Here’s how Adobe employees celebrate Earth Month all year long

Here's how Adobe employees celebrate Earth Month all year long

At Adobe, people are our greatest asset. Our employees across 28 countries bring our mission to life, working together to create change in the communities where they live and work. Every year, Adobe employees dedicate countless volunteer hours to protecting and preserving the planet, both at work and beyond. So, on behalf of Earth Month in April, we checked in with a few dedicated environmentalists to find out what motivates them, learn about the amazing work they've been doing, and hear how it all connects to Adobe's commitment to sustainability.

Serena Zhao

Serena Zhao, principal program manager, at Adobe North America, is a committed environmental advocate at work, where she helps raise awareness of sustainable lifestyles through talks and events. But advocacy is also a huge part of her life outside of work - among her many volunteer gigs, she's a member of the board for Carbon Free Silicon Valley, a grassroots environmental advocacy group, and she's a sustainability merit badge counselor for her children's Boy Scout troop.

"As a mother, I take climate action because I want my kids, and all children around the world, to know a world that is healthy and full of wonder," says Zhao. "I've participated in a die-in, marched in the Bay Area climate protest in 2018 (the largest ever climate march on the US West Coast), and written letters with the Environmental Voter Project. I joined the civic hour of action with Climate Changemakers, which allowed me to build my personal advocacy muscles. Now I feel that we do have an impact on policy and fighting for systemic change. And this has led me to engage even more with my local, city, and state representatives on climate issues."

Pert Eilers

Like Zhao, Pert Eilers, group program manager, Adobe North America, is committed to environmental causes at work and beyond. She's the Sustainability Champion in the Adobe Lehi office, where she's done everything from organizing author readings to putting up a kestrel nesting box and sharing how the office turns food waste into renewable energy.

Eilers' passion for the environment began when she was in high school in a small logging town. As people argued about the rights of the spotted owl versus the livelihoods of the loggers, Eilers knew there had to be a way to protect both. She went on to earn a master's degree in environment communication, and now volunteers as a docent at the local botanical garden, as well as an ambassador for Utah Open Lands, and a board member for two environmental non-profits. She does hands-on work through citizen science projects, including monitoring local water quality and counting birds with a conservation team, and she recently earned her Utah Master Naturalist certificate.

"The common theme of my environmental work, I think, is that all of these organizations focus on acting locally to help people learn to love and value the natural world around them. I try to meet people where they are, whether that's a walk in a garden, by a bird feeder in their backyard, or a hike in the canyons, and share my love of nature. I want people to know that decisions as simple as what we plant in our gardens can affect everything from native bees to saving the Great Salt Lake," explains Eilers.

Srikar Saddapalli

Srikar Saddapalli, applied data and analytics product lead, Adobe North America, started thinking deeply about his environmental impact when he attended a talk about how long it takes plastics to degrade. After that, he toured a waste facility to see the impacts first-hand, and he began noticing that all of the items in his grocery cart came wrapped in plastic, and then everything came home in plastic bags on top of that. He made some rough calculations about how it all adds up when you consider each household.

"The realization dawned on me about the damage caused by humans (including me). I wanted to make a difference, so I went to two jute manufacturers in Calcutta, India and exported jute bags to two grocery stores in the San Francisco Bay area," says Saddapalli. "This served two purposes: we indirectly provided employment to the laborers at the manufacturer, and we helped the environment by selling the bags to two big markets. From there, we took our own jute bags when we shopped, and started spreading the awareness to friends and family."

Saddapalli has also jumped into sustainability initiatives at Adobe, including organizing a tour of the Sunnyvale recycling center to help teach people about sustainable practices, raising awareness about the use of plastic and Styrofoam cups in the office, championing a switch to compostable utensils, and helping during a clean-up day at the Guadalupe River.

Prachi Garg

Prachi Garg, senior program manager, Document Cloud, Adobe India, has always been a nature lover and, like Saddapalli, she helps to rally her co-workers behind environmental causes. Garg is the Adobe Noida Community Impact lead, where she helps organize events around sustainability. She's also committed to eco-friendly practices at home, and dedicates time to community projects like Save Soil, an organization focused on reforestation and wildlife habitat restoration.

"For me, caring for the environment is not only about reducing carbon footprints. It starts with fostering a mindset of responsibility and mindfulness in everything we do for co-existence with nature. This aligns directly with Adobe's commitment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility," explains Garg. "Personally, helping the environment resonates with my values of integrity, accountability, and making a difference. It's about being a responsible global citizen and leaving a better world for future generations."

Want to know how Adobe is leading in corporate sustainability? Learn about our product and operational sustainability initiatives and our policy advocacy here.

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