7 Steps to a More Sustainable You!
By Emily Lomax
Thinking of making a resolution in the new year? Thought about making one that has a lasting impact on the health of the planet and your community? Making these types of changes, more often than not, will also be beneficial to your personal well-being, physical health, and lighter on your wallet.
It can be tempting to take the new year as an opportunity to make a complete over-haul of everything you would like to improve. What’s often learned, is that these changes don’t last. Having a plan to make impactful changes that are manageable is the best way to make resolutions that are sustainable.
A 7-STEP SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM
A failure to plan is a plan to fail. Making a plan is the first step to success in any behavioural changes within your life!
LOOKING TO MAKE SOME CHANGES? HERE’S WHERE TO GET STARTED
GOOD | GREAT | AMAZING | |
ENERGY | Wash clothes in cold water | Switch to an electric vehicle | Buy green energy * |
WASTE | Bring your own grocery and produce bags | Produce no/minimal edible food waste | Only buy out of necessity and only buy second-hand |
TRANSPORTATION | Fill-up your car (with people!) to get some vehicles off the road. Poparide is an app that safely and reliably connects drivers with riders | Supplement your commute with non-driving options walking/biking/public transit | Take one less transatlantic flight every year** |
WATER |
Take shorter showers (A 10-minute shower uses 75 L of water) |
Purchase WaterSense certified toilets and bathroom fixtures |
Decrease the number of new jeans you buy (A pair of jeans and one t-shirt requires 20,000 L of water) |
FOOD | Purchase Fairtrade coffee, tea, cocoa |
Sign-up for a CSA (community-supported agriculture) box. | Eat a plant based diet |
* The majority of energy used in BC households is provided by natural gas. Purchasing ‘green’ natural gas ensures that with every unit of natural gas you purchase, the same amount of natural gas from a climate-friendly source is produced and put onto a pipeline. The majority of BC’s electricity (95%) is sourced from Hydro – a renewable resource.
**Reducing transportation via air travel is one of the most effective ways to reduce individual carbon emissions (save for choosing to have one fewer child). When you do fly, make sure to fly economy class (more people can fit onto one plane than when people take business class) and buy carbon offsets, to offset to emissions produced by the flight.
Canadian Energy Regulator (2020)