries from others about what they can do to make a difference. From how to reduce single use plastics to how to eat in environmentally friendly ways. It's flattering, and more-so, it's incredibly exciting. I am influencing people.

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I am eager to make an impact on a greater scale,

and educating others is one of the ways that I will do that.

 

 

 

For my resources on being environmentally friendly, click here!