In September 2012 I started the Better the World Traineeship. For this program me and 7 other young professionals founded The Footprint Challenge. We started looking for people who weren’t afraid to accept a challenge and who were willing to try to reduce their ecological footprint within 40 days and contribute to a better and greener world. On 1 January 2013 we kicked off The Footprint Challenge with over 900 participants! Every week one of us founders shared their own experiences in a blog, and here you can read mine…
“Every journey starts with a single step” – Confucius
Okay, so here I am. Wearing this crazy thick woolen vest, a serious scarf, and my feet are nested in warm, cozy slippers. Watching my favorite TV show. And, yes, the thermostat at a maximum of 17 degrees. Niiiiice! Had I mentioned that snow storm outside? But we’re not complaining at all, since we’re doing pretty great at this ecological footprint reducing! Four months ago I had no idea I was going to say this so so very often: ecological footprint. The Footprint Challenge. The responses within my social network are, let’s say, diverse. “Oh, here she goes again, that do-gooder”. I know, I know, my dear family and friends, this talk about that footprint is getting pretty annoying, right? But you know what… It is kinda cool that a big part of them is experiencing how freaking easy it is to green up your life. My man who’s being a goody by cooking with the lid on the pot ánd who bought a sustainable Christmas tree. My sister who only has one light on at a time and who stuck a post-it with green advice on her fridge. My dad who is buying his vegetables locally and in season (right, dad?). My mom who leaves her car parked at home more often. My brother who at least tries to take shorter showers (right, bro?), And then we have all those other people who share their cool, funny and exciting experiences with us on Facebook & Twitter. In only four months we have managed to motivate and inspire quite a lot of people who are trying to treat Mother Nature with more care. So maybe I actually did better our world, just a little bit… COOL.
