BP may have tried to shift the ‘responsibility’ for climate change onto individuals (and away from oil companies) by promoting the idea of an individual’s carbon footprint . That doesn’t mean that the idea is completely without merit. We will all need to do our bit to help reduce the impact of our modern lives upon the environment. This doesn’t let them off the hook, they will need to do a lot more and completely decarbonise their business model and quickly!
Here are 5 simple ways that we have reduced our impact upon the environment and reduced our carbon footprint.
1. Plan your meals for the week
Go to the supermarket with a list of ingredients you will need for the coming week. Only buy what is on your list, and avoid too many ‘treats’ [one or two won’t hurt ;-)] Check the use by dates on chilled food. Less food will be thrown away.
2. Eat less red meat and processed foods
We try to have 3 meat free days. Many of the ‘no beef’ mince substitutes we have tried are excellent and definitely better than supermarket beef mince! We use it as a substitute in Chilli Con Carne, Spaghetti Bolognese, Cottage Pie, Lasagne and Yuk Sung and honestly prefer it, and we love our meat. There are also a number or other plant based products now readily available in supermarkets and we try a new one each week.
When we do eat meat we make sure it is good quality and we don’t waste anything. A roast chicken will last us two days with sensible portion control, with leftover chicken and vegetables being put into a pie and the chicken carcass being used as the basis of a chicken soup. We also try to ensure any fish we buy comes from certified sustainable sources.
If you can afford it buy British beef, and preferably get it from your local butchers. The carbon footprint will be less than beef imported into the UK and many butchers source their beef from local farms which reduces the overall food miles (it also tastes much better). We only have this occasionally as a special treat.
3. Reduce dairy intake
We used to buy 4 litres of whole milk each week. We have reduced this to only 2 litres (mainly used in our tea) and use Soya Original milk on our cereal and in our porridge. This costs approximately the same from Aldi. Soya milk is lovely in porridge and on cereals. There are other non dairy milks worth trying too. However, we haven’t found a non-dairy cheese yet that tastes better than our door mat.
The largest source of anthropogenic (man-made) methane emissions is agriculture and it makes up about 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Dairy farming makes up more than half of the methane emissions from agriculture in the UK. So reducing your dairy intake can have a significant effect.
4. Do an ‘electricity audit’ of your electrical goods.
Use an energy monitor plug to check on what you main electrical devices use. If you have any white goods that are over 20 years old, it is likely that they are extremely inefficient and you should consider replacing them! This will save you money in their running costs and will pay you back. An old counter top freezer we had was using a huge amount of electricity (nearly 4Kwh per day = 80p) and we replaced it with a brand new under the counter larger freezer that defrosts itself, it has payed for itself within 6 months!
When you need to buy new electrical products, choose energy efficient models with an ‘A’ label which use less electricity. Our new TV uses less than half the electricity of our old one and will save us well over £100 per year in electricity, we watch a lot of ‘Homes Under The Hammer’!
5. Turn down your thermostat by 1°C
I also have a fleecy microfiber throw blanket that I use in the evenings to put over my knees and keep me cosy, now that I am getting old(er).
