Sustainability Solutions for Community
Collaborate for Success
Sustainability is a collaborative effort. To truly achieve success in our fight for a better future, we must work with our friends, neighbors, and communities to lower our footprint and implement the right sustainability solutions.
Our Approach
The experts at Ethos Sustainability Solutions have developed a community-based approach to sustainability that works to inform people of their impact on the world, and provide practical advice to lower it, all while saving money. While businesses need sustainability management tools and consulting firms to make meaningful changes to their carbon footprints, communities and families just need some gentle guidance to implement an Ethos of sustainable living.
To this end, we have developed a workshop series that ties into the Pathways by Ethos mobile application. This interaction is designed to give participants a full understanding of their carbon footprint and an action list of ways to reduce it. Built around the concept of “See, Discern, Act” and the “Four Pathways to Sustainable Living,” our workshops are fun, easy to understand, and impactful.
See, Discern, Act
The See, Discern, Act methodology has been used for years as a way of implementing impactful change in one’s life. Most of us do not realize the effects our actions have on the world at large. This methodology strives to demonstrate how our choices can have larger than expected consequences, so participants can see their real impacts. As a sustainability consulting firm, we then instruct participants to Discern what this means to their lives and all of society. Finally, this discernment drives our participants to Act, using the tailored list of actions we provide to dramatically lower their impact and contribute towards building a sustainable community.
The Four Pathways
Everyone is different, and therefore everyone’s sustainability action plans must differ to optimize their positive impacts. For this reason, the Ethos Sustainability Solutions team created the Four Pathways in conjunction with the DiLoreto Research Initiative at Villanova University. The Four Pathways: Shelter and Energy, Food and Water, Transportation and Leisure, and Consumer Purchases, help participants in our workshops choose the pathways that work best for them to lower their footprint. Everyone must forge their own sustainability journey, and the four pathways are designed to make that as easy as possible.
Shelter and Energy
Home is where we all feel comfortable. For this reason, we often spend our time at home not thinking about our actions and how they impact the planet. In our module on Shelter and Energy, we teach participants about how their choices at home can have a huge impact on climate change, and how making simple changes can not only reduce their carbon footprint, but also save money.
Food and Water
Most people don’t realize how big of an impact their choices on what to eat and drink can have on their carbon footprint. Even the water we use to take a shower has a carbon footprint. Shopping for local food and making minor changes to our diets can have a huge positive impact on the planet. Ethos’s Food and Water module shows participants how easy it can be to eat sustainably.
Transportation and Leisure
For many, commuting to work contributes a huge portion to their carbon footprint. Issues of transportation can be tricky to solve because for many there are not a variety of options when choosing how to commute. Our Transportation and Leisure module shows participants how their travel choices can impact their personal sustainability, giving them the opportunity to make smarter choices going forward.
Consumer Purchases
Making wise choices when shopping for goods and services is both good for the planet and good for the wallet. Our Consumer Purchases Module shows participants how adjusting our shopping habits for a minimal carbon footprint and to reduce waste is easier than one might think. To contribute towards building a sustainable community, cut down on waste, expense, and unnecessary carbon emissions.
Seminars and Workshops for Any Audience
Ethos Seminars were designed as a professional development series for business stakeholders, but as their popularity grew, we knew we had to make them available to a wider audience. Now, Ethos offers community sustainability seminars designed for schools, community groups, religious communities, and families. Interested in hosting your own seminars? Ethos offers “train the trainer” sessions so you can spread the word and contribute to a sustainable future.
Practical Guidance
The quickest way to convince someone not to transition towards a sustainable lifestyle is to show them a list of expensive and disruptive things they must do to lower their impact. At Ethos, we know this is unacceptable. For this reason, we have developed a tiered approach to personal and community sustainability designed to maximize reductions in CO2 while minimizing impact. We have pathways towards huge reductions in carbon emissions that cost no money at all. Our seminars can help anyone with any budget reach their sustainability goals in a way that works for them.
Pathways By Ethos Mobile Application
Take the teachings of our community workshops into your own hands with the Pathways by Ethos mobile application. Our personal sustainability app is loaded with actions and challenges helping to guide users toward an Ethos of Sustainable Living. Our tracking tools show users their carbon footprint and help them to monitor it over time. Compete with neighbors and friends to see who can lower their footprint the most.