Social impact is often thought of as having this grand idea that must eradicate a major issue in the world or else it’s useless. Having a major mission and vision is amazing, but it also often derails many people who really want to get started in either social entrepreneurship, social enterprise or even beginning their footprint in making a positive social impact.

Making a difference towards long-term societal issues does not happen overnight, however, taking small steps every single day end up making a major impact in the long run.

The United Nations in 2015, developed 17 Sustainable Development Goalsaimed for a more sustainable future. I’m a co-founder of a social platform, 1 Million 1 Love, where our mission is aimed to provide the tools and resources at enforcing these initiatives through our global exposition and educational content, as social responsibility has become a much higher priority for younger generations.

World-changing objectives involve institutions, organizations, governmental policy initiatives, and world leaders. Truth is, anyone could make a positive social impact on their day-to-day lives and that is a great thing!

Here are 5 examples that you could do today, to make a positive social impact:

1. Define What Sustainability Means to You.

Sustainability at its core is maintaining change in a balanced fashion. How it is implemented depends on you. Our ever-increasing digital world should be embraced. This is not only affecting us in a professional aspect but on a personal one as well. Defining this at home will create positive social impact. For instance, eliminating paper waste could be the overall theme. This means ensuring every bill is paperless and having access to them online while eliminating print.

2. Sharing vs. Liking.

Let’s be honest about this one. Today we are social activists leveraging the tools of social media. We think we are making a difference when we have this twitter outrage. Saw a post that is just wrong? Share it with local authorities or decision-makers in your local community to provide a solution. Digital likes do not do anything. More must be done and with mobile technology, it could be done in as little as five minutes.

3. Reporting Harmful Content.

Children today are facing higher rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide. Kids are not being kids anymore. This is one of the cons of our digital era, as harmful, disparaging content could be utilized at a moment’s notice. Girls are especially the focus of this throughout their grade school years and on online platforms. See a comment that is abusive on digital platforms? Report it to corporate and follow up with them to ensure it’s taken down.

4. Making Smart Shopping Decisions.

Sustainable investing has increased 135% from 2012–2016, according to the US SIF Foundation. What does this mean? Shopping local & smart is a higher priority among consumers, but there is way more work that needs to be done. For instance, Americans are notorious for food waste where as much as 150,000 tons of food are tossed out every day! (i.e. never consumed). Do not be fooled by marketing tactics. Run the numbers and do not buy more food than you need. Be conscious. Wasted food is wasted money and wasted food is harmful, especially when 1 Billion people are suffering from famine.

5. Taking Charge at Work.

Organizations, especially the younger ones, now care about team-building activities. Instead of heading to local breweries, how about organizing a day or two (maybe even a week) in volunteering to propel local social initiatives? Younger management professionals now are welcoming this in having a week of shortened hours to get out and do good work in their respective communities. This could involve roadside/beach cleanups, building homes in under-served communities, volunteering at a local food bank, offering to speak with local high school students about career paths, or sharing a personal story that could relate to an unguided individual. Your experience and wisdom alone could make a serious difference.

Taking the charge in organizing those initiatives for your company will improve you, the team, the organization and the surrounding community at large.

This is what positive impact is about.