Climate change is one of the largest challenges we are currently facing as a species, and human activity has been the primary cause of this. This is why there is so much emphasis put on the idea of us needing to lower our carbon footprint, to minimise the damage. At Greener Energy Group, we always go on about how our products will help you lower your carbon footprint. But what is a carbon footprint? And what areas of your life will affect your own personal carbon footprint?
A carbon footprint refers to the total amount of greenhouse gasses released into the atmosphere because of the activities of an individual, organisation or community.
If you want to get an understanding of your own personal carbon footprint and find out ways you can reduce it, there are key areas of your lifestyle to investigate including:
Your Home
Your carbon footprint within the home includes the amount of electricity and water you use, how you heat your home and recycling and waste habits. There are renewable ways to provide electricity and heating available today and the Government even offer up to £8000 cashback to install these systems.
Click here to find an energy efficient solution for your home.
Your Diet
Food can have a significant impact on the environment as meat and dairy products both require a lot of land, water, and energy to produce and create a large amount of the harmful greenhouse gas, methane. As well as this, food being shipped from overseas uses resources that wouldn’t be used if you bought local produce.
Your Work
Reducing your carbon footprint can also be done at work. Now more than ever, it is so easy to use digital means to share documents or hold meetings to reduce paper waste as well as travel emissions. Another change is to reduce the amount of single-use plastic you use – they may be convenient, but they are very damaging to our environment. Use a reusable coffee cup and cutlery. Encourage others to do the same to lower the company’s footprint.
Travel
Petrol cars will emit a large amount of CO2 per kilometre of travel, and in a car or a taxi these emissions are only split between a few people, making it not very eco-friendly. Using public transport is a much more sustainable way of travel. Have you considered an electric car? Greener Energy Group offer customers a free EV charger with any solar panel installation so you can save money on energy bills, reduce your carbon footprint, and stop paying for petrol or diesel! Click here to find out how you could benefit.
Your Purchasing Habit
People forget that the things we buy each week have a significant part to play in our personal carbon footprint. Purchasing new clothes and household goods can be detrimental to the environment especially if they have a short life span and have not been produced in a sustainable way. Reusing and recycling is key here is you are unable to limit the amount you are purchasing.
Now you should have a better understanding of the ways in which your everyday living plays a role in your own carbon footprint. Reading this blog is the first stage in lowering your carbon footprint. Did you know that over 15% of global carbon emissions come from the way we heat our homes? Play your part in the fight against climate change and save money at the same time by finding out about an eco-friendly heating system. Currently in Scotland the Government are giving anyone who makes the switch up to £8000 in cashback.
