Carbon Neutral Herbalism
Like many herbalists in practice, I spent the early months of COVID stocking my pharmacy with anti-viral medicinals, and learning how to become a remote practitioner.
It was clear to me that the need was greater than ever; equipped with many jars of herbs and plenty of time to write formulas, my remote practice quickly took off.
Every week, I rode my bike around town delivering formulas to local patients, and made regular stops at the post office to drop off shipments for those further away. I created systems and tools to support my patients in learning about their meridians, giving themselves acupressure treatments, and using their custom-blended formulas to address fatigue, burn-out, depression, and despair.
I quickly noticed that I was both receiving and sending many shipments every month, and wanted to take steps to minimize my carbon footprint.
As many of you know, my early interest and first career in environmental science (and later work in organic farming) continue to inform my perspective on the role of medicine in our collective ecology. No matter where we live, our bodies and this Earth are home. If we endeavor to be healthy, that goal can’t be separate from the goal of planetary health.
I decided to collaborate with We Are Neutral to conduct a carbon audit for the practice.
Together, we examined the carbon outputs of:
the acupuncture office space
the herbal dispensary space
vehicle travel
shipments of herbal medicine from the distributor to us, and from us to patients
herbal packaging supplies and
acupuncture supplies
The research was informative! And it resulted in a commitment to off-set the annual carbon emissions produced by the practice.
We are now making monthly payments to off-set emissions, and committing to practices that minimize waste and reduce our emissions.
I am pleased to join this organization as a business partner, and as far as we know, the first carbon-neutral acupuncturist and herbalist in Florida. And as of this spring, maybe the first in New York.
Beyond Off-Sets
There are many ways in which our approach to customized herbal formulation is already ahead of the curve ecologically. Because we make each formula for a single person, there is very little waste.
Compare that to mainstream herbalism at the moment: companies create and package products for specific symptom profiles. If unsold, they sit on shelves, reach expiration dates, and get tossed away.
The goals of carbon-neutrality and planetary health are not to-do list tasks. They are ongoing efforts.
In 2021, we continue to lighten our impact on this planet by:
increasing the use of domestically grown herbs
adjusting our order frequency to minimize shipments and
exploring plastic-less options for labels and supplies
Do you have thoughts about waste, carbon, or environmental health? Have resources or suggestions that will support this effort? Please send a note!