A - Act locally

Look for local businesses, farms, causes and shelters in your neighborhood to reduce energy and global resource consumption, promote community and grow circular economies.

B - Belonging

Nurture a sense of belonging in your body, your homes, your work, your community and the environment to foster humane connections more easily.

C - Circular Economy

Distribution of wealth and resources to benefit the community and genuinely grow the resources, both human and ecological, without a sense of obligation is important for sustainable growth.

D - Development

Growth and development must be constant at a grass root and company level to ensure there is room for research and implementation of humane products and services.

E - Educate Yourself

Look within to find gaps in our understanding of the community and world and educate yourself constantly to be more humane towards each other and nature.

F - Fashion and Consumerism

Slow fashion is not only a trend and movement but a way of life breaking out of just the clothing industry to enter our minds consciously every time we purchase anything. Ask - do I need this or do I want this?

G - Give Out Resources and Information

Fostering humanity and humane behaviour begins with divulging information, sharing resources, brainstorming ideas and growing together.

H - Health and Safety

Ensuring the health and safety of ourselves, our family, our workers, our employees, our dependants and each member of the community is indispensable not only to being more humane but to achieving any modicum of growth.

I - Intentions

Our intentions towards each other and the environment must be rooted in truth, because if we're beginning a process not for betterment and growth but for profit, we are bound to lose our way in the middle. Keeping a clear conscience and communicating the same with others is of the utmost importance.

J - Joy In Our Daily Lives

Cultivating and nurturing joy in our daily lives so that it encompasses not just happiness and beauty but also gratitude, servitude, challenges, mindfulness and all emotions that make us humane.

K - Keep At It

The journey of growth is not about perfection but rather consistency. We will falter, we will stray from our centre but our purpose is to always come back and continue on without stopping.

L - Longevity

Design and consume products and processes that are meant to last so that waste accumulation is at a minimum. Remember your parents saying they've been using the same mobile or car or garment for years because they took care of it and respected it? Bingo, for that's the same ideology that drives sustainability.

M - Mental Health

Practice kindness, mindfulness, energy consumption, ripple effect of words and actions because positive mental health is the foundation of being humane towards ourselves, the community and the environment.

N - Nurturing Environment

Creating an environment at each step (within ourselves, our homes, schools, industries, workplaces etc) where one can question, understand, implement and grow without fear of reprimand at failure is important for humane connection.

O - Organizational Awareness

Most of us function within an organization whether it's your workplace, your industries or your society. Understanding the core values, methods and ethos of your organization and ensuring that your processes are aligned towards the development of your community and environment is essential.

P - Practice Forgiveness

The art of forgiveness and letting go is the first step of being more humane. Joyce Marter, LCPC, notes, "If for no other reason than for yourself, forgive to untether yourself from the negative experiences of the past.” Take time to meditate, and give thanks for the wisdom and knowledge gained from your suffering.

Q - Question Everything

The first step to being more humane and sustainable is to question everything. From marketing to economics to consumption to entertainment, asking “why is this important, who made the rules, how can I do better” is the key.

R - Resource Consumption

Nature and humanity provides us with finite resources that are quickly depleting, as is no surprise. Climate change is real. This leads us to the most important first step in protecting and nourishing the environment - reducing our resource consumption in every individual way and at an organisational level.

S - Sustainability

Whether it's living in a way that reduces your carbon footprint, consuming more mindfully, not adding to the landfills, promoting kindness and humanity, not giving up growth at an individual level or even just striving to eat more mindfully, all encompass living sustainably.

T - Think Twice Before Consuming

Marketing and advertising has ingrained the belief that your life isn't complete without luxuries that you may have never even heard of. We've been told that material possessions make us successful. However, in a world where housing is now being built on top of mountain-like landfills, asking yourself before every purchase whether big or small, is essential. Can you do without a car that consumed oil and gas at an alarming rate? Do you need six pairs of jeans?

U - Use Your Voice

Being humane towards each other and nature begins with using your voice. Educate and share information with those who do not have access to the same resources as you, creating a ripple effect of growth. Speak out against injustices, speak out with better ideas, speak with kindness to one other.

V - Virtue and Mindfulness

When you get to the point when you're feeling highly motivated towards keeping your virtue, you will discover how beautiful human connection can be. Perfection isn't the goal but striving to be mindful in our actions, our words, our consumption, our nourishment is. As Alan Watts noted, “It takes mindfulness and virtue to come to a fortunate human life”

W - Wastage and Landfills

Arguably, the biggest challenge faced by humanity due to excess consumption is waste produced. From plastic bags that don't decompose, to discarded clothes and appliances making man-made mountains in landfills and the air quality index constantly declining due to pollution, managing our waste has become one of the first steps in environmental sustainability.

X - Extinction Due To Diets

Take extinction off your plate notes “Wild animals suffer not only the collateral damage of meat-related deforestation, drought, pollution and climate change, but also direct targeting by the meat industry”. Meat production is the leading source of water use and water pollution even in drought ridden countries leading to 40% increase in habitats and wetlands destruction.

Y - Your Rights and Responsibilities

Ask and educate yourself about your rights and responsibilities within your society and your work. Enforcing your rights as a citizen and as an employee creates an environment of responsible and ethical distribution, consumption and connection. What are you owed and what can you foster?

Z - Zero Waste

Living a life at a grass root level and at an organisational level that promotes zero waste is imperial to humanity and sustainability. While organisations and industries must focus on implementing and researching processes that do not use finite resources such as water and oil, and producing as low an industrial waste number as possible, we must also practice zero waste as an individual and home level when it comes to plastic use and trend focused consumption. Segregation of our waste, composting, upcycling and recycling are some of the many ways we can begin a life of zero waste.