These aimed to educate people, and encourage everyone to take action to prevent climate change. However, this year, like last year, things will be a little different. With people working from home and advised against all but essential travel, the usual in person events are not taking place.

But this doesn’t mean businesses can’t still mark Earth Day 2021. In fact, this year is a chance to engage employees and customers on Earth Day and demonstrate your company’s commitment to fighting climate change. Here, Anthony Collias and Jacob Wedderburn-Day, Founders of Treepoints, a startup fighting climate change, look at five ways in which businesses can celebrate Earth Day remotely this year. 

1. Get your company involved in the Great Global Cleanup

Whether it’s for a lunch break or an afternoon get your remote employees picking up litter to help preserve our outdoor spaces. This is relevant whether your employees live in central London or rural Wales.

Everyone can take part in a park or outdoor space local to them, there’s no need to be in the same place. You can also register your company’s cleanup to get it added to the global map of cleanups taking place around the world. Every piece of litter collected means less pollution in the natural environment. 

2. Encourage your office to do meatless Mondays

The meat industry is a huge contributor to global warming. In particular red meat has 100 times the impact of plant based foods on the environment. Encourage your employees to do one day a week meat free throughout the month in celebration of Earth Day, and share recipes across your team.

Everyone can do this from their own homes, and make sure people take a photo of their culinary creations.

3. Organise a remote social on Earth Day

Pick a day with your team this month (it doesn’t have to be the 22nd April) where you watch an environmental documentary and then hold an open discussion afterwards. David Attenborough’s A Life On Our Planet is a powerful film that shows the importance of taking action now to save our natural world.

Alternatively, you could host a virtual book club for your employees and discuss a climate change book, such as There Is No Planet B by Mike Berners-Lee. This will get people thinking about climate change and the ways in which we are all responsible for fixing it.

4. Raise awareness on your business social media

From April 20th to 22nd this year, the official Earth Day organisers are leading three days of climate action that everyone can tune into online. The theme this year is Restore Our Earth, and there will be talks, workshops and panel discussions across the three days on this topic.

Highlights include a 'We Shall Breathe' virtual summit in the evening of April 20th, which will examine climate and environmental justice, connecting the climate crisis to issues of pollution, poverty, police brutality, and the pandemic, all within a racial justice framework.

Spread the word on your business’s channels from social media to newsletters to engage your employees and customers. This is a great way to show your support for Earth Day remotely and help get more people involved no matter where they’re based.

5. Make your operations greener in recognition of Earth Day

Join the increasing number of companies who are planting trees or offsetting carbon emissions with every transaction they make. Services like Treepoints make it easy for businesses to plant a tree for every customer, offset the carbon emissions of their employees, or even make their company fully carbon neutral. This means that their carbon emissions have been entirely accounted for and offset so that their net footprint is zero.

Studies show that the public are increasingly aware of the impact of their purchasing decisions on the environment. Following COVID-19, two-thirds of consumers say that it has become even more important to limit climate change according to a recent survey. So making your operations more environmentally friendly this Earth Day is good for the planet and demonstrates your commitment to sustainability to your customers.