What is a Carbon Footprint?

A Carbon Footprint is a way of measuring one’s impact on the environment, based on the amount of Carbon dioxide produced by your daily activities. This may include your commute, food consumption and clothes you buy etc.

If you are specifically curious about how your food intake could impact your carbon footprint the BBC has a climate impact calculator based on 34 different foods and drinks. Of course, your Carbon Footprint is an EXTREMELY difficult thing to measure given the number of variables that need to be considered to give a somewhat accurate answer, so…. take this with a pinch of salt this is just food for thought!

*Pardon the pun*

Some activities have a larger carbon footprint than others, for example eating meat vs not eating meat, Shock! I said it and I’m sure you were waiting for it to be brought up. At this point the majority of people with access to mainstream media know this, however eating less meat or stopping it altogether is easier for some than others, here are some reasons why!

Reasons why reducing meat consumption might be more difficult for some than others:

Family pressures – If you still live with your parents, this may make it logistically more challenging to cook separate dinners, some parents might also be less approving than others.

Cultural pressures – The association between eating meat and masculinity.

Social pressures – Social pressures, whether it’s in your head or if it’s rooted in reality, can pressure you to eat foods that you wouldn’t otherwise want to eat.

This brings me to alternative environmentally friendly ways to reduce your own carbon footprint…..

7 Ways You Can Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Shampoo Bars

Purchasing Shampoo bars are a fantastic alternative to shampoo bottles, as less plastic is left in landfill as a result of this switch.

These can be found in high-street stores and online, such as Body Shop, Lush and Holland and Barret.

Beeswax Wraps

Beeswax wraps are used as food wraps to prevent the degradation of half-eaten food. These can replace cling film, Saran wrap or plastic wrap making beeswax wraps a more sustainable and eco-friendly alternative. They last around a year and can be composted, due to their biodegradability.

Click here for my personal recommendation

Silicone Baking Mats

Using Silicone Baking Mats as a replacement for parchment paper, is a viable and environmentally friendly alternative, as they can be reused. Click here for the one I personally use.

Silicone baking mats are an investment that will allow you to save money because of their reusable nature. Unfortunately, they can’t be composted and some are recyclable. Silicone baking mats are a great start to reduce wastage and single-use household items!

Metal Straws

Metal straws are a fantastic way to live an eco-friendlier life, as you are reducing single-use paper waste. I find it equally frustrating when my paper straw has degraded before I’ve even finished my drink! (Sounds like a win-win to me!)

Click here for my go-to brand for metal straws!

Safety Razors instead of endless disposable razors

The Safety razor, allows you to switch out the metal blades when they become blunt. Similar to Shampoo bars you can find these, online or in high street shops, such as Boots. This minimises the amount of single-use plastic that is commonly found in disposable razors.

Buy locally sourced food

Buying locally sourced vegetables supports British farmers and reduces carbon emissions as locally grown doesn’t require long trips and therefore locally sourced fruits and vegetables are more often than not preservative free. If you want to find out more about the benefits of Seasonal Veg then click here.

If you are interested in sourcing your food locally then visit the Soil Association’s website as they offer box schemes across the whole of the UK that gets delivered to your door straight from your local farm.

Hang Out The Washing And/Or Dryer balls

Hanging out the washing is great therapeutically, saves energy and keeps electricity costs down

Alternatively in the winter, you can opt for dryer balls. These typical rubber balls separate clothing whilst in the tumble dryer. This increases the airflow, reducing the amount of time your clothes are spent in the dryer.

 

 

Summary

YES, the individual consumer is contributing significantly less to climate change compared to multi-billion pound conglomerates such as Nestle.

However, this doesn’t mean we cannot look for environmentally friendlier alternatives when we can. The greater demand for these products means a reduction of demand for the less environmentally friendly options.

I’m going to finish this article off with a quote that sums this article up.

“every action has an equal opposite reaction”

– Isaac Newton: Principia Mathematica Philosophiae Naturalis, 1687.

Disclosure

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