Make
every day Earth Day
April 21, 2010
April 22 was Earth Day and around the globe tens of
millions of people marked the occasion by participating in some activity
to help save our fragile planet. What began as a “teach in” organized by
a U.S. senator in 1970 has now become a major international day of
reckoning and activism in more than 175 nations.
To those who question the role of government in our
day-to-day lives – a whine most often heard from the right side of the
political spectrum – it’s worth reinforcing the fact that our
environment would be in even worse shape than it is were it not for
public policies, regulations and enforcement that has forced all of us
to change our environmental behaviour. That said, even governments can
be accused of foot-dragging, witness Harper’s go-slow approach to
reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The real champions when it comes to environmental
awareness are the thousands of non-governmental organizations, large and
small, in Canada and abroad, which draw attention each day to our
environmental shortcomings and which force the hand of public policy
makers. Thanks to their energy and determination, these NGOs can take
credit for being the true guardians of our natural environment. To them
I say: never stop hugging those trees!
Often times the larger an organization, like many
industries and, yes, organized labour, the slower we are to adapt to new
practices. Our approach to the environment is a case in point. Could we
at OPSEU have done more, and sooner, to protect the environment over
which we have direct control? Certainly. Are we moving fast to make up
for that? Absolutely.
In 2006 the Board established ‘Green Team’ whose task
it was to examine how our policies and work practices are compatible
with promoting a healthy environment for our members, our staff and the
communities in which we operate union business on your behalf.
The result was a policy directive titled Greening OPSEU.
Now in its fourth year Greening OPSEU is delivering tangible results –
some big; some small. We have, for example, a policy directing the
organization to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 2.5 per cent a
year from 2006 levels. This will amount to an absolute reduction of 80
per cent by 2040.
Our new phone and fibre optics system called Ring It
will have a measurable impact on our carbon footprint. It means a 29 per
cent reduction in the amount of electricity our current system needs
compared to what Ring It requires – almost 20,000 lbs less of C02 per
year.
Small measures also add up. OPSEU has phased out the use
of bottle water in most of our 22 offices. We have initiated a habitat
restoration process at head office. And, we have increased the amount of
funding we provide to grassroot groups who are often overlooked by large
corporations or government bodies.
More work remains to be achieved before we are able to
declare ourselves a thoroughly Green organization. We need to find new
ways to engage our membership, develop green bargaining demands, use our
pension clout to effect change, take political action, work in
coalitions, and find news ways to reduce OPSEU’s footprint and measure
the savings.
In other words we need to make every day an Earth Day.
In Solidarity
Patty Rout
First Vice-President / Treasurer
