Throughout April, Arizonans and people all over the world will join together in celebration of Earth Month. At Cox, driving positive environmental change is one of the most important things we do. In fact, it’s why we’ve invested over $100 million in sustainability and conservation projects since 2007. It’s part of a global environmental mission we work toward with local actions. That’s why we put our goals into action at work and in our community by partnering with hard working organizations making a positive impact on the environment in Arizona.
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Our Cox employees are focused on driving positive environmental change at work and in the community that will contribute to our company’s “Cox Conserves” goals. These goals aim to send zero waste to landfills by 2024 and to be carbon and water neutral by 2034. We are happy to report that we’re on track to meet our aggressive goals!
In fact, to get our operations to carbon neutral, Cox recently became the first Arizona Public Service Co. (APS) commercial business customer in APS’s Green Power Partners Program (GPP). Purchasing solar renewable energy from APS will dramatically reduce our reliance on fossil fuels to run our Arizona facilities.
Cox is proud to work together with vital, conservation-focused Arizona partners that are also making a difference. One such partner organization is The Nature Conservancy. Cox and the Nature Conservancy have partnered for the 10th Annual “Adventures in Nature” photo contest as a way of encouraging student photographers to highlight people in nature, wildlife and Arizona’s natural beauty. Another vital Cox partner is the OdySea Aquarium, which showcases the Conserving Arizona Waters exhibit sponsored by Cox.
Cox also recognizes our role and responsibility as a major business in Arizona and we have financially supported the State’s efforts to implement Arizona’s Drought Contingency Plan, a critical step in Arizona’s water story, assuring long-term water security for our state.
We are also very proud of our Cox employees who volunteer their personal time (and 16 hours per year of paid volunteer time from the company) to help maintain mountain park trails, clean up river beds and help young students understand the connection of water to the natural environment as well as their communities.
At Cox we practice our mission every day at work, but also take this spirit home and apply to our activities outside the office. Here are a few ideas suggested by our employees that show our planet some love during Earth Month (and all year long):
Explore Your Environment
Pick a nearby natural area to explore – in our area, there are many to choose from! Make note of what you observe and how you feel while you’re there. It sounds simple, but appreciation for our Earth starts here!
Sort Household Waste
Earth Month is a great time to try sorting household waste more intentionally. For instance, commit to sorting your organic waste for an entire day or week for an eye-opening look at the organic waste generated by your household. If organic recycling is not offered by your waste hauler, there may be a community group in your area that will recycle it for you.
Donate or Recycle Unwanted Electronics
You might be tempted to throw out your unwanted electronics or leave them in a drawer, but neither option helps the planet. Instead, help eliminate toxic e-waste and divert devices from the landfill by donating them to an organization like Tree of Life where they’ll be safely destroyed or refurbished and passed along to people and organizations who need them.
Conserve Home Energy
There are several ways to conserve energy at home. For instance, opt to do chores the old-fashioned way now and then to avoid using heavy-duty appliances. Or try out home automation, so you can breathe easier when you’ve already left home and remember you accidentally left the AC on.
Conserve at Work
There are meaningful and easy conservation measures that businesses of all sizes can deploy now to make a big difference later. Ideas include installing motion detectors in conference rooms, bathrooms and halls to turn off lights when not in use; community printers set to automatically print on both sides instead of one and encouraging clients to elect electronic billing to reduce paper consumption.
On behalf of the 3100+ Arizona employees at Cox, we wish you a happy Earth Month and hope you will join with us to enjoy and protect our Arizona environment in big and small actions.
Author: Susan Anable is Phoenix Market Vice President for Cox Communications.
