10 Easy Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

2020 is a year of action. We are excited to see people actively making adjustments in their life to reduce their individual carbon footprint. These days, you can’t turn on the news or scroll social media without seeing something about climate change, and for good reason. People are pushing for world leaders to do something about global warming, and what better way than to give them as much information as possible.

But within all this news and statistics, it may be hard to figure out what YOU as an individual can be doing specifically for the environment and to reduce your carbon footprint.

Here are 10 simple things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint:

1.     Change of Lighting

How often have you thought about changing your lightbulbs, except when they are flickering or pop? Studies show that one lightbulb can rack up over 1000 kgs of carbon pollution in its lifetime. One thing you can do now is to switch to compact fluorescent bulbs, which cut the emissions almost by half.

2.     Unplugging Appliances

A great way to reduce your carbon footprint is to ensure all power points are switched off when not in use, and unplugging things like toasters and blenders when not in use. Not only will this reduce your emissions, but it will also save you a bunch on your electricity bill!

3.     Laptops over Desktop PCs

Along the lines of unplugging appliances, having a desktop PC is fine, if you turn it off at the wall and unplug it when you are not using it. These beasts can clock up a lot of mileage in performance but can also have a negative impact on the environment and your wallet. A great way to cut your individual carbon footprint is to switch to laptops instead! Not only do they give you the portability of your desktop in your backpack, but also don’t require a power point to run, only a charged battery.

4.     Energy Efficient Kitchen Appliances

Keeping with the electronics theme, how you cook in the kitchen can change your footprint dramatically. Though it may not seem as flashy, microwaving your food instead of using your stove can in fact use less energy.

5.      Using Public Transport

Taking the bus or train to work may seem slower, but when you think that every single person on that transport could be driving simultaneously, your mind might be more at ease. Not only is everyone taking one vehicle, but in some cases, it can be quicker than driving yourself! Hello no more peak hour traffic jams!!

6.     Drink Tap or Home-Filtered Water

Bottled water is a massive industry, with lots of emissions to go with it. Drinking or ordering tap water at a restaurant and at home can save you money and cut your carbon footprint.

7.     Use Less Air Conditioning

Even in hot weather, there are many easy ways to keep your home or office cool. Having UV curtains or tinted windows can help cool down your room without having to pump the AC. Even fans can cost a lot of money to run all day and night, so these tips can help cool down naturally!

8.     Buy Local Produce

Choosing to #shoplocal for produce at the markets or local grocers are great ways to cut your carbon footprintand support local businesses. What you don’t think about when shopping at large shopping centres is the cost of travel and transporting the goods to where you live. Markets cut that time down, as everyone there lives locally, rather than further out.

9.     Protecting and Planting Trees

Trees turn carbon dioxide (CO2) into oxygen. The more trees we have, the healthier air we have. While planting trees is important, let’s not forget the value in protecting the trees we already have, that are already doing the hard yards for us to be breathing. No brainer, right?

10.  Digital or Physical News?

Should you read physical or digital news? The printing press generates hundreds of tons of carbon every time they print the latest story, while digital content uses electricity. Which is better? Digital news requires a lot less energy than printed press. While everyone says you shouldn’t be on your phones, reading the news online saves not only carbon emissions, but also trees around the world.

11. Offset your Carbon Footprint with Footprint Free

Choose to offset your carbon footprint for as little as $2 per week.