A Green Year In Review: 2010 Personal Green Goals

Banker Appropriate Fair Trade Earrings

It's that time of year again. Time to look back once last time to evaluate your progress in achieving those milestones that you set for yourself. Here are my 2010 green goals and my scorecard of achievement:

1. Take the bus to work once a week. Nope. Maybe $5 gallon gas will do the trick.
2. 20% clothing purchases from thrift, 20% fair trade or organic. I definitely achieved this goal for my casual clothing purchases, but didn't do such a great job for work related clothing items. Now that I'm in a less formal work environment, this should be easier to achieve. I have also found some nice work related options from an awesome fair trade store called Revive. The good news is that there are more fair trade shopping options available and more traditional fashion sites are offering vintage options. Check out http://www.freepeople.com/ and Modcloth to see for yourself.
3. Obtain LEED Accreditation. Decided against this one for now, too narrowly focused (green buildings), though the LEED for Neighborhoods is interesting. I'm going to investigate some certifications in other sustainable areas, such as business operations or urban agriculture, given my passions for entrepreneurship and gardening.
4. Green renovations for the bathroom. No. Unexpected auto maintenance expenses, nixed this one, but I'm hopeful for this year! Any ideas?
5. Energy Star appliances. See number four.
6. Apply permaculture principles to the garden. Of course! This was easy. My broccoli  and arugula didn't fare so well, but my curbside figs were awesome. This year, I should see the first harvest from the blackberry vine I planted. Pie anyone?
7. Host green events. I did incorporate a green business panel discussion for the Women's Economic Development Trade Show I co-chaired. It was very well received.
8. Promote Power of Place Based Education Principles. Got the ball rolling. Introduced the concept to our local US Green Building Council Green Schools Action Circle. Would like to expand upon this in 2011.
9. Act as a green coach to an African American business. Yes, Though one could say it was more about providing marketing coaching to a green business. A friend of mine launched the Summerville Farmers Market in Cincinnati's Avondale neighborhood last year. She did okay, but didn't start working on getting farmers until June, which is way too late. She needs to start looking for farmers, right...about...now. I suggested that she work with her local chapter of the Urban League to help her put together a solid business plan. I'm also going to suggest that she develop an internship program, so that she can get some help from local able bodied college students pursuing sustainable agriculture, marketing or urban planning degrees.
10. Make Five Green Business Presentations. 20% hit ratio on that one, but based on the number of green businesses I encounter in my new profession, our folks are keen on sustainable enterprise. I decided to concentrate my efforts on finding a new career, but God blessed me with a two-fer! How amazing is that?!

So, while I didn't hit all of my milestones, I did meet many of the key goals that I set and built a path towards even greater green successes in 2011. How did you do with your green goals for 2010? What were your obstacles, motivators? What are your green goals for 2011? I haven't finalized mine yet, but you will be the first to know, when I have them.

Happy New Year!