That bit in-between Christmas and New Year (‘Twixtmas? Is that what we’re supposed to be calling it now?) is always a bit odd isn’t it? The tree and the lights are still up, the dustbin is groaning, as are our belts, and thoughts are slowly turning towards the New Year.
If we’re off work and the kids are occupied with their new toys, we might (whisper it) have a few spare minutes on our hands. So if you’re starting to think that maybe 2021 is the year you embrace all things Sustainable(ish), here are some easy, yet relatively big impact, things you can do without even having to heave yourself up from that warm spot on the sofa.
1. Switch your energy supplier to a renewable tariff
Hands down this is THE easiest, most impactful thing we can all do. Grab a recent bill, head over to www.bigcleanswitch.org, pop in your details, pick the quote you like best and SWITCH! It will take around 15 minutes, will slash your carbon footprint by up to a quarter AND it could save you money.
2. Switch your search engine to ecosia
Ecosia (www.ecosia.org) is a search engine that plants trees with its ad revenue. Every search with Ecosia actually removes about 1kg of CO2 from the atmosphere. This means that, if Ecosia were as big as Google, it could absorb 15% of all global CO2 emissions!
Top tip to remind you to use it – move the Ecosia app to where your usual search engine is on your mobile.
3. Move your money
Do you know what your bank is doing with your money? It could be invested in fossil fuels, arms, tobacco and more – many of the High Street banks are some of the worst performing companies when it comes to this. Check out how well your bank and pension provider score at www.switchit.money and then make the switch! Yes, it’s a bit of a pain, but moving your pension is 27 times more effective in the fight against the climate crisis than giving up flying AND going vegan COMBINED! How’s that for a cracking start to cutting your carbon footprint in 2021?
4. Make a meal plan
Another dull and grown up thing to do, but another thing that can have a huge impact AND can save you money. Food waste is a BIG contributor to the climate crisis – if it were a country, it would be the third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after the USA and China. AND 50% of food waste occurs in the home – so this is something we CAN change. Meal plans don’t have to be complicated – beans on toast can absolutely go on there! Use it to help you cook canny, use up any leftovers, and make sure you leave some ‘white space’ for those days when you just can’t face cooking and end up eating cereal on the sofa.
5. Delete and unsubscribe
All of our emails sit on massive servers somewhere, and these servers use up huge amounts of energy (1% of global demand!) keeping cool. How many emails have you got in your inbox? Start wading through and deleting. And while you’re at it, unsubscribe from all those annoying newsletters you get and never read!
Get more sustainable(ish) inspiration from Jen Gale at www.asustainablelife.co.uk or follow on Facebook @Sustainable-ish and Instagram @sustainableish.