As it was Earth Day’s 50th anniversary last year, with the focus of climate action (which is also the main focus of our own sustainable mission statement), we decided to mark the anniversary of this increasingly important day in the calendar by pulling together a list of 50 small and simple ways to tackle climate change, from plant-based diets to food waste apps. Even though this was written for last year’s Earth Day theme, it’s still a useful, jam-packed list of ways to help you #LiveALittleGreener.
This year’s theme is Restore Our Earth, focusing on ways to protect, regenerate and inject some seriously needed TLC to our lovely little planet – whether that’s through innovative technology, cleanup projects, reforestation etc. This list focuses on all of that and more!
- Offset your travel: Whether that’s through a tree-planting initiative, with the airline you’re flying with or another offsetting programme.
- Recycle properly: It sounds like a no-brainer, but only 45.7% of the UK’s plastic is recycled properly. Learn how and what to recycle.
- Ban yourself from using single-use plastics: An easy and effective way to tackle climate change.
- Plant trees with web searches: Ecosia uses paid advertising to plant trees, find out more here.
- Switch to a renewable energy provider, like Bulb.
- Eco-friendly cleaning products: Swap chemical products for something kinder to the environment (and your skin!) like Ecover.
- Buy a tote to use as a shopping bag instead of buying plastic bags from the supermarket. Keep one folded up in your bag if you’re likely to forget.
- Go plant-based a few days a week: We’re not saying you have to go fully vegan, but try it out a couple of days a week – the animal farming industry is one of the largest contributors to climate change.
- Fly direct where possible.
- Take more public transport or cycle to work: Who wants to sit in a traffic jam at 8am anyway?!
- Explore train travel: We’re not saying you have to travel from Austria to Vietnam like this couple but if you can travel by train instead of by plane, give it a go! It’ll drastically reduce your carbon footprint, and you’ll see way more along the way!
- Say goodbye to fast fashion: The apparel industry is the second-largest industry polluter, and due to the short lifespan and none-recyclable materials, it ends up emitting over 400% more CO2 than an item worn 50 times for a year.
- Lobby for change from the government: It’s time to get politically active – if you think you’re not being heard, get involved with rallies, petitions… do some research to see what is going on in your area.
- Buy seasonal fruit and veg: Check out BBC Good Food’s seasonality calendar here.
- Shop local – great for communities, and also there’s less transport involved to get the goods to the store.
- Composting food waste: Get in touch with your local council to see if they provide food compost bins.
- Shop second-hand.
- Insulate your loft: An easy solution that’ll drastically reduce your energy bills.
- Solar panels will also drastically reduce your bills!
- Install a smart meter: See exactly how much you’re using and then work towards reducing that.
- Minimise food waste: The UK alone wastes around 9.5 million tonnes of food, a huge portion of which is still edible. Companies like FareShare redistribute surplus food to people in need, and apps like Olio, Too Good to Go, and Karma help consumers discover tasty food from restaurants at a discounted price, that would otherwise be thrown away. Oddbox and Farmdrop are great for groceries, while the Good Fish Guide gives you a guide to the most sustainable fish to eat in restaurants etc.
- Cut down on flying, and think about more eco-friendly modes of transport.
- Support ethical fashion – use the app goodonyou to find out the ethical ratings of fashion brands.
- Mend clothes: Instead of throwing out your clothes the minute they get a small hole, use a bit of TLC and sew it up instead!
- Use eco-friendly toiletries: Ethical Superstore is a great place to stock up on all your planet-loving goodies.
- Grow your own little green space, or do some community gardening.
- Grow your own produce: If you fancy yourself a bit of a gardener, there’s nothing more rewarding than growing your own produce.
- Eco-friendly accommodations, such as our sustainable villa collection.
- Use Beeswax wrap instead of cling film wrap.
- Consume less.
- Join a group of climate activists: There are so many to choose from, and these are just a few of them:
Transition Towns Network
Friends of the Earth
Extinction Rebellion
Youth Strike for climate action
350.org
Big Shift
Carbon conversations
Climate Coalition
10:10 blown away campaign
Greenpeace
Fashion for Good
- Donate to a charity dedicated to tackling climate change.
- Move your money to banks investing in renewables, and check to see your own banks stance.
- Embrace minimalism.
- Make sure your investments don’t include fossil fuels – speak to your financial advisor.
- Figure out your carbon footprint and work out where to reduce.
- Support more vulnerable countries suffering from climate breakdown – donate to communities affected by natural disasters, and give back to disadvantaged communities with initiatives like Toilet Twinning or products like Who Gives a Crap.
- Find out about community projects in your area or in the destination you’re travelling to, such as beach clean-ups.
- Don’t wash as you go with your dishes, or run a half-loaded dishwasher. Use water efficiently. This goes for showering and brushing your teeth, too.
- Install low energy LED light bulbs.
- Clothes swapping parties: Pretty old school, but a great way of getting rid of unwanted clothes is to get your friends together for a clothes swap, where you all bring items you no longer want and swap.
- Say no to non-sustainable palm oil.
- Share your tips with others! Build a community of eco-warriors.
- Help the bees: These buzzy little creatures are under threat of extinction – find out more here.
- Turn off lights and unplug appliances when not in use.
- Educate yourself – there’s so much info out there that’ll give you lots of handy little tips and tricks to help you #LiveALittleGreener.
- Choose Tupperware over plastic boxes.
- And then take that Tupperware to a restaurant for any leftovers.
- Instead of conducting work meetings abroad, have a conference call instead.
- Choose electric cars over diesel/petrol. The UK will be banning diesel and petrol cars from 2035.
Let us know your thoughts, ideas and feedback in the comments below. We’d love to hear how else you’re helping tackle climate change! And for more information on our work towards becoming a more sustainable business and how to #LiveALittleGreener when it comes to travel, check out our dedicated hub.