Resources for Individuals

Let’s Reduce our Carbon footprint

View/download the content of this page as a pdf

We are undeniably in a climate emergency.  Our future is at risk.
We’re all part of the problem – so let’s make a difference.

Tiny steps first: whatever we do will help

Top tips:

Head for the ‘low-hanging fruit’: go for what’s easiest first.

Make it fun: the wonderful, funny and realistic Jen Gale’s site
Home Page – Sustainable(ish) (asustainablelife.co.uk) is a must-read.

Get a friend to join you, a ‘carbon-buddy’:  Carbon Buddy Project

Involve your family:  this is something for all ages.

Use our Actions Checklist (see the end):  Stick it on your refrigerator at home for all to see.

Tell us how you’re getting on.  We’d love to know. Send us a photo on Twitter/Facebook.

Don’t beat yourself up!  There will always be those days …  and we do what we can.
Remain optimistic for our futures.

First tiny steps…

  • Only boil/heat the water you actually need.
  • Switch off lights, TV, computers, etc when you leave a room.
  • Adjust your heating thermostat and set it’s timer. This can save you loads of money.
  • Change your energy to a ‘real’ renewable energy supplier. Impartial advice from http://dorkingsolargroup.org/ It will probably save you money.
  • Read an inspirational book, eg. ‘How Bad are Bananas?’, a fun and informative book about the carbon footprint of absolutely everything. Get it from the library.
  • Watch an inspirational programme, eg. ‘Living Planet’ a Portrait of the Earth is a BBC nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough.
  • Highlight what you’re already doing – it’s probably more than you think. If you’re starting out then you have more choices than those who are already doing ‘stuff’!

Adopt this mantra:  It could save you a fortune

Refuse:   Just say no!
Reduce:  Buy what you NEED, not what you WANT
Reuse:    Use it again … and again;  get things that last
Repair:    Loads of useful info on Youtube™ videos
Recycle:  Use the recycle bins / charity shops / swap stuff / and USE recycled ‘stuff’

See the ‘Power of RE’ and circulate it within your community


Spend wisely, Save money, Improve your Health and Help save the PLANET

‘£££’ symbols show the super-savers.

YOUR FOOD:

Thought for the day:  A Waitrose manager said, “If people won’t buy it, we won’t stock it”

  • Shop and Buy local. It’s fresher and tastier.
  • Buy seasonal fruit and vegetables. £
  • Take fabric or long-life bags to shops.
  • Have a list, don’t shop when you’re hungry and RESIST those tempting offers. ££
  • Support shops that do good things, eg. using paper bags not plastic. Especially re-fill shops, though you have to remember to bring containers. They’re often local, so you’re helping them survive.  And they’re friendly and pleased to see you!
  • Go veggie or flexitarian. Try it for just one day a week to start off. Borrow a cookbook for ideas. If you want to put yourself off eating meat, have a look at Compassion in World Farming:  https://www.ciwf.org.uk   ££

Don’t buy or Avoid or Reduce, the following:

YOUR ‘STUFF’:

  • Do you NEED it? Can it wait? Could save you   £££
  • Can you get it from a re-use organisation?  And give unwanted items to them?  3 million useable household items are thrown away in the UK every year. Read:  Home – Reuse Network (reuse-network.org.uk)   £££
  • Buy local, and from independent companies, support the local economy and therefore circulate more money locally.  Invest in the local community instead of enriching overseas behemoths.
  • Avoid large online purchasing sites wherever possible, especially those which have a poor human rights record and a dubious tax history. Look for local companies offering click & collect, etc. And do you really need it tomorrow or the day after?
  • Select white goods appliances  (eg. washing machines) at A+ standard or better; it will save you money in a few years.  £
  • Wherever possible choose ‘stuff’ that doesn’t have to be transported over long distances.
  • Reject fast fashion. Read:  What Is Fast Fashion? – Good On You  will tell you why.

YOUR CHILDREN:  it costs an eye-watering £75k-£100k to bring up a child

Save money and help save the planet. £££

YOUR MONEY:  what you buy – and don’t buy – really matters

  • Every single purchase can make a difference. So much to think about here. (eg. you could buy something made using child labour, that pollutes the local river near the manufacturing centre, that is air freighted across the world –  or you could buy it locally or buy something else entirely. Or not buy at all. Read:  Ethical Consumer: the alternative consumer organisation will challenge the way you spend money.
  • ‘The Power of your Purse’, produced by us, sums up what you can do.
  • Where do you bank? Some banks support the fossil fuel industry and other socially bad industries such as tobacco, gambling, military, etc. See: https://switchit.money/ and consider changing (easier than at first appears).
  • Where’s your pension fund? Is it invested in fossil fuels, defence/military, mining and tobacco? (you could well be surprised!). Read:  Climate change and your pension: divestment guide | Key issues | UNISON National

YOUR WASTE:  try to follow the mantra:  Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle

  • Use up food in your house; try not to chuck it. ‘Sell by’ dates differ from ‘Use by’. There are loads of imaginative recipes online. £
  • Choose plastics that can actually be recycled.  Not black, as sorting machinery can’t pick it out.
  • Separate organic/food waste
  • Have a re-useable coffee cup (and remember to take it with you!). Shops often offer a discount.
  • Recycle batteries, old specs/glasses and loads of ‘stuff’ via the shops that sell them, eg. Dyas will recycle batteries.
  • Separate plastics that can be recycled for charity (eg. crisp packets, Pringle™ tubes, printer ink cartridges, etc).  Then use:  https://www.terracycle.com/en-GB/
  • Go a step further and volunteer to collect for Terracycle in your road.
  • Pass unwanted ‘stuff’ on via charity shops / ebay™ / Facebook™ / Free-cycle™ , etc.
  • Use Community Fridge, which saves food from being dumped. Donate if you can. There’s a vibrant group in Dorking. £££    See:  https://midsurreycommunityfridges.co.uk

YOUR CONSUMPTION:

The food, stuff, and things that we consume, and resultant waste, is a huge part of our carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions.

YOUR TRAVEL:

Transport : a major consumer of energy and source of air pollution:  right now the UK’s largest cause of greenhouse gases.

  • Work from home when possible, though that could add to your heating bills. £
  • Avoid business air travel when a video conference will suffice  (air travel has a huge climate impact). ££££
  • Get on your bike, electric scooter – or walk. Most Surrey car journeys are for 2 miles or less.
  • Make your next car electric: arrange to share electric EV charging points and say goodbye to highly taxed petrol/diesel bills.
  • If you take long journeys,  go for a plug-in hybrid vehicle with greater than 50mile battery range. And use the plug-in charge feature, recharge with 100% renewable electricity.
  • Can you share a vehicle? The embedded carbon in making a new vehicle is very high. ££
  • Do you really need to have more than one car in your household?  £££
  • Fly less and where possible don’t fly.
  • Offset any flights by planting trees (approximately 1 new tree per each hour of air flight! ); don’t use offset schemes. Charities like Tree Aid. See:  Tree Aid | Growing trees to tackle poverty in Africa provide a ‘win-win’ scheme.

YOUR HOME:

Keep it warm efficiently.  Heating the home is the 2nd largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in UK.

10 minute Checklist: Choose a windy day and…

  • Check for draughts and increase air tightness. Use draught excluders, letter box excluder, insulation material where pipes enter the kitchen and bathroom – a major source of drafts; seal where cables enter the house. Even one of those old-fashioned cloth ‘sausages’ under an external door.   £
  • Check windows and door frames are sealed properly.
  • Check ventilation louvres close properly.

Insulate   ££ :

  • Install/improve double glazing. It’s advanced dramatically in the last 15 years. Grants are available.  10yr old double glazing is likely to no longer provide the insulation you need.
  • Consider adding to your existing insulation via cavity wall, thick loft insulation, A+ windows, underfloor insulation, external cladding insulation.
  • Sheep’s wool insulation is a natural and bio-friendly option.

Improve heating:

  • Electric heating (where possible) powered by 100% renewable electricity supplier
  • Air source heat pump or in some cases ground source heat pump (where viable)
  • Avoid gas combi-boilers where possible.  Use of natural gas is now one of the major sources of carbon emissions and air pollution in the UK.
  • Install a smart meter (if you can’t measure it; you can’t control it).  It won’t cost you to have one installed.
  • Use an electronic thermostat with timer (set as low as you find comfortable).

Simple solution:  wear an extra layer!  £

  • Avoid log fire or biomass boilers (as this is combustion of wood and emits CO2); if using biomass then buy from a local forestry residual waste provider.
  • UK Building Standards and Regulations are weak on sustainability. Don’t accept their basic minimal requirements.

YOUR GARDEN:

  • Try ‘rewilding’ a small section of your garden: It’ll become a wildlife sanctuary. Read:
    https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/explore-rewilding/where-can-you-rewild/rewilding-on-a-smaller-scale
  • Dig a pond. No matter how small, wildlife will love it.
  • Leave small ground-level gaps in fencing etc to allow hedgehogs, etc to pass through.
  • Have a go at growing fruit / vegetables, but use ‘natural’ pesticides, weedkillers, etc.
  • Mow your lawn less often – 2 or 3 times a year max. That’ll allow insects to flourish.
  • Get a bird feeding station and your garden will come alive.
  • Plant a tree
  • Get together a tree planting committee for your road or community.

YOUR ENERGY SUPPLIER:

  • Switch to a 100% renewable electricity supplier (one that owns or has long term contracts with renewable generators). Don’t be duped by suppliers who buy their renewable energy guarantee of origin (REGO) certificates on the wholesale market and then claim their energy is 100% renewable. Regular automatic supplier switching services purely based on price are a false economy. Get good advice from Home | TD Solar Group (dorkingsolargroup.org). Doesn’t have to cost more.
  • Buy consumer devices and lighting which are high efficiency A++ or better.  £
  • Use an energy monitoring system to better control the energy use.
  • Get some solar PV panels on your roof, if you can afford it. They pay for themselves in 7 years and then it free electricity.

YOUR WATER:

A precious resource that we take for granted.

  • Spend less time in the shower and use a shower aerator head (we use so much heated water unnecessarily). ££
  • Use low flow devices in toilet cisterns & taps.
  • Flush the toilet periodically (no need after every pee).
  • Fix leaks and dripping taps.
  • Avoid use of garden sprinklers.
  • Use a rainwater butt for watering the garden.
  • Buy A++ appliances that minimise use of water (and hence electricity use for heating the water).
  • Check your water bills to see if you have a leak.
  • Consider a Solar thermal panel for hot water (where viable); especially if you have a South/West/East facing roof and existing hot water tank.

YOUR EMPLOYERS:

  • Consider applying appropriate actions to your company, seeing sustainability as a core essential objective for your businesses survival. Much of the above is also relevant to businesses.
  • Look at Edie: edie – empowering sustainable business for useful ideas.
  • Make procurement decisions with sustainability in mind.
    eg. recycled paper, high rates of recycling, reduced business travel, working from home permissions, low energy devices, annually reporting their carbon & sustainability impact.
  • Publicise your achievements (so people see what a great company you are).

EMPLOYEES:

  • Encourage your employer to take this route.

IN SUMMARY:

  • There IS another way.
  • It will save you money, position you for a better future, and improve your health.
  • It’s a ‘win-win’ – for your pocket ££, your future, your health & wellbeing and our planet.
  • It’s a positive and optimistic way to think ahead for your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and society in general.

and try to….

BE INCONVENIENT:

  • Speak Truth to Power: Support climate change solutions at council meetings and other open forums with elected leaders. Support and vote for elected officials who will act on climate issues. Work to defeat those who will not.
  • Talk about Climate Change: Watch the Al Gore film ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ and the sequel ‘Truth to Power’. Use the 10 minute primer on the video as a great conversation starter. See: climaterealityproject.org
  • Write about Climate issues: Write a letter to the editor, opinion piece or post on social media about the urgency of the climate crisis and climate solutions. Engage with those who do not see the problem for our planet and our future.  #BEINCONVENIENT
  • Switch your Community to Renewables: Tell community leaders you want clean energy and a sustainable future for your village, town or city.
  • Run for Office: There are thousands of opportunities to run for office; join a clean energy or environment/sustainability company; or join a campaigning group; or join a community group; and make a difference at local, district, county, regional, national or even global level.
  • Join us, together we can change! (Goto: http://www.dorking-climate-emergency.net/ )

Climate Emergency Actions  –  Checklist

Click here to download a Climate Emergency Checklist – pdf

 

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This