Vinay Kumar

At times it may not feel like it's up to us to keep our community clean and healthy, but we all have a role to play. Each day I am outside, I will pick up any litter I see.

Carbon is emitted into the atmosphere in a variety of ways, including through the foods we eat and food we waste. I will learn about low carbon foods and replace higher carbon foods with them in my diet.

Carbon emissions from air travel is harmful to planetary and human health. Instead of traveling by plane, I will find an alternative way to accomplish the goals of an upcoming trip (i.e. telepresence, vacation locally).

Plastic bags can be mistaken for food by many wild animals and can end up in habitats that harm wildlife. I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases, including produce bags.

The more stuff we consume, the more greenhouse gasses we put into the atmosphere. I will adopt a "Needs Vs. Wants" approach this month and only buy things I need.

I will cut my car trip mileage by only taking necessary trips, and I will only use muscle-powered transportation for all other trips.

Synthetic clothing can contain plastic and shed harmful microplastics into our water. I will use a microplastics catcher in my laundry, or install a microplastics filter for my washing machine.

Carbon emissions can show up in many surprising ways in our life. I will calculate the carbon emissions associated with my household and consider how lifestyle changes could reduce the carbon footprint and impacts on the environment.

On Wed 24th April, I will attend the Earth Month Ecochallenge Webinar on Conservation to learn about what individuals, companies and other organizations can do to promote biodiversity and nature protection.

I will take at least one photograph that is connected with this year's theme of Nature Conservation & Biodiversity (for example an urban park, bee hives, birds and other animals...) and I will post it on LinkedIn with the hashtags #EarthMonthEcochallenge #EarthMonthAtEmerson.

I will sign up to the Sustainability Aficionados distribution list to receive global news on sustainability at Emerson, including world news and Greening OF, BY, and WITH news.

I will continue to contribute to Emerson's environmental sustainability goals beyond April by learning more about the Global Green Teams Network, joining a team near me, or maybe even creating a new team.