10 painless measurable ways to reduce your carbon footprint

Antonio Salituro
4 min readApr 9, 2021

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footprint sign

You want to reduce your carbon footprint, but don’t have time on your hands?

I’ve got you covered!

Here’s a list of dead simple carbon footprint reduction ideas that will slash your CO2 emissions.

No pain, yes gain!

Spoiler: I’ll tell you exactly how much YOU will save per year!

Ready to start a new low-carbon life from today?

Let’s see what causes our carbon emissions and how to drive them down.

Contents

1. Be an eco-traveller

2. Produce clean energy

3. Control your home temperature

4. Change bank

5. Use 100% green energy

6. A low-carbon diet menu

7. Buy second hand

8. Declutter your digital carbon footprint

9. Save water

10. Offset your carbon emissions

The end (of a high-carbon life)

1. Be an eco-traveller

Whether you commute to work, or you go on holiday, your journey will release CO2.

Walk, cycle or take public transport to go to work rather than driving a car. If not possible, car sharing could be a low-carbon option too.

Yet, carbon emissions from air travel are the Dumbo in the room!

The carbon footprint of flying on a short-haul route once a year takes up 10% of our individual carbon emissions. A long-haul flight skyrockets to 50%.

Try to stick to only a return short-haul flight per year.

Consider a staycation. You’ll save time and money. Plus, you may discover hidden gems that were right under your nose!

Estimated saving per year: 3,500 Kg CO2 (10,675 miles driven by an average petrol car)

Call to action: Give up a long-haul flight (e.g. London to Hong Kong, economy class)

backpacker looking at a lake

2. Produce clean energy

Saving energy should be your primary focus. But wouldn’t it be electrifying to produce your own renewable energy?

How?

Invest in a Triple solar panel to generate heat, hot tap water and electricity using renewable energy. Or even a standard solar panel on your roof would do.

This will help turn your home into a carbon neutral house.

Estimated saving per year: 1200 Kg CO2 (3,660 miles driven by an average petrol car)

Call to action: Install a solar panel

solar panels on a roof

3. Control your home temperature

Because of climate change, heatwaves will be more frequent.

While you can go to the beach during the day (put sun cream on!), you will struggle to sleep at night.

“Just put the AC on full blast, mate,” I hear some of you shouting.

Problem is cooling your home warms the planet!

So, how do we exit this vicious air circulation?

With a bit of common sense. Use a timer and set a reasonable temperature.

That’s another step to convert your home into a low-carbon hub.

Estimated saving per year: 907 Kg CO2 (2,766 miles driven by an average petrol car)

Call to action: Increase your AC temperature by 2 degrees in summer

woman pointing a fan towards herself

4. Change bank

Green is the colour of money, right? (at least if you handle dollars)

But money can have a black shade if used for dirty things like fossil fuels.

That’s what Barclays, HSBC and other banks are doing with your savings.

Make your money count by switching your account (rhyme intended).

Choose eco-conscious banks such as Triodos Banks and Charity Bank.

Mortgages are not only painful for your wallet but also for the environment.

For a total amount of £200,000 and a 2.5% interest rate, you’ll release about 1,000 Kg of CO2 per year (as much as driving for 3,050 miles)

Estimated saving per year: 750 Kg CO2 (2,288 miles driven by an average petrol car)

Call to action:: Take out mortgages and loans with the Ecology Building Society (its carbon footprint is 25% of its competitors’)

5. Use 100% green energy

If you can’t afford to invest in renewable energy technologies, choose an eco-friendly provider.

So, how to switch energy supplier?

Just sign up with Ecotricity or Good Energy, which are providing 100% renewables.

Doing so, you’ll minimise the environmental impact of fossil fuels.

Estimated saving per year: 525 Kg CO2 (1,601 miles driven by an average petrol car)

Call to action: Get 100% renewable energy

wind turbines on hills

Check out the full article on my blog!

Oh, and join my newsletter to stay updated on environmental sustainability!

Karolin Wanner looks like we wrote a very similar piece (though I could not read you full article…)

Originally published at https://www.salixwriting.com on April 9, 2021.

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Antonio Salituro
Antonio Salituro

Written by Antonio Salituro

I’m a blogger and creative writer who specializes in environmental sustainability themes such as climate change solutions and circular economy innovations

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