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Despite the limitations of the global pandemic last year, our Developing Professionals Group (DPG) created excitement and momentum by holding successful Earth Day 2020 events virtually. This year, Earth Day 2021 is focused on a new theme¡ªDPTree:?Making a positive impact on the environment. ?

DPTree is the DPG network¡¯s initiative celebrating Earth Day by encouraging DPG chapters across Â鶹´«Ã½ to connect with their communities and make a positive impact on the environment through community engagement and education activities, such as cleaning local parks or hosting virtual events on building sustainability awareness. Participating in any capacity, teams underscored the sentiment that no effort is too small when it comes to positively impacting the environment.

Connecting with the community

On April 22, DPG chapters around the world are coming?together to?connect with their communities and make a positive impact on the environment. Several chapters planned volunteering events for Earth Day itself, while others will be making their impact later this month or summer. Some groups even started early in the year, adopting the DPTree theme in educational webinars. In lieu of volunteering, other groups are making monetary donations to community organizations with missions related to sustainability.

One chapter is participating in a local event called Reforest the Bluegrass in which the City of Lexington, Kentucky will be providing trees and locations mapped out for tree planting throughout the city. Following along with our Earth Day campaign¡¯s name itself, this isn¡¯t the only tree-related activity. Several chapters are either participating in locally organized tree planting events, providing staff with seed paper to plant their own trees at home, or supporting local tree planting organizations such as Tree Canada for their DPTree efforts.

Later this week, another team will be volunteering with the expansion of the VINEs Davis Ave Community Garden near our office in Binghamton, New York. Tasks will include putting in new deer fencing, constructing new garden beds, and possibly planting fruit trees. These efforts and more are representative not only of the DPTree initiative, but also of the DPG¡¯s overarching commitment to connect with our communities.

Opportunities for education

While some teams are out in the community, others are making efforts to promote awareness on how we can positively impact the environment. For example, one DPG chapter is hosting a virtual documentary screening and group discussion on an environmentally focused documentary, opening constructive conversation on the impacts we have on the world and how we can be more responsible stewards of the environment.

Another chapter is virtually exploring Vancouver¡¯s iconic Stanley Park. A local Indigenous guide will lead a live tour of the park, highlighting how the local trees and plants of the Pacific Northwest have been harvested for food, medicine, and technology for thousands of years. The guide will share ecological practices, ancient and contemporary history, stories, legends, and Indigenous ways of living.

To connect all DPG chapters with the opportunity to discuss sustainability, the network also organized a feature event. On Earth Day, staff can listen in to our Sustainability Live Event as Carrie Sabin, Vice President of Corporate Sustainability, highlights the 2020 Corporate Sustainability Report and explains why our recent Corporate Knights ranking matters. Nicola Mapelli, DPG Sustainability Lead will also speak about the DPG Sustainability program he will be leading and provide a call-to-action for others in the network to get involved.

Including developing professionals in the big picture

Between the Sustainability Live Event and Â鶹´«Ã½¡¯s pledge to carbon neutrality by 2022, focusing on the DPTree initiative this Earth Day is one way the DPG network helps involve our developing professionals in larger corporate initiatives.

Actively working to combine the energy and innovative minds of our developing professionals with the wisdom and experience of our company leadership, DPG initiatives like DPTree do just that. If sustainability and the environment are topics you¡¯re passionate about, engaging with the DPG is a great way to connect with like-minded people while developing your career at Â鶹´«Ã½.