We recently demonstrated on our blog that while there are so many ways to tackle climate change, knowing where to start can be difficult. After all, everyone has an opinion on the best way, the fastest way, and the most sustainable way to do it. This is why we’re creating these introductory blogs so that our readers can feel empowered to tackle climate change in whatever way suits them. We’re going to prioritise our list in terms of the largest savings on CO2e available. Fundamentally, we’re sharing the easiest way to make a difference with minimal change to your habits. Call it lazy, but the smaller the disturbance to your lifestyle, the more enjoyable and worthwhile it will be.
Step 1: Tackle climate change with your diet
For the average person in the UK, food will make up 25% of their carbon footprint with just 2% of that contributed from eating out. That means that 23% of your carbon footprint comes from the food you buy and bring into your home. This gives you a lot of control over how much food contributes to your carbon footprint.
For this reason, we suggest tackling food is step one when it comes to tackling climate change. If you’re in doubt about how to eat a low carbon diet, keep these three things in mind:
- How carbon intense is the product to produce?
- How much carbon is used to transport the product?
- How much packaging comes with the product?
By sourcing products that aren’t carbon-intensive to produce, you’ll be making a huge reduction. Take meat for example. Living creatures are carbon-intensive – just like humans are – so we know that ‘producing’ them is a carbon-heavy process. The same can be said for avocados that are either transported across the Atlantic Ocean or grown in high-energy-consuming greenhouses designed to simulate the central American atmosphere. Then, of course, the less packaging attached to your items, the better. Perhaps you could even consider which supermarket is best to shop at.
Step 2: Tackle climate change with your transport
27% of our carbon footprints are attributed to travel. Although it seems like there’s so much that can be done about it, we’re aware it isn’t that easy. Vehicle fuel is roughly 11% of that total and personal flights sit at 9%. We’re going to focus on these two areas because they contribute the most to your carbon footprint in this area.
So how can you reduce the impact of your vehicle fuel? It’s not always as simple as cycling to work – especially if you have a long commute. But there are multiple factors to consider:
- Could you car share with someone?
- Is public transport suitable instead?
- Perhaps you only drive in one or two days a week with hybrid working?
- Would you save fuel if you drove in a more eco-friendly way?
The more people in one vehicle, the fewer on the roads, which can help significantly reduce your impact. The final bullet point about driving more eco-friendly can vary from car to car. But as a rule, accelerate and decelerate slowly, stick to the speed limit and always ensure your tyres are pumped so your vehicle doesn’t require more fuel to move the weight of the car. If you don’t own a vehicle, you’re already miles ahead of the average person so consider whether you could have more staycations instead of jumping on a flight.
Step 3: Look closer to home for reducing your impact
This category of a person’s carbon footprint is predominantly looking at housing fuel (11%), household electricity (5%) and the efficiency of the home (6%). This was a tough area to rank. On one hand, it’s simple to choose an eco-friendly supplier for your home’s fuel and electricity but on the other hand, making sure your home is running efficiently can require serious investment.
So, why have we ranked it as our third step to tackle climate change? Because not all home improvements need to be drastic. Take a look at one of our recent energy blogs to discover small actions that you can take to keep the home running efficiently. Then, take a look at where your energy comes from. If it isn’t renewable, are you in a position to change that?
Step 4: All the bits that add up
After you’ve tackled these three giant areas for reduction, we think it’s time to look at the little things. All the bits that aren’t as obvious but collectively will still have an impact on reducing your carbon footprint and are incredibly accessible.
One area is non-food shopping. This is for items like clothing and furniture. Did you know that textiles are incredibly harmful to the environment when not sustainably sourced? Fast fashion presents a huge problem in our society and for the average person contributes more to our carbon footprint than household electricity does. So, purchase fewer items of high quality rather than lots of small bits that will wear down fast.
Step 5: Doing something positive to balance out your impact
If we’re going to tackle climate change, we know that reducing our impact in whatever way we can is always the first port of call. You only need to look at the waste hierarchy for that one. But as realists, we know that where we cannot reduce, we find another eco-friendly solution. Which means offsetting your carbon footprints.
Planting trees and caring for local green spaces are a great way to make a difference and possibly the most accessible. But did you know that you can also take action like switching your bank accounts? By keeping your money with a bank that invests sustainably or changing your pension scheme you can make sure the money you own isn’t undermining all your efforts to tackle climate change.
Is that enough food for thought? We think so! We’re confident that by reading this blog, you will have everything you need to tackle climate change. No more wondering what else you can do, there are five steps here that provide an infinite number of chances to reduce and improve your impact on the planet. Get started today and let us know how you get on in the comments below – we want to hear about the next steps you take to tackle climate change.
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