Our eco tips post this month deals with terminology. Are you confused about what these “eco friendly” terms you see actually mean? So were we! To clarify, here is a short description which us mere mortals can understand:
Eco Friendly:
This well known word refers to goods and services considered to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment. We have a great list of suppliers on Twitter that I believe are eco friendly in their values and actions.
Green:
You can help the environment by “going green” whenever you make environmentally friendly choices in your everyday life.
Walking instead of driving – have your venue at the same venue to cut down moving between venues and events.
Combining errands into one trip instead of making multiple trips – use the same supplier for as much as possible.
Car pooling (less fuel/pollution) – means more people can drink at the wedding!!!
Using mass transportation (less fuel required per person) – means everyone can drink at the wedding!!
Buying organically grown food (no poisons into the environment) – tasty!
Buying food grown locally (requires less delivery fuel/pollution)
Buying items made from recycled materials – get creative!
Recycling
So basically it means to think about your everyday choices and how they impact the air, water, land, and the future. Then make choices that have the least negative impact or, better yet, choices that make a positive impact.
Carbon Footprint:
The term “carbon footprint” is used to denote the amount of carbon dioxide produced by your daily activities and use of material goods. You wedding will have a carbon footprint, you can’t escape it, but how big the event is, where and when will all influence how big or small that footprint will be.
Carbon Neutral:
You might think that carbon neutral simply means that something does not release any carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This is true to an extent, however, it is too simple a definition. It is possible to release CO2 into the atmosphere and still be carbon neutral, as long as it is balanced by a CO2 reduction elsewhere.
Biofuels are carbon neutral, even though burning them releases CO2. How can this be? Well, the carbon in the biofuel comes from photosynthesis, where CO2 is captured from the atmosphere by a plant and turned into glucose. The glucose can then be turned into more complicated molecules such as sugars, starches, oils and proteins. Sugars and starches can easily be converted into bioethanol, while oils can be converted into biodiesel. Carbon is removed from the atmosphere, stored in plants for a few months, then released when the biofuel is burned. For every gram of CO2 released by burning a biofuel, there was a gram removed from the atmosphere by photosynthesis just a few months ago. This perfect balance is why biofuels are carbon neutral.
So how does this relate to a wedding? Can you actually have a Carbon Neutral wedding? It is true you will create carbon emissions but by recycling/reusing will offset some of it. You can also total up how big a footprint it will be and offset that through cash donations to causes that feed back into the environment. Make sure they are accredited though! Here is one free calculator I found.
Sustainable:
The term, in its environmental usage, refers to the potential longevity of vital human ecological support systems, such as the planet’s climatic system, systems of agriculture, industry, forestry, fisheries and the systems on which they depend.
Re-use:
Is to use an item more than once. This includes conventional re-use where the item is used again for the same function. We have featured a number of companies on here that reuse glass and chinaware and hire them out for multiple events. Check out these companies that have appeared on previous blogs.
Recycle:
Recycling means taking materials from products that you have finished using and making brand new items from them.
Organic:
Organically grown food is a term that relates to food that is grown on a certain kind of farm using methods of production that care for the soil and the environment. Food that is further processed is done so under guidelines that ensure minimal chance of contamination and deterioration in food quality.
These are the sort of companies that supply great organic produce for weddings.
The Organic Wedding Cake Company
I hope that this blog has helped point you in the right direction and given you some ideas of companies to use. Happy Green Wedding planning!