How can I help save the planet?

For every protest or campaign or petition handed into parliament when it comes to helping the environment, there are plenty of things each and every one of us can do to make sure our little corner of the planet stays in good health and our habits are formed with the environment in mind.

Impactful ways to go green

Flying is one of the biggest sources of emissions.

There are plenty of ways we can all do a little more and if we pool those efforts together, they go a really big way to making positive changes and sending clear signals to business and government to act.

• 10 top tips for tackling climate change

I guess the simplest start is to think about holidays – flying is one of the biggest sources of emissions and if we all holidayed in the UK or took the train into Europe rather than flying we’d go a long way to reducing air pollution.

There are even low carbon holiday companies who have a focus on making sure holidays are fantastic but low impact on the environment. According to the Energy Savings Trust, the carbon emissions for flying from London to Edinburgh are 144kg carbon dioxide per person. Driving the same journey in a medium sized petrol car emits 120kg, while travelling by train emits just 29kg for the same journey.

According to Eurostar’s Treat Lightly program, the Eurostar emits ten times less carbon dioxide than travelling by plane.

Consider everyday habits

Charity shops are amazing treasure troves.

It’s also worth thinking about how you shop too – charity shops are amazing treasure troves and there are so many websites for second hand clothes, like Oxfam or Vinted. The benefits of charity shops are plentiful:

• 10 environmental benefits of charity shops.

And the good news is, it’s not just about clothes. You can buy almost anything on Facebook marketplace and that serves two purposes – firstly it means you’re repurposing something that would end up going in the bin but also there’s way less miles involved in picking things up locally than there is in having things sent from a factory or warehouse miles away.

Think of food miles and veggie when you shop

It’s worth thinking about food shopping too, we know meat isn’t great for the environment so why not save yourself money as well as the environment and have it once a week instead of more frequently.

Meat production accounts for 57 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions of the entire food production industry so changing your diet will make a huge difference.

Food miles are a simple way we can all make adjustments and have a big impact, it’s estimated moving foods accounts for 25 percent of all heavy goods miles done in the UK.

Consider your commute

It’s worth thinking about how you travel day to day too, can you walk or cycle where you drive now the weather is sunny? If you drive to work are there any colleagues you can pick up and drop off so you’re car sharing? It’s estimated the annual economic costs of carbon emissions when it comes to commuting are around £2.7 billion for England alone.

Changes at home

Simple things like switching things off at the sockets save energy and money.

We know about reusable coffee cups, shopping bags, water bottles and eco friendly beeswax wraps instead of clingfilm and all these daily changes add up.

Simple things like switching things off at the sockets save energy and money. Household appliances on standby mode still use energy so switch them off completely by turning them off at the socket when they’re not being used.

Look at your home heating too – if your house isn’t insulated, log onto onehome.org.uk/insulate for ways to make your house more energy efficient. We lose hundreds of pounds of heat every year at home because of poor insulation.

We are all worried about the environment and climate change and know that we need to do more but can sometimes find it hard to adapt and make the changes required. But the good news is that better habits can form really quickly. Leave reminders out for yourself or buddy with a friend until these new habits form. And remember, you’ll be joining a community of millions of people, all doing their bit for the planet.

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