Here is what you can do to reduce your carbon footprint

Carbon dioxide emissions are contributing to the global warming which needs to be stopped in order to avoid environmental catastrophes.

Annually, more than 36 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide are produced globally. Those not only pollute the air, but they also increase greenhouses gases which leads to temperatures climbing up. Global warming again causes glaciers to melt and sea levels to rise. Looking at the destructive floods from the past months, it is visible that the situation is getting more serious, and we immediately need to change our modern, environmentally harmful lifestyles. However, to achieve this, it is necessary that every individual contributes as much as possible. Now don’t worry, this does not require you to completely go back to the way how people lived in the stone age. Even small changes in your everyday habits can make a huge difference.

Are you already aware of how large your carbon footprint is? If not, then you could first use the carbon footprint calculator of WWF to get a clearer picture over the impact you have on the environment. With this information you can then decide how much you need to adapt your lifestyle to a more sustainable one and in which category you need to change the most. Here are some examples of easy measures that you could take in order to decrease your carbon footprint.

1. Transportation

Do not use cars

Now if you live on the countryside you might laugh at this, and public transportation might be completely a foreign word to you. However, if you have access to them and make use of their offers, you can already decrease your carbon footprint by 0.98 tonnes. If you do not have this luxury, then make sure to at least get a fuel-efficient car and use it as little as possible. You could also save your €20 monthly gym fee and instead get your rusty bicycle out of the cellar. This will not only make you reduce your carbon footprint, but also keep you in shape- a win-win situation.

Avoid flying

Yes, flying is comfortable, and traveling is a beautiful experience, but make sure that you keep it to a minimum and that you skip on domestic flights. Instead, use the train or try out car sharing offers. With this you can decrease your personal carbon emissions by 1.68 tonnes. Also, when you absolutely need a plane, choose a flight without any stops in-between as take-offs and landings produce more carbon emissions.

2. Energy

Choose certified green energy providers

When you are deciding for an energy provider, choose one that generates energy from renewable energy sources. This can help you reduce your carbon emissions by 1.6 tonnes. There are several platforms that compare and analyse energy providers which makes it easy for you to choose the most suitable one.

Use energy-saving LED lights

When looking for new light bulbs, go for LED lights. They are increasingly cheap, energy saving and last for a long period of time.

Switch electricity off when not needed

This seems obvious, but make sure to always switch off your lights when leaving a room and avoid putting your technological devices on standby mode as they otherwise keep on consuming energy.

3. Food

Implement a vegan diet

For some people this might be difficult to realise at first, but with small steps it is possible, and you would be able to reduce your personal carbon footprint by 0.8 tonnes. Even keeping your meat consumption to only once a week can already help. Plus, there are countless of great vegan and vegetarian recipes out there that will definitely not make you miss meat.

We will soon publish some blog posts to give you more information about this topic and ideas on how you can eat more sustainably, so stay tuned for some more insightful content.

Use more seasonal products and locally produced ones

This can be sometimes a bit tricky but informing yourself about which products are in season in the country you are living in and maybe even taking care of choosing products that are produced locally, can save up a lot of fuel that otherwise would be needed to transport foods from far places to your hometown.

Reduce food waste

When you go grocery shopping start making weekly meal plans and writing grocery lists. This will help you only buying products you will really need and hence make it possible to reduce food waste.

Try to avoid products with extensive plastic packaging

Speaking of grocery shopping, go for products that are unpackaged or choose the ones that only use minimal packaging.

4. Clothing

Buy things that are only necessary

Yes, that’s a tricky one for all the shopping lovers out there. But first, shopping hurts your wallet and second, is not good for the environment. So, let’s be more intentional about it and only buy things we really need. Otherwise, if you cannot resist the urge, you could visit some second-hand stores to find your desired treasures.

If you want to learn more about the environmental impact of your clothes and learn how you can reduce it, you can also read our last posts:

• How rapidly changing fashion trends are harming the environment

• Three videos that you should watch to understand the environmental impact of your clothes

• How to be environmentally friendly and satisfy your inner fashionista at the same time

Wash your clothes less and rather in cold water

Washing clothes releases micro-fibres and uses a lot of energy. Therefore, reducing the amounts you wash your clothes does not only protect the fabrics of your clothing items and makes them more durable, but it also helps you decrease your water and electricity use.

Hopefully you can find some useful points in this list that you could try out in order to decrease your carbon footprint. Of course it won’t be possible to realise all mentioned points at the same time, but by taking small steps and trying out various things you will gradually manage to create environmental friendly habits that will help you cutting your carbon emissions extensively in the long run.

If you want to learn more about this topic check out our other blog posts as well:

• Do we really have to worry about the rising temperatures?

• Five apps that will help you cutting your carbon emissions

Sources:

Ritchie, H. and Roser, M., "CO2 emissions," Our World in Data, 2020, https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions, accessed 08 November 2021.

Cho, R., "The 35 Easiest Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint," Columbia Climate School, December 27, 2018, https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2018/12/27/35-ways-reduce-carbon-footprint/, accessed 08 November 2021.

Harrabin, R., "Climate change: Top 10 tips to reduce carbon footprint revealed," BBC, May 20, 2020, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52719662, accessed 08 November 2021.

Goodall, C., "How to reduce your carbon footprint," The Guardian, January 19, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jan/19/how-to-reduce-carbon-footprint, accessed 08 November 2021.

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