JOVACO Celebrates Earth Day 2021!

At JOVACO, the environment is very important to us. Ove the years, we have put in place several measures and initiatives within our firm to reduce our emissions and our carbon footprint. On this second #earthdayathome, we decided to challenge our team to incorporate environmental actions in their daily life. Here are the green actions we challenge you to do next week for Earth Day!

Meatless Monday

Our marketing coordinator Laurence is one of 3 million Canadians who are vegetarian or vegan. “I decided to become vegan 5 years ago and haven’t eaten meat since,” she explains. “I did it for the environment and for animals. My goal is to raise awareness and direct people towards plant-based alternatives.”

Indeed, 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions are related to animal products. A pound of beef requires the same quantity of water as six months’ worth of showers! A person can reduce their carbon footprint by 73% by adopting a vegan diet. A vegetarian or vegan diet requires 17 times less space, 14 times less water and 10 times less energy than a meat eater’s diet.

Interested in eating less meat? Laurence shares some of her favourite vegan recipes:

• Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding
• Chick-un Sandwiches
• Magic Tofu (in French)

To help you out, the Association végétarienne de Montréal (Montreal Vegetarian Association) has created a poster featuring plant-based protein sources (in French):

Car-Free Tuesday

Now that remote work has become much more common, a lot of people have reduced their car use and gas consumption. Many organizations, including JOVACO, also plan on offering employees the option to work from home or the office once sanitary measures will allow it.

However, cars remain the main means of transportation for many of us. Until we all get to purchase electric cars, follow JOVACO President Valerie’s lead and favour cycling for short-distance travels or just to enjoy the nice weather with your family!

“We love cycling around the neighbourhood with the kids and take a break when we spot a park with playground sets, or just to go to the nearest ice cream shop!” says Valerie. “Our discovery from last year was the TransTerrebonne Trail and its beginner and intermediary mountain bike trails for those who want to get started.”

Why not leave your car parked and discover your neighbourhood’s bike trails and lanes?

Wasteless Wednesday

According to a study published in the scientific journal Science Advances, only 9% of the 6.3 billion metric tons of plastic waste produced has been recycled. This is why it’s important to not only recycle, but reduce your use of plastic as much as possible. “Shrink wraps and other plastics are an unbelievable source of waste,” says Tania, our sales and marketing director. “I do everything I can to avoid them, and I try teaching my child the importance of living as sustainably as possible.”

While many single-use plastics will be banned by the federal government later this year, several members of our team already avoid them. Straws, bags, bowl covers, paper towels, bar shampoos … Several options are now available to reduce domestic and plastic waste.

Here are a few product suggestions to reduce your waste:

• Silicon food covers
• Reusable PEVA bags
• Reusable mesh produce bags
• Reusable cloth sponge towel
• Bowl covers

Moreover, our ERP consultant Emilie manages BBsouk, a sustainable online clothing and accessory store for little ones. “I truly realized the part I played in our culture of overconsumption… Like many, I had been tempted by fast fashion retailers, who encourage us to continuously buy more – despite the negative impact on the environment and our wallet,” Emilie writes on her website. “And that’s how BBsouk was born. An eco-chic market, a more eco-responsible and economical way of consuming, without compromise.”

Emilie shares with us a picture featuring last year’s collection of Montreal-based brand Kid’s Stuff [Trucs d’enfants]. “I like promoting their products because they’re a Quebec-based company that offers grow-with-me, timeless garments and uses environmentally friendly fabrics. And what’s more, they’re handmade in Montreal.”

ThursDIY

Home cleaning products contain several chemical ingredients that can be harmful to the environment and health. Fortunately, creating your own eco-friendly cleaners is easy! This is what our ERP consultant Johanne already does. “In the kitchen, I use cleaner that I make myself,” she says. “Less waste that way, and safer for food preparation surfaces!”

She shares her DIY eco-friendly kitchen cleaner recipe: “I use Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds, a biodegradable cleaner that cuts through grease. I add some citrus essential oils to add a pleasant scent, then dilute a small quantity in distilled water that I then keep in a spray bottle on the counter.”

Want more ideas? Here are 10 eco-friendly homemade cleaners suggested by the David Suzuki Foundation that use ingredients most households already have on hand!

Green Friday

Jean-Luc, our Dynamics 365 practice director, has incorporated several environmental actions in his daily life. On top of composting, recycling, and gardening, he tries to reduce his household waste as much as possible, and supports local producers by buying their products when available. He also puts out bird feeders and suet in winter.

As he has a green thumb, we asked him to share with us a few gardening tips:

• I let white clover and certain weeds grow on the lawn. My lawn mower is set to the highest setting possible to leave the lawn quite long. The benefit is that it stays green and never dries out, even in summer.
• Plants can be bought in a nursery, but the seeds from certain flowers and vegetables can also be used. It’s easy and free! Some plants are “perennial” under certain conditions. When they start to wither in the fall, I replant them in the garden. Who knows, maybe next spring they will come back to life (and if not, I simply compost them).
• The idea is having flowers and plants all year long (yes, all year long!). In the spring, you need bulbs planted in a cluster, then flowers that will be present in the summer. You also need plants that prefer the colder weather in the fall for some nice autumnal colours. I also don’t clean up flower beds in the fall. It looks prettier than just snow in the winter: it looks like the flower beds are asleep. Small animals and birds also visit them to eat the dried fruit.

You can also follow Tania’s lead and try to grow morning glories!

Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram to see our team’s progress! Want to challenge yourself to do environmental actions every day? Use the hashtags #earthdayathome and #jovaco to share your green actions with us!