5 Earth Day Office Activities to Engage Your Team

In the modern workplace, more companies are prioritizing sustainability alongside productivity, and employee preferences are spurring them on. A 2023 Deloitte survey found that more than two–thirds of employees prefer to work for environmentally responsible companies. If your office is moving in a greener direction, engaging in Earth Day office activities is a great way to reinforce that commitment. 

Why Celebrate Earth Day at Work?

Celebrating Earth Day (in fact, all of Earth Month) at work helps teams take action, build awareness, and create lasting eco–friendly habits. It’s an ideal venue considering the average American employee spends 30 percent of their week in the workplace. Plus, environmentally mindful workplaces tend to have more satisfied employees, as demonstrated by a 2024 study. Earth Day office activities encourage collaboration, giving teams a shared sense of purpose while fostering stronger workplace bonds.

If you’re wondering where to start, we’ve got you covered with these creative yet practical ideas. 

1. Start Some Friendly (and Green) Competition

Friendly competition is a great way to get your team engaged and motivated. Incorporating greener habits into their daily routines challenges employees to think more sustainably and have fun. Why not see who can go the longest without using disposable utensils or whether you can collectively reduce the amount of trash collected in the break room each week? Think of some earth–friendly practices you already observe in the office—like biking or carpooling to work—and consider incentivizing them in April to help your team form new habits. 

Keeping track of individual or team progress on a leaderboard can add an extra element of excitement. This may also make for fruitful chats at your weekly meetings about the challenges and rewards of living a more Earth–friendly lifestyle in today’s society. And, of course, small eco–friendly prizes (like a box of farm–fresh fruit) are always a fun motivator. 

2. Host an Office–Wide Sustainability Fair 

Consider inviting representatives from local environmental organizations and sustainable businesses to your office to share their insights with your team as guest speakers. If space allows, you can also host local companies, restaurants, and nonprofits that focus on green living, giving them a platform to educate and inspire. This is also a great opportunity to highlight any eco–friendly vendors your office already partners with. (Here at The FruitGuys, we’re always happy to collaborate with our clients on employee engagement events.) Invite your guests to showcase their green initiatives through brochures, demonstrations, or giveaways.

Hosting a sustainability fair can boost your team’s morale while strengthening their connections to local businesses and nonprofits. Plus, they’ll appreciate that promoting local shopping and eco–conscious behavior aligns perfectly with your sustainability goals.

3. Go Green in the Break Room

Your team likely spends quite a bit of time in the break room, so it’s a great place to start encouraging eco–friendly habits like reducing waste.

“Almost $3,000 of food [purchased annually by the average American family of four] is going to waste,” Anya Obrez, advocacy associate for the Food Waste team at the Natural Resources Defense Council, told The FruitGuys. “I think that reflects on how food is procured and actually eaten in the office. The same kind of day–to–day practices that happen at homes in the kitchen probably also happen at the office level.”

Fortunately, there are several small but impactful Earth Day office activities you can do to reduce both food and packaging waste.

Start a Composting Program

Not only are whole foods better for your team and the planet, but they also make excellent composting materials. Starting a compost program in your office is a great way to reduce food waste and create free, nutrient–dense organic matter for the gardeners on your team or a local community garden.

Swap Out Single–Use Plastics

Single–use plastics are a notorious mainstay in workplace dining culture. Offering reusable or compostable alternatives and shared condiments can go a long way in reducing daily waste. Consider any roadblocks there might be to discourage employees from bringing reusable items. Do you have sufficient space for washing, drying, and storing personal utensils? If you can offer reusable items in the break room instead of plastic ones, even better! 

Choose More Sustainable Snacks

Explore ordering your office snacks from companies that align with your values. The FruitGuys, for example, prioritizes sourcing fruit from small farms, partners with eco–friendly snack brands, and supports farmers with grants for sustainability projects. Give yourself some bonus points if you can incorporate more snack items that don’t involve a surplus of packaging, like fruits and vegetables, or that come in compostable wrappers.

“You want to be making sure that your refusal and redirection of materials is appropriate,” said  Obrez, “so you have specific waste streams like composting as well as recycling while adhering to your local ordinances.”

4. Organize an Office Volunteer Day 

Because our environment is a shared resource, volunteering is a powerful way to make a tangible impact for Earth Month. Not sure what the environmental needs are in your area? Look for volunteer opportunities at local Sierra Club chapters, your state’s The Nature Conservancy office, or a local community garden or Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.

Building these collaborative relationships may also help build morale on your team and even reshape the sustainability landscape in your community.

“Businesses are extremely valuable voices in the sustainability policy change space,” Tucker Barry, chief communications officer for the Illinois Environmental Council, told The FruitGuys. “A lot of times, environmental groups are making the case for how [being eco–friendly] is not only good for people and good for our environment, but it’s good for business too. … It’s a much stronger claim when it’s coming directly from business voices themselves.”

5. Engage Employees in an Earth Day Town Hall

Encouraging long–term sustainability in the workplace works best when employees are actively involved. During Earth Month, consider hosting an in–office town hall–style event where your company’s leadership can share ongoing sustainability initiatives, answer questions, and get feedback from employees. 

This open discussion can cover existing practices happening in and around your workplace, including energy–efficient lighting, comprehensive recycling programs, or incentives for low–carbon commuting. It’s also a great conversation starter to give employees a chance to suggest new ways to reduce the office’s environmental footprint. To make it even more interactive, consider a brainstorming session or even ask employees to vote on the next green initiative you implement.

Incorporating Earth Day office activities into your month will help you create a workplace culture that values sustainability and collective action. Remember, many employees want their offices to be more eco–friendly—so take this opportunity to engage them, inspire them, and make lasting changes that will benefit both the environment and your community.

A correction was made on March 19, 2025: An earlier version of this article stated that almost $3,000 of food purchased annually by the average American is going to waste. That number actually reflects the waste of an average American family of four.