During the COP26 Conference we have been sharing our COP26 Challenge over on the Tattenhall.org website to see if we could challenge the readers to make little changes in their lives to reduce their carbon footprints.
We shared the WWF’s Carbon Footprint Calculator as a quick and easy way to calculate your carbon footprint and see where there might be scope for improvement.
Don’t worry if you missed the challenge – it’s always a great time to be trying to reduce your carbon footprint and you can see the tips we shared below.
- Shop locally and buy as much locally produced, seasonal food as possible.
- Turn off lights in empty rooms, when you leave them, and turn off all appliances that have standby lights like TVs and computers.
- Reduce travel – if possible walk or cycle, don’t take the car into the village to shop. Can you car share to go to work?
- Turn heating down by 1 or 2 degrees.
- Use non chemical cleaning fluids that are plant based – have you read the labels on the back of popular washing up liquid stating it kills aquatic life, do you really want to use this?
- Reduce single use plastic – if possible buy fruit and vegetables loose
- Recycle – ensure no food waste goes into the black bins, the black bins go to landfill where food waste rots producing methane which is a highly potent greenhouse gas.
- Recycle clothes or appliances, get things mended if possible, or buy second hand. The clothing industry is a huge contributor to pollution and carbon dioxide emissions as well as being notorious for poor treatment of workers.
- Reduce your consumption of red meat- lamb and beef and eat more chicken, fish or vegetarian meals? Or buy locally reared lamb and beef.
- If you have a garden – plan and buy seeds for next year, and start making compost. Try to grow flowers that are insect friendly, maybe make a mini wildflower meadow in your lawn – less mowing and more insects!
- Tell your MP what you are doing, and that you want him to do more for the Climate Crisis for you and your children
Of course, not all these ideas will be applicable to everyone, so pick the ones that you can do and see how it can affect your Carbon Footprint. You can find the WWF Carbon Footprint Calculator here.