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Deborah Chu

Turning Pawpoints into action: Who should we volunteer with?

2 min Read
Woman helping a girl plant a sapling.

Over the years, you guys have voted on how we split our monthly charitable donation with your hard earned Pawpoints. Through this system, you’ve supported some incredible projects that are working on-the-ground to combat the climate crisis, from educational initiatives such as Apps for Good, to renewable energy programmes like SolarAid. Well done you!

This quarter, however, we’re changing things up a bit. Instead of donating money, us Pawprint employees will be donating our time to an environmental cause of your choice. 

Why the shake-up?

We know you love the Pawpoints system, and so do we! We promise that our monthly charitable donations aren’t going anywhere. 

However, we wanted to use this quarter to highlight the importance of showing up for what you believe in.

This isn’t to say that financially supporting eco-causes isn’t important—it absolutely is! But taking action is also one of the most potent and profound ways for us to express our political power. When we visibly demonstrate our commitment and push for a better world, we can affect systemic change. 

Also, volunteering is a great way to get first-hand experience of the issues that we’re championing! We’re constantly researching and talking about sustainability here at Pawprint, but there’s a lot that we can only learn from actually rolling up our sleeves and doing it. Armed with new insight, we’ll become better eco-champions, and make a better Pawprint for you all! 

How is this going to work?

Instead of making our usual £1,000 monthly donation, Pawprinters will be donating two days to two different environmental initiatives before the end of the year. 

Starting from 1 April, we’ll be running two voting rounds—each round will last six weeks, and will feature three different environmental causes. You’ll be able to spend your Pawpoints as normal on the cause of your choice. 

At the end of each round, once we’ve determined which cause has won the most votes, we’ll find a charity that aligns with that mission to volunteer with!

Find out more

Which causes will you be highlighting?

For our first voting round, we’ll be putting the spotlight on rewilding, reducing waste and supporting climate refugees. 

Rewilding

Wildlife everywhere is in dangerous decline. Human activity has caused global wildlife populations to plunge by 69% over the past 50 years, leading to what experts are calling a ‘sixth mass extinction.’ 

A flourishing natural world depends on wild species. Without them, the ecological processes that underpin all life on earth—which provide us with the food we eat and the air we breathe—are at risk of collapse. 

Rewilding initiatives restore ecosystems so that natural processes and habitats can once again thrive on their own. Examples of rewilding projects include reintroducing missing species, such as the return of beavers to Scotland; ring-fencing areas of land to let nature do its own thing; and restoring marine ecosystems, like planting seagrass. 

Rewilding is also critical in helping us combat climate change, as healthy, biodiverse habitats naturally store more carbon and remove CO2e from the atmosphere! 

Reducing waste

Every year, we produce millions of tonnes of waste—less than 20% of which is recycled. The vast majority ends up in landfill sites, which pollute our environment and create greenhouse gases. 

Though better recycling and waste management systems are necessary towards tackling our waste problem, the best way to reduce waste is to prevent it from being created in the first place. For instance, food sharing programmes that make sure unwanted meals and ingredients end up in mouths, not in landfills; or repairing electronics to extend their lifespan. 

Being smarter and more creative with what we’ve got also pushes us towards a more circular, sustainable economy! A circular economy is one that prioritises the reuse and repair of our products—meaning our stuff is better made, our impact on the environment is reduced, and our economy is more resilient. 

Supporting climate refugees

According to the UN, approximately 21 million people around the world are displaced due to climate-related events every year. As the impacts of the climate crisis worsen, it’s predicted that this number will rise to 1 billion by 2050.

While the majority of climate refugees are from the Global South, the Global North is not exempt. For instance, after the Welsh village of Fairbourne was ‘decommissioned’ due to the threat of sea level rise, its 700 residents became considered the UK’s first climate refugees. Today, those living in coastal areas are at high risk of sea level rise number among 260 million. 

Unfortunately, most climate refugees do not fall under the legal definition of refugees as set out in the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. Because of this, many find it difficult to access legal protections. By supporting refugees, we’re helping those most vulnerable in this crisis, and building a more robust network of aid to protect those affected in the future. 

Have an eco-cause you feel passionate about?

As ever, we'd love to get some input from you all! Head to the Pawpoints page and click the link at the bottom that says 'Suggest ideas for Pawpoints,' and let us know which environmental cause we should feature in our second round of voting.

Find out more