Choosing to live a more environmentally conscious life is becoming a much more popular endeavour for people worldwide. With the climate crisis becoming more of a threat than ever before, new ways are being discovered, allowing us to take some direct control over our impact on the climate. While an individual can’t significantly affect climate change, when many people start to employ eco-conscious decisions in their lifestyle, which they are, they can make some form of change. To help you to focus on reducing your carbon footprint, we’ve put together some great eco-friendly goals for you to consider. 

Reduce Your Need For Heating
The cost of heating has risen dramatically over the years, especially in recent months due to the huge rise in gas and energy prices, but central heating systems are also one of the largest drains on the environment today. To reduce your reliance on central heating, it might be worth checking your home to ensure that the place is well insulated. This could work for your walls, floors, doors and windows if they haven’t been properly insulated. The warmer you can make your house without the central heating on, the better. As well as this, you should try to only use the heating when you really need it and then turn it off once you’re warm enough. 

Be A Conscious Consumer
Many of us identify as materialist beings, and there is, of course, nothing wrong with that. Some people just enjoy buying new things. However, there are ways of doing this while also limiting our impact on the climate. A lot of the things we buy get shipped around the world or are made in factories that have a huge carbon contribution to the atmosphere. Buying these items then is to inadvertently support those things. Instead, it’s worthwhile to be a bit more conscious of our purchasing habits and to also think about where these things come from first. It might take a little longer, but before you purchase something, first ask yourself if you really need it. And next, do some research into that product’s environmental impact, both from its production and shipping.

Consider An Electric Car
The cost of fuel is another thing that has skyrocketed over the years, and running a car has a huge impact on our finances. Not only that, but fuel is incredibly finite. In fact, we only have around 40 years of proven oil left on the planet. That means fuel reserves will run out in most of our lifetimes. Luckily, alternative transportation such as electric cars is becoming much more affordable, yet there is still some way to go. If you cannot afford the large price tag of a brand new electric car, you could consider leasing one. You can utilise the ElectriX site to build up your knowledge before making this investment. As you will learn, going electric doesn’t need to break the bank. 

Remember that the growing popularity of electric cars is making them more accessible to everyone, with new charging stations being implemented across the country and new, more affordable models being designed too.

Eat A Low Carbon Diet
Veganism has become a popular dietary choice for those looking to eat less environmentally damaging foods. However, it’s important to remember that simply eating a vegan diet doesn’t automatically mean you will be buying the more eco-friendly options. While most foods we buy have a carbon footprint that could be reduced with better practices, even vegan options such as almond and soya milk, some food production chains blow everything else out of the water. The most impactful of these industries are by far the meat and dairy industries. The amount of land these industries require for their livestock is astronomical, and the amount of methane that cattle produce is in part responsible for accelerated climate change. Making the switch away from these foods will be one of the most impactful ways that you can reduce your carbon footprint today.  

Pressure Your Local MP
As mentioned above, it’s difficult for individuals to make a huge difference alone. We need to work together as a collective to reduce climate change and the damage to our environment. That also means that we need to rely largely on our leaders to enact new laws to improve our eco-consciousness as a country. A lot of the world’s ecological problems come from large corporations, and they will only change their ways with pressure from both the people and governments of the world. You can directly influence this by talking to your local MP, who will be able to take your concerns and elevate them to those in charge. The more people who write to their MPs, the more chance they will have to take a stand on these issues. This may then lead to debates in parliament and then the implementation of new laws and schemes to help in the fight against climate change.