By Susan Anable - Cox vice president and market leader
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 the company does. In fact, it’s why we’ve invested more than $100 million in sustainability and conservation projects since 2007. It’s part of a global environmental mission we work toward with local actions. The company puts goals into action at work and in our community by partnering with hard working organizations making a positive impact on the environment in Arizona.
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 and are on track to meet the aggressive goals. In fact, to get our operations to carbon neutral, Cox recently became the first Arizona Public Service commercial business customer in APS’s Green Power Partners Program. Purchasing solar renewable energy from APS will dramatically reduce the reliance on fossil fuels to run 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 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 has 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.
Cox employees volunteer 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 and 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.
Explore the environment
Pick a nearby natural area to explore — in our area, there are many to choose from. Make observations and take note.
Sort household waste
Earth Month is a great time to try sorting household waste more intentionally. For instance, commit to sorting organic waste for an entire day or week for an eye-opening look at the organic waste generated by a household. If organic recycling is not offered, there may be a community group that will recycle it.
Donate or recycle unwanted electronics
Throwing out unwanted electronics or leaving them in a drawer are good options to help the planet. Instead, help eliminate toxic e-waste and divert devices from the landfill by donating 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 in case the air conditioning accidentally gets left on when no one is home.
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 3,100-plus Arizona employees at Cox, happy Earth Month and enjoy and protect Arizona’s environment in big and small actions.
We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
