Welcome to the Naturesave guide to being green. We’ve scoured the web and asked a few friends, in an effort to come up with the definitive list of the changes you can make that will have the most impact.
Importantly, we would like to highlight that individual changes alone will not solve the climate crisis. In addition to that we need to major policy changes at a government level. The good news is that individuals can influence those changes, and we dont mean by waiting for an election – read on to find out how.
Decarbonise your power
A major source of greenhouse gasses comes from electricity generation. This is because two thirds of the UK’s electricity is currently fuelled by coal and gas, which releases millions on tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. This makes the energy sector the single biggest source of CO2 emissions in the country.
What can I do?
Switch to Green Electricity – Its quick and easy to do and wont necessarily cost you more money. Here are a few websites that will help you switch and find the best green tariff – Green Electricity.org, Compare The Market and Big Clean Switch.
You can also
Change your boiler – Heating your home accounts for around 60 per cent of what you spend in a year on energy bills, so an efficient boiler makes a big difference. If your boiler is more than 20 years old it is worth replacing with a condensing boiler that is 15-20% more efficient
Reduce your energy consumption – try: – Setting your thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter, not leaving appliances on standby and washing clothes in cold water. For more of this check out The Energy Saving Trust.
Home Battery – If you own solar panels, you probably know that you are using less than 50% of the energy they generate. A home battery will allow you to store this energy for use in the evenings. Read more here.
Swap the plane for the train
When you think of flying, it usually relates to holidays and sunshine. So its tough to hear that it is worse than most other forms of transport in terms of the impact of greenhouse gases per passenger mile. This is then further exacerbated by the distances involved. If aviation was a country, it would be the 7th worst polluter globally. Unfortunately we cant blame the rest of the world as it’s us Brits who fly way more than anyone else (blame the weather!). Whilst there are great technological solutions to many of our fossil fuel driven industries, from electric cars to home batteries, air travel has no such magic bullet, at least not one that will arrive in time.
Fortunately reducing the number of flights you take can have a big impact.
What can I do?
Try to fly less. Train travel may take a little longer, but it when compared to todays airports it can actually be far more relaxing. Often one obstacle is planning the route, particularly when it comes to travelling abroad. Fortunately there are some great websites that can assist – seat61.com and Rail Europe
Get extra time off for low carbon holidays – Cutting down on flying is feasible, but it takes more travel time. Employers therefore play a major part in making this possible through their HR policies. SO, why not campaign for your employer to change their holiday policy. Here at Naturesave we award extra travel time to employees who choose to take the train instead of flying. This concept was taken up by campaign group Possible who created Climate Perks, an initiative to encourage other employers to take up this super green policy.
What else can I do?
Campaign for a policy change – Kerosene is the only fuel that is not taxed. Check out this campaign by A Free Ride for a tax system that is focused on those that fly regularly. This seems to make sense, when you discover that 15% of us take 70% of all flights in the UK. The proposed tax system would hit these frequent flyers and not the majority who either don’t fly or just fly once a year. Tell me more…
Campaigners argue that such a tax would render airport expansion unnecessary. Read more here
If you want more details on the environmental problems associated with air travel – here’s some full blown stone cold hard science from a leading climate scientist.
Re-think your car
When it comes to the environment, vehicle emissions are a double whammy. The total CO2 emitted from the transport in the UK is second only to the energy sector. In addition to contributing to climate change, vehicle emissions also contribute to an incredible 40,000 premature deaths each year as a result of the harmful chemicals emitted from exhaust pipes. What is worrying is that the UK is still breaking its air pollution limits.
What can I do ?
If you cant make more use of public transport or take up cycling, you have three options. Buy a more efficient car, buy a low emission electric car or take part in the growing trend of car sharing.
A more fuel efficient car – For advice on a more efficient car check out these stats on fuel economy
Try car sharing – A growing trend thanks to the digital age – check out Carplus and Lift Share
Go electric – If you fancy an electric car try picking from this list. Don’t forget, to get the benefit of the CO2 reduction, you really need to charge the car from a green electricity Tariff. Without green electricity you just get the benefit of reducing exhaust pollution.
Change your diet
Where your food comes from and how it is produced can have a significant environmental impact. Judging food from an environmental and ethical perspective can be complicated. For instance, local is not always best, tomatoes trucked from Spain are actually less impactful than heating a greenhouse in the UK in February (that may change in the future when the greenhouses are running on renewables). Conversely, eating seasonally is better still.
What can I do ?
Eat less red meat – One clear difference you can make is reducing your red meat consumption. Beef uses 28 times more land and 11 times more water than pork or chicken. Rearing this meat produces so much CO2 that giving it up is believed to have more benefit than abandoning your car! Read more here
Life on the Veg – The next best thing you can do is get your veg from a box scheme like Riverford. Founded by Guy Watson, and now owned by the employees, this a food business the clearly does not put profit before doing the right thing. They have also worked with Exeter University to ensure they minimise their environmental impact.
A Green Grocer – For general groceries, we also love the ethics of Planet Organic – A one-stop shop health food haven with great organic and sustainable options – www.planetorganic.com
If you are London based another Naturesave favourite are the green and ethical salad champions –Growing Underground.com. Also along the same lines are; Grownup urban farms – growup.org.uk and Farm shop London – farmlondon.weebly.com
You can also
If you want to get involved in growing food, why not try the Community Supported Agriculture network
Be a more conscious consumer
Making your general consumption greener is a hard one, as it can be difficult to determine the impact behind a product or brand, particularly as so many claim to be green.
What can I do
Ethical Consumer – Well considered advice can be found at Ethical Consumer…. And yes, Naturesave is included under insurance! Ethical Consumer Ethical Shopping Directory
Eco Shopper – A good option for eco friendly products is a Naturesave favourite, Ethical Superstore or, if you want beautiful British made things with a sustainable edge, check out www.bluepatch.org
You can also
Buy less – fix more. It might sound obvious but buying less obviously helps. One way to achieve this is to fix rather than throw away. There are some great advice sites out there that include fixing guidance on just about anything. These sites are American in origin but still applicable for the UK www.ifixit.com/Guide & www.ifixit.com
The Ultimate Fixer – best product we have found for fixing things is a cross between Blue tac and super glue – check out Sugru – sugru.com
Decarbonise your finances
As our green guide shows, lots of things can be green. When it comes to the area of finance (and insurance) there is a common misconception that green and ethical options are not relevant or simply do not exist. This is certainly not the case.
What can I do
Try an ethical bank – Over 80% of current accounts sit with one of the big five banks. None of these organisations have much to boast about when it comes to ethics and the environment. There are better options, check out this review by Ethical Consumer.
Pensions With Intention – There is £2.6 trillion invested in UK pensions. This money is invested to build our savings for the future. Unfortunately this money is often invested in fossil fuels and other unsustainable assets and practices. Make My Money Matter was set up by Richard Curtis to change this, why not join them.
Good Money Advice – For general advice on being greener and more ethical with your money its hard to better the team at Good With Money – good-with-money.com
Switch It – Use switchit.money to find out if your bank, pension or energy provider is green and ethical. You could also use this handy web tool to rate your employers choice of bank and pension provider and use the data to persuade them to change.
Exert your democratic Influence
Sign the CEE Bill – The Climate & Ecological Emergency Bill is a parliamentary bill drawn up by scientists, academics and lawyers, and supported by a growing cross-party group of almost 100 MPs along with many businesses. It’s not radical. It would simply ensure that Government policy is brought into line with the latest scientific advice. Here’s a powerful short video explaining why this is so important. Take action by showing your support, whether personal or via your business. Find out whether your MP has supported the bill and if not, why not write to them or even ask for a meeting…
That concludes our Guide To Being Green. If you found this useful please remember to share. This is a work in progress. If you have any of your own ideas please tweet them to us @WeAreNaturesave or find us on Facebook @NaturesaveInsurance