Doing Our Part to be a Sustainable Business

- By Adam Gibson

We are excited to announce we have been awarded the Culver City Sustainable Business Certification from Balanced Approach & the Culver City Government. After spending the last few months going through a checklist of requirements, and getting processes set in place, we have reached our goal!

Being scuba divers, I think all of us can agree the importance of environment protection, and doing your part for improving our waters.  While Bluewater has always taken efforts on limiting our carbon footprint, we felt it vital to step-up our game, and lead by example for all our fellow divers out there. Realizing that we ourselves have a voice that reaches thousands, we were compelled to convert our business from a "go green when you can" to a full fledged eco-certified business, dedicating ourselves to making the world a better place to live in today and in the future. Although this process has taken effort on our part, the commitment to become a socially and environmentally-responsible business has been an exciting and rewarding one.

So what have we done differently?  

Although nothing drastic will be noticed in your own buyer behavior and services, we have made a number of internal changes in order to meet the requirements for being a "sustainable business." We have changed our shipping materials to non-toxic, environmentally friendly products, adjusted our in-store lighting to conserve less energy, are now purchasing recycled papers, kitchen, and office supplies, and have taken efforts to change the way our office (along with surrounding businesses) utilize their power (use of lights, A/C, etc).  We've increased our involvement in the local community and businesses to create a cleaner, safer, and more environmentally aware society, developed our own Sustainable Business Policies, and more!

(*please note we also repurpose shipping materials from manufacturers that's in good condition, so if you receive something that is not eco-friendly material, know that we have reused it for a 0 carbon footprint!*)

What can you do?

For those (absolutely awesome) people that feel the need to do more, check out some helpful tips below to see how you can help make a change. 

• Use energy efficient light bulbs in your home and offices
• Turn off the lights when you're not in a room
• Don't use plastic bags - there are so many fun reusable ones!
• Choose your kitchen supplies wisely, make sure to research online and make sure it's eco-friendly 
• Arrange a work from home day. It saves the use of gas, and reduces air pollution. Lots of companies are trying to 'go green' these days - mention the benefits to your employer!
• Purchase from eco-friendly businesses.  There are plenty available these days, 
• Limit (or eliminate) your utilization of single-use plastics whenever possible
• Use rechargeable batteries - this saves both the environment, and your wallet! Get them here.
• Avoid disposable straws - we've all likely seen by now the haunting videos of straws stuck in sea turtles noses and harming marine life... try either reusable, or compostable straws!
• Personalize gift wrapping - over the holidays the use of wrapping paper, bows, and tags are all an unnecessary addition. Try saving last years paper, buying recycled paper, or try some old newspapers or magazines. My personal favorite is giving fabrics a go, they can still be colorful and you can reuse them each year. There's so many options!
• Keep a reusable water bottle and/or coffee mug handy so you're not purchasing bottled water or disposable cup coffees
• Organize a coast, park, or street side cleanup

The list goes on and on with the various ways you can help our environment, all it takes is a little effort.