Planet Talks

I started using the AWorld app at the start of February this year, but I stopped logging my actions about two weeks later because the encouraged actions on the app quickly became a habit. I found myself doing sustainable actions even without opening the app during the day. However, in the short time that I was logging my actions diligently, I’m happy to share that my recorded impact is saving 3kg of CO2 and 66L of water. I did this by consistently:

doing my laundry at a lower temperature

turning off my camera when not needed

listening to music offline

using a shampoo bar (I bought it from this local brand called MAGWAI)

bringing my own water bottle

turning off the tap when brushing my teeth

turning off the lights when I leave the room

reducing my cooling (I only turn the aircon on when I’m about to go to sleep)

cutting my food waste (I’ve started cooking broccoli stalks!)

driving less (I now take the LRT or jeep whenever I can)

I found it pretty easy to commit to these initiatives because they’re small changes that don’t really affect the cadence of my daily life. It doesn’t cost me anything major to do these things, so these quickly became part of my routine. After taking a sustainability course, I want to try making more drastic changes to my lifestyle that will help me reduce my carbon footprint even more, such as:

trying zero-waste fashion

eating plant-based meals

air-drying my laundry (I currently use a dryer, which must be horrible for the environment because it consumes a lot of energy)

bringing my own bag to the supermarket

The sustainability course has made me realize that small steps, when executed consistently across time, make a considerable difference. I will carry this learning on to when I eventually start a business – I will be on the lookout for ways that I can lessen harmful environmental impact, even if to others, these initiatives may seem like a waste of time because of how minute the impact is from a short-term point of view.

For our sustainability management class, we’ve recently reached out to Fifth Express, a company that sells compostable mailers. One of our groupmates contacted Ms. Lee, the owner, via e-mail. We asked her to join us in an interview, to which she warmly responded!

Fifth Express is creating positive social and environmental impact. By allowing businesses the option to make their packaging compostable, plastic packaging now has a direct competitor. Back then, businesses couldn’t use sustainable packaging even if they wanted to because there were no practical alternatives being sold in the country yet. Now, sustainable packaging is at every business’ fingertips through Fifth Express. Remember, a package wrapped in compostable packaging means a package that’s not wrapped in plastic.

Fifth Express creates a positive social impact by letting consumers and the general public know that such a solution exists. The message is clear – there are alternatives to plastic if we look hard enough! Compostable mailers are also such a creative and ingenious solution, that other people might be inspired to create their own new, sustainable solutions!

I sure am inspired by Fifth Express. When we talked to Ms. Lee, she shared with us how she bought Fifth Express from the founders when she found out that the business was about to shut down due to internal issues. She felt too strongly against letting a smart and sustainable solution go to waste, so she decided to step up and buy the business. Honestly heroic. She didn’t have any indicators that the business would do well under her guidance – she only felt in her heart that she had to buy it because it was a solution she firmly believes in.

Fifth Express inspires me to try out other sustainable alternatives to plastic, not just when it comes to packaging. I want to cut out plastic as much as possible from all aspects of my daily life. I want to avoid receiving plastic with my takeout and I want to start patronizing businesses (especially local restaurants) that go the extra mile when packaging their products.

Climate change is real. And it’s our fault that it’s become this bad. I feel partly responsible for making sure that the problem of climate change is solved within this generation. I understand the issue is extremely urgent and that if we don’t do something right now, the impact will be irreversibly tragic for the entire human race, both present and future.

To do our part, we can start small. Something as simple as using shampoo bars instead of shampoo packaged in single-use plastic containers, taking the jeep instead of booking a Grab especially if I’m just traveling alone, and talking about these feasible climate change solutions with my peers so that they can do the same and maybe even be my sources of inspiration to try out new sustainable actions.

However, it would be a bit naïve to think that an environmentally friendly lifestyle can be sustained by pure motivation. It also has to be easy to do and accessible so that the change in habit is sustainable and scalable across social groups. A few years ago, I thought it would be pretty neat if there could be milk vending machines around large schools and subdivisions, so that kids and families could use their reusable bottles to get milk, instead of using the milk cartons (which typically have plastic linings on them) that FMCG companies like Nestle distribute their milk in.

Behavioral design plays a big role in making sure habits are sustained because it eliminates barriers to ability. Why would I ever buy milk in a carton, if it’s easy and convenient for me to just walk across the street and get fresh milk using a glass bottle? Why would I buy a gas-guzzling car, if there’s a bus station that’s a 2-minute walk away from my house? Why would I throw my trash without segregating, if there are designated bins that clearly detail which types of garbage go where?

Behavioral design forces us to see that there are better ways of living because it tweaks something in daily life in a way that the desired action becomes an easy and practical choice. If we change our conditions and surroundings with the goal of making it easier for us to commit to sustainable actions, then we ensure that we are in the best position to live sustainably.

A few weeks ago, I went for a run around my neighborhood in the province. I come from Butuan City and live in a pretty rural area – lots of trees and grass around. I can distinctly remember the smell of fresh air – I can’t describe exactly how it smells, but I can tell you that it’s just so different from how the air in Manila smells like. The air feels light. And if you take in big gulps of it, you feel it cleanse your insides and re-energize the soul.

This week, I was lucky enough to enjoy a boat ride in the Bohol Sea to visit this one-of-a-kind Italian restaurant in Camiguin. On the way there, I felt incredibly at peace. At one point, there was nothing but deep, blue water surrounding the boat. The mountains looked incredibly tiny in the distance and the sun was setting. I remember thinking that if the boat were to sink, it would be fine with me to die in such a beautiful place – with the sea wrapping itself around me. Of course, I’d die a pitiful death, probably from the hypothermia or the exhaustion of keeping myself afloat. But to die in nature seems somewhat romantic to me. Better than dying in a city getting mugged or dying in a dimly light hospital room from a terminal illness.

I’ve always been of the firm belief that humans were meant to live in the company of nature. It not only refreshes our minds, but its vastness, beauty, and capacity to kill also remind us of how frail and insignificant we are. The immensity of the sea never fails to humble me. No matter how smart or rich or loved I am, my tiny human body can probably only survive an hour in its embrace. We need nature in our day-to-day to remind us that we are human – that we can die. That we are tiny and frail. That we are insignificant in the great passing of time.

These are important insights that I think every human should reach – these are underlying truths about us. Hence, it’s important that in our day-to-day, we do what we can to ensure nature is there to teach its lessons to the next generation of humanity.

To end, I made a haiku:

The sea’s warm embrace

Call us to lie peacefully

A few days ago, it was my first time doing a guided appreciative inquiry exercise. It was an interesting experience because I found that it was easier for me to ask other people questions than it was to share about my own passions.

Talking about my passions and strengths was undoubtedly a little hard for me because I generally don’t really like to share much about myself – I don’t find myself that interesting and I was scared that I’d bore the people in our tiny group. So, I found that although I was happy to talk about my strengths, I was also watching the clock closely, making sure that I wasn’t oversharing to the point of being annoying.

Asking questions was much easier for me. I’m a naturally sociable and inquisitive person, so even in everyday life, I usually ask questions about my friends’ lives a lot. To illustrate, during the exercise, I discovered that one of my groupmates is passionate about dancing but recently quit. I asked him why he quit because I was genuinely curious to find out why; it doesn’t really make sense to quit something you like doing. He then thoroughly explained why he quit, which satisfied my curiosity, and also seemed to be liberating for him. It felt natural to me to ask him that question; even if I hadn’t been previously prompted to ask questions, I would’ve asked him it anyway. I guess you could say probing is kind of like breathing to me.

Sustainability is an extremely popular buzzword these days. If we contextualize the word within the story of our dying planet, sustainability is the goal of making sure it survives for as long as possible. It’s difficult to achieve because we humans consume resources like it’s unlimited. We procreate like there’s enough food for everyone, we build like we’re never going to run out of land, and we use items as if there are always going to be minerals to extract.

Looking at my carbon footprint has been eye-opening. It’s much higher than I anticipated it to be. I am consuming two more tons than what is ideal. I thought that I was a pretty sustainable person because I always turn the lights off before I leave a room, I live right next to DLSU so I never need to commute, and I use a menstrual cup. However, it’s clear now that I need to do more to bring my carbon footprint down to what’s suitable – from four tons to the ideal two tons.

Reducing my current carbon footprint by 50% won’t be easy, but I know where to start now, thanks to this assessment by AWorld. The area in my life that needs the most urgent change is shopping. I will start by buying clothes less often, as well as exploring the use of second-hand clothing. I also commit to reducing my usage of online shopping platforms, as there are a lot of unnecessary plastics used to wrap the items for safe shipping. It’s better for the environment if I go to stores physically to buy things and use a reusable bag to carry them home.

I should also try eating a plant-based meal every once in a while. I had no idea that eating meat was indirectly contributing to more greenhouse gases. Steak is my favorite, but because cows are a big contributor to GHG emissions, I’ll actively restrict my steak consumption so that I only eat it at most once a month. Because of its impact on the environment, I am now aware that having steak should be a luxury and should only be eaten for special occasions. From now on, I also plan to order a plant-based meal once a week.