Taking your first step
So you're ready to make a change, that's great!
Change can be hard to implement. Humans are creatures of habit, so it is no wonder we sometimes find it hard to make changes in our lives.
Small, incremental changes add up to big impacts. The most important thing is to start. Take the first step. Then, when you're ready, take the next step, and repeat.
I'm ready to take the first step- Learn the facts
It's important to know what is and isn't happening. The more you know, the better, but you don't need to spend hours and hours trawling through technical scientific reports to gain an understanding of the issues we're all facing.
- Watch on BBC iPlayer Climate Change – The Facts
- Watch on BBC iPlayer Big Oil vs the World
- Learn from NASA's data Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet
- Read: How to avoid a climate disaster by Bill Gates Bookshop.org
- Read: The Future We Choose by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac Bookshop.org
- Read: In-depth reports from the IPCC IPCC Sixth assessment report
- Calculate your personal footprint
Understanding the carbon impact of your current lifestyle is an important step towards taking action. It isn't about shaming yourself or others about how much carbon you're producing. It's about understanding, so you have a starting point to improve from.
- Calculate your personal carbon footprint WWF Carbon footprint calculator
- Calculate, track and reduce your personal carbon footprint Giki Zero
- Eat a little less meat, a little more seasonal veg
The industrial scale meat farming is simple not sustainable. It requires too much land, too much water, and produces huge amounts of green house gas. Eating seasonal vegetables and a little less meat is an easy swap. It's also cheaper to eat less meat. Seasonal vegetables means less travel miles from farm to plate.
We're not saying to go vegan overnight. But going from eating meat nearly everyday to once or twice a week, whilst eating seasonally, can have a massive effect on your carbon impact.
- Read: The importance of sustainable eating for the environment and our health Open Access Government
- Read: Regenesis: Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet by George Monbiot Bookshop.org
- Shop smart - not fast
Fast fashion is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions and 20% of global wastewater. That's incredibly bad news for the environment. It's also bad for your wallet. Buying fast means buying more.
It's easy to switch to companies with a positive impact, buying better quality items only when you need them. Repairing them when broken to increase their lifespan.
- Impacts of Fast Fashion on the Environment Earth.org
- Watch The environmental cost of free two-day shipping Climate Lab
- B Corp certified fashion brands who operate for People, Planet and Profit. Fashion B Corporations
- Get the information and inspiration you need to revolutionise the way you spend, save and live Ethical Consumer
- Switch to a renewable energy tariff
Switching to green, renewable energy is one of the easiest and most impactful things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint. Power your home with renewable energy instead of fossil fuels. Switching can be as easy as inputting your information and a few clicks.
- Compare deals and switch your energy in a few clicks The Big Clean Switch
- Green your home
Further to choosing a renewable energy tariff, there are a number of other methods to improve the energy efficiency of your home. In the UK nearly 20% of all carbon equivalent emissions are a result of energy used in residential homes, making it one of the largest single sources of carbon emissions in the country.
- Declare a climate emergency for your household Household Declare!
- Read: Resources to improve the energy efficiency of your home Household Declare!
- Green your pension
Many of us pay into a pension pot every month, coming straight out of our paychecks. You may not really notice it, but your pension can be one of the most powerful changes you can make to cut your carbon footprint. Why? It all depends on where your pension provider invests the money.
- Read: The Green Pensions Pledge Make My Money Matter
- Ask your current provider to go green Make My Money Matter
- Green your money
Make your money work for the planet, as well as for you.
We have the power to change our banking system because it will not change itself. Mass pressure from customers will force our banks to defund fossil fuels.
- Find out if your money is being used to fund climate chaos bank.green
- Get the gamechanging debit card that helps you save the planet tred.earth
- Offset the carbon you can't eliminate right away
Offsetting is a great method for helping to reduce your carbon footprint that you cannot reduce yourself, or a footprint you cannot reduce straight away. It is not a one-stop-fix for climate change. You should always aim to reduce and remove the carbon footprint first, before looking at offsetting it.
- Plant trees and fund climate projects Ecologi
- Protect and restore forests and end deforestation Trillion Trees
- Continue your own steps, share with others This is just the beginning of the steps you can take to support the climate fight. To live more sustainably. We'd love for you to take what you have learnt from these resources and create your own steps to take. Talk to your friends, colleagues, neighbours. Share your story and help spread the importance of change to create a climate-friendly world. Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via Email