World Environment Day is just around the corner. This special day, which is celebrated every year on June 5, helps raise global awareness about the need to always think about the environment and how our personal and work lives impact it.

According to Stephen Ashkin, president of The Ashkin Group and CEO of Sustainability Dashboard Tools, World Environment Day was started in 1972 and is sponsored each year by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). Similar to Earth Day, which is celebrated each April, World Environment Day was specially designed by the United Nations (U.N.) to stimulate worldwide awareness of the environment and enhance political attention and action to protect it.
 
Each year, World Environment Day follows a different theme.  For 2013, the theme is “Reduce Your Foodprint” and focuses primarily on encouraging people and countries to minimize food waste and food loss.
 
In many countries around the world, Ashkin says, World Environment Day is often celebrated with rallies, parades, concerts, tree plantings, and cleanup campaigns. Historically, the observance has also provided the U.N. and countries around the world with an opportunity to sign or ratify international agreements that help protect the environment.
 
“We are getting to the point in many parts of the world where World Environment Day is honored every day,” says Ashkin.  “It is becoming part of our culture and we see more and more businesses, industries, and individuals question how their actions today will impact the environment in the future.”