Sustainability at Yelp

Consumers are increasingly looking for more eco-friendly options to spend; Yelp employees are also keenly interested in learning how to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Here’s a selection of events and campaigns we hosted for Earth Day in April and Plastic Free July.

Earth Day Double-Matching Campaign:

We wish to drive real impact by supporting a diverse set of organizations that conserve resources, protect our planet’s biodiversity, respond to climate change, and ensure environmental justice for those most at risk. Throughout April and May 2022, the Yelp Foundation double-matched employee donations to Plastic Pollution Coalition, The Nature Conservancy, The World Wildlife Fund, Climate Emergency Fund, Asian Pacific Environmental Network, and Plant for the Planet. 

Sustainable Investing with Javier Lugo 

We kicked off Earth Month with Javier Lugo, who provided an intro to sustainable investing. Sustainable investing (or socially responsible investing) has a goal of using investment dollars to promote positive societal impact, corporate responsibility, and long-term financial return. Sustainable investing aims to ensure that firms aren’t judged solely on short-term financial gains, but on a broader picture of what and how they contribute to society at large.  

Earth Day Panel

We invited experts to help us better understand the critical environmental issues we’re facing. Amy Sezak, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications, spoke with our guests about each of their group’s work and how we can all live more sustainably. The panel included Samantha Sommer from Upstream, Jennifer Savage from the Surfrider Foundation, Dianna Cohen from the Plastic Pollution Coalition and Jackie Nuñez from The Last Plastic Straw. Check out this recap video to get a few tips from our panelists.

Zero Waste Mindset with Moji Igun

For Plastic Free July, we invited Moji Igun to help us learn how to reduce our plastic consumption. Moji is the founder of Blue Daisi Consulting, which offers accessible support to businesses that want to grow their sustainability practices. During this workshop, Yelp employees learned how to approach the world with a zero waste mindset. Moji acknowledged that this topic can feel overwhelming at first, so it all begins with a strong foundational mindset. She reminded us that change begins within the individual so it can then ripple out and create change within our communities. 

Employee Stories

Last but not least, we asked our employee community what they are doing to live more sustainably. Joanna C. shared her plans to help give back to our beautiful planet, and Allison H. tells us how we can make shopping more sustainable.