CleanMyMac’s 8-step formula to sustainable living

Once in a while, here at CleanMyMac, we pick an apocalyptical movie to watch and get into the mood of meditating on humanity’s end-of-the-world scenario…

Will climate change cause a disaster like global cooling or the new ice age mirroring The Day After Tomorrow?

Or perhaps, humanity will destroy the natural world, and trash will occupy the Earth like in the brilliant Pixar sci-fi film, Wall-E?

Or what if technologies will come to life, and AI-empowered machines will take over just like in The Mitchells vs. the Machines?

To be honest, it probably won’t have anything to do with environmental disaster, climate change, wildlife extinction, poverty or hunger intensification, or deadly disease infection.

Okay, one of those might be the visible cause. But at the end of the day, we all know it will be us (humans) if we keep acting irresponsibly and mindlessly toward the environment we were supposed to sustain for generations to come.

What is sustainability, and why should we even care?

For nerdy dictionary fans who like to define words we use daily, here’s what sustainability means according to McGill University:

Now, let’s look at the Cambridge Dictionary definition:

Sustainability is the idea that goods and services should be produced in ways that do not use resources that cannot be replaced and that do not damage the environment.

If we just look at those two sentences, we should already see the silver lining here:

So, back to the question: Why should we care about the next generations?

The answer is simple: building a healthy society is impossible without thinking about the future. If we want to live in a flourishing community, we ought to take responsibility and stretch our minds to think far ahead (though in today’s unpredictable reality with COVID, economic crisis, and rising political tension, it feels impossible).

Now, what can we as individuals do about it? How do we preserve life on Earth?

The answer we found was “taking little actions,” like cultivating go-green habits and making tiny shifts in our lifestyle to be more sustainable. That’s how we can make a positive impact on our environment. Please keep reading to know how we do it.

How we do sustainability at CleanMyMac

We perceive our lives as dual, unconsciously dividing them into personal and work life (or work & life, we all like to use the “work-life balance” term, don’t we?). Let’s apply the same rule to make information more digestible: break down workplace sustainability and individual sustainable lifestyle practices.

Green is the new black: creating an environmentally friendly workplace

Creating a green office and Go Green culture takes effort, time, and planning. But when the environment is well set and easy-to-follow systems are in place, you find pleasure in knowing that you’re “doing good” while working. At CleanMyMac, we didn’t stop at simply creating a sustainable office space. Our goal was to create an environment that encourages us to practice sustainability regularly. And I’m proud to say that it worked!

Here’s the blueprint on how we went from being non-eco-friendly to going clean & green ♻️ (feel free to use it 😉).

Implement energy-efficient & energy-saving technologies

Let’s start with necessities like water and light. Our office was designed to utilize natural light as much as possible. We also used LED strips in our office lighting since they consume less energy. When we asked our maintenance technician how we dispose of them, he told us that they have never stopped working. Not bad, ha?

What’s more, our offices are equipped with motion sensors, so the light is turned on only when needed. It is the same with ventilation and water: the first works in eco mode, and the second is activated by the movement of the hands.

Recycle, pause, and recycle again

Recycling should be an office culture. When I say it should be the culture, I mean it! Once, at the hackathon, our team came up with the idea to develop the Sortui app. The tablet with the application is located near every sorting station, so everyone can effortlessly sort their garbage. We have separate containers for paper, plastic, glass, metal, batteries, and even disposable electronic cigarettes. It’s all being stored in the warehouse until the recycling specialists come to dispose of it.

And since we’re a tech company, we don’t forget about device recycling. There are several options for what our team members can do with their old equipment: donate it to charity when there is a request for that in our local community, sell it to their coworkers’ children, parents, or for personal needs. It can also be sold for parts to give new life to one’s broken devices.

There is no more to say here except that sorting garbage is a golden rule at CleanMyMac. Period.

Abandon plastic and stop killing the trees

By eliminating plastic as much as possible, we help save the environment more than we realize. At CleanMyMac, we abandoned plastic for good. No single-use cups or plates (we think it’s more enjoyable to eat from reusable kitchenware and drink coffee from your favorite mug).

This would also be a good time to mention that businesses waste way too much paper. It’s okay with essential documents that must be printed and signed, but you’ve got your laptops for the rest. Why waste paper killing the trees that give us precious oxygen?

Green up the office and let the pet friends in

CleanMyMac office is pet-friendly and filled with plants and other greenery. It’s not just aesthetically pleasing to the eyes but also great for our health, particularly our furry friends :)

Switch to bikes and e-scooters

Lastly, we have bicycle rental in our office for everyone who wishes to switch from high-emission cars to a more sustainable transportation mode.

Indeed there are much more sustainability drills to consider in our work environment, but it’s always wiser to take one step at a time: baby steps, pals, baby steps!

CleanMyMac’s 8 baby steps to start living more sustainably today

Regardless of focusing your company on nurturing sustainability or not, as individuals, we can always take the matter into our own hands. Living a sustainable lifestyle is the same as creating healthy eating habits—all it takes are discipline and commitment.

Thus, our CleanMyMac team created this 8 Baby Steps infographic for everyone who wants to join us and the #GoGreen movement and save the planet.

Bottom line: The society we live in is our responsibility, and the future depends on small actions each of us takes. So let’s not sit this one out! But together with our CleanMyMac team, make a little effort to live more sustainably today to make this world a better place, one baby step at a time.