Our environmental sustainability efforts

In addition to supporting sustainability with our partners and rural Ghana and our online environmental education resources, Engage seeks to model environmentally sustainable business practices. We strive to pursue net zero carbon emissions - which means that we carefully consider how to reduce our carbon emissions and then offset any emissions that remain. We also consider our environmental footprints in terms of biodiversity and land usage.

Some of our environmental sustainability strategies include:

Meetings

• Our meetings and guest talks are primarily virtual.
• When meeting in person, we serve vegetarian foods from local restaurants or farmers markets.

Office Supplies

• If purchasing office supplies, we strive to purchase renewed and repurposed items (such as computers and computer ink) or upcycled items such as pens.
• We purchase 100% recycled printing paper and file folders.
• Our business cards are made of plantable seed paper. 

Personal engagement in biodiversity conservation

• Our interns begin their internship program by engaging in environmental sustainability in their homes and communities with either an ecowalk, where they pick up plastic trash, or planting of pollinator plants. Both activities support ecosystem health.

Gifts and pop-up online stores

• When we provide gifts to supporters or prospective donors, we try to give native milkweed seeds.
• Our pop-up stores feature products made from local plants or cloth that are hand-made by women in Ghana. 
• We offset our shipping by funding tree planting in our partner communities.
  
• We advocate for alternative gift giving for major holidays with 'give the gift of education' 

Travel

• We offset all of our airline flights through the airlines. 
• We also offset driving mileage through tree planting in our partner communities. 
  
  

Interns Seyram and Maria ecowalking in their communities as part of intern orientation week 2021.