Celebrating Earth Day, Internationally!

At XE, we work hard to power international lives. In my view, caring for our customers and users around the world is what we do best.

Today is Earth Day, a day to celebrate the wonderful planet we all share. In the wise words of novelist and environmental activist Wendell Berry, “The Earth is what we all have in common.”

What does a foreign exchange broker have to do with environmental activism, you ask, even on Earth Day? When you transfer money electronically, you aren't printing cheques and sending them via international couriers, which contributes heavily to carbon dioxide emissions in our environment.

Without Mother Nature, how would we have built the incredible architecture that attracts us to places like Italy or Egypt - or what about the beautiful waterfalls of Costa Rica or Venezuela? Whether you're a nature-nerd like myself, or a history buff who travels far to monuments and structures built centuries ago - the attractive resources of the world would not be possible without our beloved planet. It's well worth preserving the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the soil beneath our feet.

My Life as an XE Environmental Advocate and Activist

From the beginning, XE has encouraged sustainability practices around the office when it all began in Canada 25 years ago. Tapping into the green energy grid with over 10 years of supporting Bullfrog Power and setting up a local compost service through WasteNot Farms has made me proud to work for a company like XE.

Over the years I have:

• Organized and led a community litter clean up event with my co-workers

• Arranged a Lunch and Learn event from a local water conservation group

• Introduced a straw-ban challenge within the office (inspired by this hilarious “Stop Sucking!” video by )

• Educated my colleagues on ways to divert food and container waste from landfill into compost and recycling

I am proud to be an ambassador for environmental causes in the Newmarket office. The people I work with are very receptive to green ideas and initiatives. The best part about being a sustainability leader is that we can make an impact through our actions no matter where we are in the world!

When Everyone Contributes a Little, it Helps a Lot

You might ask, how can a foreign currency exchange broker be an environmental sustainability leader? Well, every effort we make to conserve energy, reduce water consumption, use less paper and encourage employees to minimize their carbon footprint really counts, even a little. Even if we can't completely reverse the effects of global warming, we like to think we can lessen the impact for future generations of XE clients, employees, and their families and friends.

We plan on providing online money transfer services for generations to come, while making the world a better place for living international lives. It's great be part of a company which doesn't just say they care about the environment, XE practices what we preach.

Our employees often practice the environmentally-friendly behaviors at home that they learn at work. Online money transfer also means our customers don't use paper cheques, and they don't have to drive to their bank and release more car pollution into the atmosphere.

To celebrate Earth Day this year, we challenged our offices to help gather litter in the community which accumulated over the long, windy winter. It's a small contribution to removing litter in a time where we can easily get caught up in the day-to-day routines of going to work and taking care of our families.

Join us on our community cleanup journey today, wherever you are on the planet - something that we aim to continue not just today on Earth Day, but every day!

Team XE Newmarket and Team XE Austin get outside for Earth Day to pick up litter around our neighborhoods!
Samantha Davies graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with a degree in Environmental Studies. She is XE's Social Media Marketing Specialist, based in our Newmarket, Canada office. She is an activist and advocate for the causes of sustainability, conservation and environmental preservation. Samantha has participated in many events and groups focused on environmental stewardship.

Follow Samantha's posts from our XE channels on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to see how we are championing the planet, and facilitating international lives.