I read a great article this morning at OutdoorEd.com that really challenged me in my pursuit of sustainable practices. The article also has links to worksheets to help you conduct your own sustainability calculations.

This article and the formulas will help any outdoor enthusiast to improve their Leave No Trace (LNT) practices.

Check out the article in full: Sustainability and Leave No Trace

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As outdoor enthusiasts, many of us are concerned with our carbon footprints. Have you ever considered what the carbon footprint is of your beverages of choice (beer, wine, etc.)? I read an interesting article at grist.com that discussed this very thing. You should read the entire article.

The results surprised me. The footprint of the production of the beer and wine is minimal. However what creates the greatest footprint is how you travel to obtain the beer and wine. Do you drive far to purchase it? Do you purchase beer imported from far away? Then consider purchasing local brews and local wines that can be purchased at nearby grocery stores.

Just an interesting thought!

OutdoorEd.com had a great post on their blog, written by Rick Curtis. 

In it, Rick discusses how through involvement with the University that houses his program, he and his student leadership team spent months making their business and their operations more sustainable. The things they did included establishing better re-use habits when on the trail, establishing better recycling programs in their day to day use of resources, and analyzing what type of equipment they purchase, where it comes from, what it is made of and the manufacturing process, just to name a few. All in all, they developed a more sustainable program, which ultimately will contribute to the health of the environment and the effectiveness of their program. 

As I reflected on this, I began to think about how Ascent Adventure Consultants could become a more sustainable program, as well as how Ascent Adventure Consultants could be more involved in the community to help the community as a whole become more sustainable. What an honor it would be to be involved in making our community a better place to live. I would love to hear your opinions and thoughts on ways we can do this together as a community.

To give you some ideas of what we will be doing as a company, you can refer to the Princeton University Sustainability Manual.