Earth Day ideas for work: impactful ways to celebrate and engage your team, email topics, subject lines, and more

One of the most significant observances in April is Earth Day (it falls on April 22 this year!), which provides you with an excellent opportunity to highlight the company’s sustainable, green, and/or environmental initiatives. But if you are unsure where to start with your workplace Earth Day initiatives, we have you covered! In this article, we’re sharing our top Earth Day ideas for work, along with tips on creating impactful Earth Day content for your internal newsletters (we’ve even included an Earth Day email template). Whether you’re planning a company-wide celebration or looking for inspiration to inspire your employees, we’ve got the ideas and tools you need.

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Impactful ways to celebrate Earth Day at work (and create Earth Day email content at the same time):

• Donate to local or national causes: Supporting environmental causes is one of the most powerful ways to celebrate Earth Day. Whether it’s donating to environmental organizations or funding a local green initiative, it’s a great way to make an impact. But remember, actions speak louder than words, so pair your financial donations with efforts to reduce your company’s carbon footprint.
• Connect with nature: What better way to celebrate Earth Day than experiencing it for yourself? Organize a nature walk for your team! This not only connects your team to the environment but also helps create a sense of community and wellbeing.
• Share ways to reduce the company’s carbon footprint: Earth Day is the perfect time to discuss practical ways your company can reduce its environmental impact. Share strategies like energy conservation, reducing waste, and green commuting options. Make sure these tips extend beyond Earth Day and are woven into your ongoing internal communications strategy.
• Run a food waste challenge: In the US alone, around 40% of food is wasted each year 😲. Challenge employees to calculate their FoodPrint (here’s a link to the quiz!), waste zero food for one week, or run a cooking workshop that helps teach the team innovative ways to use leftovers.
• Create an eco-friendly working guide: Educate your employees on simple yet effective ways to reduce their environmental footprint at work and home. Provide them with a step-by-step guide on energy conservation, minimizing food waste, and using more sustainable resources.
• Go paperless: These days, most banks and services provide paperless options. Take a look over your weekly mail drop and see if there’s any providers you can scale back the paper waste with. Then, move your systems online with smart tools for key processes, like hiring. And, if you’re still printing your employee newsletter? Move to an internal communications tool like Workshop, and deliver your newsletter via email and text messaging instead.
• Take part in a local cleanup: Earth Day is all about getting involved via direct action. Organize a team cleanup in your local community. Whether it’s cleaning up a local park, beach, or urban space, it’s a great way to physically contribute to your environment. Check out Earth Day’s official Great Global Cleanup page for more info and events near you!
• Eco-friendly office practices: Celebrate Earth Day by promoting eco-friendly office practices such as reducing waste, recycling, and using energy-efficient lighting. Encourage employees to adopt sustainable habits like bringing reusable water bottles or cutting back on plastic use.

Additional Earth Day internal newsletter ideas to include:

• Local environmental volunteer opportunities
• Eco-friendly transportation options for commuting to work 
• Tips for living more sustainably
• Upcoming local Earth Day events
• Ideas for eco-friendly office practices
• Ways to reduce waste and promote recycling in the office
• Information + action items on the company’s sustainability efforts and goals
• A list of eco-friendly food options or local restaurants
• Resources for learning more about environmental issues and advocacy (the official Earth Day website is a wonderful resource!)
• Sustainable product recommendations for office supplies
• Tips for reducing single-use plastics in the workplace (Consider handing out branded reusable water bottles to employees!)

Earth Day email subject line ideas to grab attention:

• Small steps, big impact: Earth Day at [Company Name]
• Earth Day is on April 22: Here’s how we are celebrating
• Eco-friendly ideas for a greener workplace
• Together, we can make a difference this Earth Day
• 5 steps [Company Name] is taking to go green for Earth Day
• Earth Day Challenge: Join us in going green!
• Join the [Company Name] Green Team!
• Happy Earth Day! Join us in making a positive impact
• [Company Name] Earth Day Challenge
• Invest in our planet: Earth Day initiatives at [Company Name]

Earth Day email template

So now you have: 

• Your program initiatives to educate and inspire your team to take action
• A few additional Earth Day ideas to include in your email
• An eye-catching subject line

But now you may be thinking, how will this email look? We have you covered there, too! We have created a dedicated Earth Day email template you can use directly in Workshop! (You can always just use it as inspiration, too 😉)

Check out the full template here.

Incorporating these Earth Day ideas for work into your internal communications and newsletters is a great way to build a culture of sustainability that truly connects with your team. From email campaigns to volunteer opportunities and eco-friendly practices, Earth Day offers the perfect opportunity to align your company’s values with real, impactful actions that inspire positive change!

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Next steps:

Download our Internal Comms Editorial Calendar: This sample internal comms editorial calendar will help you organize your content and messaging so you can communicate with your employees and drive engagement. It’s simple, streamlined, and totally customizable for your company’s needs.

Put together your employee emails in less than 3o minutes: If your monthly internal newsletters are taking you hours to create and send, we’re here to help! You can create engaging, on-brand internal emails in less time than ever with our drag-and-drop editor. (Plus, we hook up to your best source of employee data so you always have an up-to-date distribution list (without the need to ask your IT or marketing department for it 😉), and give you all the analytics you need to gauge your success.) Schedule a short demo here and see it for yourself!