Embracing Green Living How to be more sustainable and save money in your daily life.

Introduction – Embracing Green Living: How to be more sustainable and save money in your daily life.

It is abundantly clear to all but a tiny minority that climate change is here and that we urgently need to do something about it.

Climate change manifests through rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and ecological disruptions.

A cursory glance at any news outlet will reveal the horror that is unfolding across the globe. During the COP climate summit last autumn, the UK Guardian newspaper featured an article entitled World facing ‘hellish’ 3C of climate heating, UN warns before Cop28.

Sadly, we don’t even need to look very far to realise the effects of climate change. Those of us based in London experienced 40 degrees in July 2022. During Christmas, our European neighbours in Germany suffered severe flooding in Bremen and elsewhere.

The above are just some examples of the effects of climate change and the urgent need for action.

It is beyond the scope of this blog post to talk in detail about CO2 emissions of different industry sectors. However, we know that utilities, electricity and heat production are some of the most carbon-intensive industries:

According to S&P Global’s analysis of 2019-2020 average emissions intensity by sector, utilities is the most carbon-intensive sector in the World, emitting a staggering 2,634 tonnes of CO₂ per $1 million of revenue. (Ranking the Carbon Giants)

Electricity and heat production are the largest contributors to global emissions. This is followed by transport, manufacturing, construction (largely cement and similar materials), and agriculture. (Our World in Data)

If you want more facts and figures on carbon emissions, check out Visual Capitalist or Environmental Protection Agency.

While we know industry is the main culprit of CO2 emissions, we can all do our bit. According to the Nature Conservancy Website, to avoid global temperature rises of more than 2 degrees, we need to reduce our carbon footprint from four degrees to an average of two degrees.

What is a carbon footprint?

A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide and methane) that are generated by our actions.

The average carbon footprint for a person in the United States is 16 tons, one of the highest rates in the World. Globally, the average carbon footprint is closer to 4 tons. To have the best chance of avoiding a 2℃ rise in global temperatures, the average global carbon footprint per year needs to drop to under 2 tons by 2050.

Lowering individual carbon footprints from 16 tons to 2 tons doesn’t happen overnight! By making small changes to our actions, like eating less meat, taking fewer connecting flights and line drying our clothes, we can start making a big difference.

As shown above, living a green lifestyle is not just a trend; it’s a conscious choice that fosters a healthier planet and a more sustainable future. It can even save you money.

Embracing a green lifestyle involves mindful decisions and actions that minimise environmental impact. Below are three things you can implement immediately to make more sustainable choices in your life.

Don’t engage in Fast Fashion; shop in your wardrobe instead.

Who doesn’t want to look stylish? I get it; clothing makes us feel good, confident and sexy. A new item of clothing can make us happy, but according to Oxfam, there are some shocking statistics attached to garment production:

• The World uses an estimated 80 billion pieces of clothing every year, a 400 percent increase from two decades ago. — The True Cost

• Textile production contributes more to climate change than international aviation and shipping combined. — House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, 2019

• By 2030, global apparel consumption is projected to rise by 63%, from 62 million tons today to 102 million tons—equivalent to more than 500 billion additional T-shirts. — House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, 2019

The Nation’s wardrobe holds 1.6 billion items of unworn clothes. (Wrap). People, including me, have done experiments and worn the same clothes daily for a set period, and no one has noticed. To read about Kate Rose’s experience, click here.

Now, I am not telling everyone to adopt a personal uniform. Wearing the same outfit could be too monotonous for some or unsuitable for their lifestyle. But boredom with your current wardrobe needn’t mean a trip to Westfield or some other shopping centre. Going out and need to spruce up your jeans and T-shirt? Why not go through your wardrobe and look for accessories? Can your black jeans be worn with a blazer for a work outfit or with trendy trainers for a casual coffee date?

When shopping for new clothes, look for quality items you can combine with others already in your closet to create a capsule wardrobe.

Having fewer items reduces your expenses and does a good deal for the environment.

Invest in a good reusable shopping bag and stop using plastic.

In an article on plastic bag pollution, Sharon Jacobson tells us that we use around 500 billion plastic bags worldwide every year. That’s an average of 83 plastic bags per person. Because plastic bags are lightweight and easy to use, their consumption has increased dramatically since the eighties. We find them not just in landfills but scattered around our landscapes and cities.

As plastic is difficult to recycle, most shopping bags end up in landfills, taking around 300 years to photodegrade and breaking down into tiny toxic particles that contaminate the soil and waterways.

Plastic bags threaten sea life and are among the top twelve debris items found along coastlines. They pose a threat to animals as they can clog their intestines and lead to slow starvation.

Plastic bags use enormous amounts of energy when they are produced and contribute to global warming. According to the website Purple Turtle and Co., 6% of all the World’s oil resources are used to make plastic, of which 40% are used to make plastic bags.

Instead of using single-use plastic bags, which are charged at £0.10 per bag in the UK, invest in a good reusable shopping bag like the ones here. The one I have folds up small and turns into a backpack.

Buy ‘wonky vegetables’ and eat less meat.

By making minor changes to your diet, you can significantly impact climate change and your finances. I am not asking you to go fully Vegan. I am not, either. Love a good cheese, and scrambled eggs on toast are delicious on a Sunday morning. But reducing your meat consumption or buying wonky vegetables can be a good start.

According to the website Pig Hotel, over 10 million tonnes of vegetables are thrown away yearly in the UK purely because they don’t look attractive.

Over 10 million tonnes of wonky vegetables are thrown away, ploughed back into the ground, or left to rot every year in the UK and all because they don’t look quite right. Home is where the waste is, household waste remains the biggest culprit for food waste in the UK. Just under 5 million tonnes of food wasted in the UK occurs in households – a staggering 70 per cent of all post-farm gate food waste. Re-using wonky fruit and veg is a great way to help tackle the food waste problem we face.

Buying wonky vegetables has no bearing on taste, but reducing food waste saves 4.4 million tonnes of CO2 annually. 4.4. million tonnes of CO2 is the equivalent of taking 1 in 4 cars off the road. Estimates say that saving only one-quarter of the food currently wasted could feed 870 million hungry people!

I buy my wonky vegetables at a market stall outside my local supermarket. I get a big bowl of fruit or vegetables for £2 and support a local. There are also home delivery services such as Odd Box that deliver these straight to your house.

Food production accounts for one-quarter of the World’s greenhouse gas emissions and takes up half of the planet’s habitable surface (Carbon Brief).

Most animals on earth are reared for meat production and now outweigh wildlife by a factor of 15-to-1.

So, reducing the amount of meat in your diet can impact climate change. Some initiatives, such as Meatless Monday, started in 2003 by Sid Lerner, that does what it says on the tin. But just reducing meat to special occasions impacts wallet and climate.

Conclusion – Embracing Green Living: How to be more sustainable and save money in your daily life

Embracing a green lifestyle is a journey of conscious choices and continuous improvement. Incorporating these practices into your daily routine creates a more sustainable and environmentally friendly world. Remember, every small action matters, and together, we can positively impact our planet’s health for current and future generations.

In the above article, I have given three examples of things you can do immediately to reduce your carbon footprint. Of course, there are many others, and I will provide you with more in a future article.