Delaware North locations around the globe went all out for Earth Day this year, serving their communities by hosting and participating in cleanup events, tree plantings, vendor fairs and more.

At Delaware North’s global headquarters in Buffalo, N.Y., the company took a different approach. Associates were asked to participate in two campaigns in support of the Delaware North’s proprietary stewardship program, GreenPath.

The first was “Random Acts of Green,” in which associates were asked to share their favorite GreenPath tip. Trees were placed on each floor, and associates were given paper leaves on which to write their tip and hang it on the tree.

 As part of Earth Day activities at the global headquarters, associates wrote “green tips” and placed them on trees throughout the office.

 

 

The other was “The Last Straw,” a one-day version of the campaign that Delaware North has rolled out in several of its operating locations. The Friday before Earth Day, all of the disposable dishware items (plastic utensils, plates, cups, lids, straws, etc.) were removed from the communal kitchens and coffee bars, and associates were asked to bring in their own reusable dishware for a day.

The results of both campaigns have been compiled and analyzed, and have produced illuminating results. The one-day Last Straw campaign saved 250 paper plates and 325 disposable cups, meaning that if the company took away those products for a full year, it would save more than 62,000 plates and 81,000 cups – or $14,000 worth of disposables from going to the landfill.

The Random Acts of Green campaign yielded more than 200 GreenPath tips. “Reduce & Reuse” was the most popular category, with 37 percent of tips falling under that classification, followed by energy conservation (23 percent) and recycling (14 percent).

You can view the full aggregated data and infographics here.