Earth Month Ecochallenge: Drawdown

April 1 - April 30, 2021

Sophia Paul

Deloitte Chicago

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
733 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

25

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

115

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

545

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

3.3

pounds of paper

have been saved
UP TO

1.0

tree

planted

Sophia's actions

Transportation

Research and Consider Switching to a Hybrid or Electric Vehicle

Electric Cars, Hybrid Cars

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching and weighing my options to see if a hybrid or electric vehicle makes sense for my lifestyle.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Buy Bamboo

Bamboo Production

When they are available, I will purchase products made from bamboo instead of wood, plastic, or metal.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

Tropical Forest Restoration

I will spend at least 10 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks

Smart Seafood Choices

Ocean Farming

I will visit seafoodwatch.org or download the app and commit to making better seafood choices for a healthier ocean.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Reduce Animal Products

Plant-Rich Diets

I will enjoy 2 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 16
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Mulch the Base of Trees and Plants

Farm Irrigation Efficiency

I will prevent water runoff and increase absorbency by mulching the base of trees and plants in my yard.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Tend A Garden

I will tend to a garden, or prepare for one, each day using sustainable gardening practices.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Health and Education

Explore the Deloitte WorldClimate Hub

Spend 15 minutes browsing the new World Climate Hub website, hosted by Deloitte US Sustainability!

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health and Education

Get your family involved in greening the dot!

If you have kids at home, encourage them to create a logo for Deloitte NPSI using scrap paper and any crayons, markers, or materials you have in your home. Email a photo of the final product to Emma Howe (emhowe@deloitte.com) for a chance to be featured in our Earth Month recap email and potential future internal communications!

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health and Education

Support Businesses Owned by Women, BIPOC, or Immigrants

Sustainable Intensification for Smallholders

I will spend 5 minutes researching businesses owned by women, immigrants, and Black, Indigenous, and people of color that I can support when shopping.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Go Paperless

Recycled Paper

I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by 0.11lbs (0.05kg) a day or 3.3lbs (1.6kg) a month by opting into paperless billing, ending unwanted subscriptions and opting out of junk mail.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Explore My Area

Sometimes protecting nature requires feeling connected to nature. I will invest 100 minutes in exploring and appreciating a natural area in my region, whether a forest, wetland, coastal area, or somewhere else.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Sign up for Plant Your Change

Sign up for Plant Your Change to round up your purchases and plant one tree for every transaction on your personal credit card. Link to sign up found below!

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health and Education

Explore the Deloitte World Climate Hub

Spend 15 minutes browsing the new World Climate Hub website, hosted by Deloitte US Sustainability! Link to be added soon.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health and Education

Donate to the NPSI Earth Month Giving Campaign

NPSI will be hosting a month-long giving campaign during April. Donate via the NPSI philanthropy cloud website linked below!

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health and Education

Attend the NPSI Intersections Panel on April 28th

On Wednesday, April 28th, Deloitte NPSI is hosting a panel with senior leaders at the firm to discuss the intersections between climate, health and justice. Invite to be added soon!

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Plant Trees

Temperate Forest Restoration

I will plant 1 tree(s) in my community, public parks, or backyard.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Forest-Friendly Foods 2

Tropical Forest Restoration

I will replace or remove from my current diet the palm oil, coffee, and cocoa products that are known to contribute to deforestation.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Participant Feed

Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.

To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?

REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Sinks Forest-Friendly Foods 2

How difficult or easy was it to change your diet?

Sophia Paul 4/22/2021 1:10 PM

I eat very little red meat and don’t drink dairy milk, so this was a great reminder to continue to reduce my consumption of poultry, seafood, and other dairy! I also was able to try some plant based proteins that I really enjoyed. My personal favorite was subbing out a turkey burger with a marinated portobello mushroom cap!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Mulch the Base of Trees and Plants

Name some of the human activities impacting the health of water systems, both locally (your watershed) and globally (freshwater and oceans). What can you do to improve the health of water systems?

Sophia Paul 4/22/2021 1:07 PM

One of the most visible things is litter - picking up litter on walks and hikes helps keep trash out of waterways (and from breaking down into micro plastics). When gardening, avoid toxic weed killers, which can also impact your health and the health of your pets

Read More
- Terry Morgan 4/27/2021 1:27 PM
  
  Just think what everyone who picked up even a few pieces of trash during their daily walks could accomplish!
  
  Read More
Sophia Paul 4/09/2021 1:32 PM

I planted a garden for the first time last year and chose to expand it this year - does anyone have suggestions for small scale greens or vegetables that do well in the Chicago area?

Read More
- Terry Morgan 4/14/2021 9:25 AM
  
  Lettuce, sweet peas, chives, swiss chard all do well even in small containers.
  
  Read More
- Maddi Loshaw 4/12/2021 10:17 AM
  
  I do well with a lot of herbs: mint, rosemary, dill, and basil. Tomatoes and cucumbers seem to do well too!
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Reduce Animal Products

Why do people in richer countries eat more meat than people in other places? How does eating more meat affect our bodies, our planet, and other people?

Sophia Paul 4/09/2021 1:30 PM

Producing meat requires more land, inputs, (often) time, and money to produce than most plant based sources, and can be seen as a status symbol - all of these contribute to wealthier countries consuming more meat per capita than poorer countries. Though there are various studies on what the 'best' diet is from a health perspective (vegan, vegetarian, Mediterranean, etc.), it is undeniable that highly carbon intensive proteins have a significantly higher impact on the planet than plant-based food sources.

Read More