Every year we celebrate Earth Day on April 22, but there are many daily efforts we can participate in year-round to promote more sustainable, Earth-saving behaviors. It can often feel like an impossible and heavy burden to make instant changes and to save the Earth right this moment. Just as in transitioning personal habits towards using healthier, cleaner products or food takes time, so do our efforts in contributing to a healthier Earth.

It’s not unusual for different areas of a company to embrace sustainability at different levels. The key, says Procter & Gamble’s Virginie Helias, is to understand the reasons why and the challenges of bringing everyone up to the same standard of commitment and engagement.

Messes are the markers of life, and in the warm weeks following summertime, life abounds. Children are off to school and there’s farmer’s markets, weekend yard-sales and concerts. Long summer days going into cooler autumn afternoons mean a lot of outside living. The food and drink on the tables we gather around find their way into our laps, brushed off on our jeans and wiped off surfaces, hands and faces. The clothes and fabrics we live in are part of these messes, so laundry loads multiply. Changing out linens and curtains for the season, cleaning out suitcases of traveled clothes and bathing beach towels are symptoms of staying clean and cool when life heats up. And through it can be a chore, it is satisfying knowing that fresh laundry is waiting for you.

Creating green opportunities can drive value for brands. The current recycling infrastructure considers certain items “highly recyclable.” As it stands, recycling makes economic sense for aluminum, steel, paper, and certain plastics such as #2 (HDPE) and #5 (PP). These materials can be collected in high volumes, processed at relatively low cost, and then brought back to market for a profit. Thus, they are often top on mind for consumers as far as recyclable items go. However, a recent report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation found that most plastic packaging is used only once; 95% of the value of plastic packaging material, worth $80 billion-$120 billion annually, is lost to the economy after a short first use. Of the more than 300 million tons of new, virgin plastic produced globally per year, it is estimated that up to 129 million tons (43 percent) of the plastic used is disposed of in landfills.

Messes are the markers of life, and in the summertime, life abounds. Children are home from school and there are farmer’s markets, weekend yard-sales and concerts. We travel, picnic in the park and look for the closest body of water to cool off in. Long summer days mean a lot of outside living. The food and drink on the tables we gather around find their way into our laps, brushed off on our jeans and wiped off surfaces, hands and faces.