Motivation Can Mean So Much More

by Nancy Marshall, Corporate Marketing Director | May 27th, 2020

Motivation is a word that brings positive vibes to everyone.  Whether it’s on a sports field, in your child’s classroom, or simply something you say to yourself to keep going.  Motivation is the reason one has for acting or behaving in a particular way or for a general desire and willingness to do something.  It keeps us going, it inspires others to create something new, and if we all come together, motivation can bring positive benefits to our community and the world.   

Finding Partners that Motivate Us 

At ClimeCo, we know what motivates us to do what we do every day as a business and individually. We love learning about other companies and what’s motivated them to start their ventures to make a difference in the world.  However, one struggle the environmental movement has always faced is how to motivate billions of people to take the action needed to keep the planet healthy.  Given that our very survival depends on this, you’d think that motivating the right action would be easy, and yet, as the last few decades have proved, getting everyone to take action is difficult. 

Earlier this year, ClimeCo partnered with EarthUp, a company that started in 2018 to help individuals and businesses make their lives on Earth more sustainable.  Stephen Bay, the CEO/founder of EarthUp, has been in energy consulting for the past eight years.  As we talked to him about his company and how we could work together, it became clear to me that Stephen is not only a very motivated individual who has a deep passion to make lives better, but he also has learned to motivate others to do the same.  Although Stephen’s initial goal of entering someone’s home was energy sustainability, he learned time and time again that some people were motivated by saving money, others were motivated by making their homes healthier, and some purely for comfort.  Having understood homeowners’ priorities around cost savings, health and comfort, and how to address them, Stephen and his team further motivated them to make even more positive changes, which in turn made their communities better.  The insight that Stephen took from this was simple: we do not need to have the same motivations in order to work towards aligning goals on combatting climate change.   

With EarthUp Stephen has taken that insight and begun building out software and content powered by the latest science in the psychology of motivation to help drive action on climate even when they are not necessarily trying to help the environment.   

“The biggest impact we can make will come from empowering individuals, not asking them to make sacrifices.”, said Stephen.  Whether it was to be greener, more sustainable, or more energy–efficient – people need to be empowered.  They need help understanding what resources are available in their local area to help them and how to team up with others to expand their efforts.  This is what drove Stephen to create EarthUp, to serve as a tool/resource to help simplify sustainability. 

How it Works 

EarthUp allows employers to measure their employees’ emissions outside of the office.  They offer two paths for users to begin the process to become more sustainable: 

• Individuals can go to Earthup’s website to complete a simple questionnaire to discover their household CO2 footprint and to compare it with that of their neighbors.  It will educate them on what their footprint means, and they can learn about local incentives and rebates that may be available to them.   

• Companies and organizations can help expand their ESG programs so that they can engage their employees and multiply the overall impact of their efforts. 

Partnering Together 

ClimeCo joined EarthUp to offer carbon offsets for the EarthUp platform that provide a positive impact on communities.  ClimeCo also helps EarthUp with supporting local carbon offsetting initiatives by providing state–specific opportunities and expertise.  Along with Earthup’s carbon questionnaire and the ability to offset the user’s footprint, they also offer users the ability to take advantage of other environmental incentives in their area.  This allows them to track their impact beyond their initial activities.   

To learn more about EarthUp and how they can help motivate you to become more sustainable, please click here. 

About the Author

Nancy Marshall is the Corporate Marketing Director at ClimeCo and soon ClimeCoGreen.  She is happily married to her husband for 19 years; they have two daughters and one fur baby.  She is from Maryland but is currently living in Houston, TX.  She loves to go boating and fishing on Lake Livingston, cook and bake (especially at Christmas), and enjoys crafting.