Reducing your carbon footprint

Every day, every one of us contributes to global warming. It can come as a surprise how much CO2 is actually released into the environment...currently around 28 billion tonnes a year! But we can all take steps – no matter how small – to reduce our carbon footprint.

There is a lot we can do to reduce our CO2 emissions:

• Work out your carbon footprint – our carbon footprint calculator can help
• Pinpoint your main emissions – see where you are using lots of energy and producing large amounts of CO2
• Get energy efficient – how could you reduce the amount of CO2 you create? Home insulation, low energy light bulbs and a more efficient car could all help
• Offset – once you’ve organised energy savings, look to offset the CO2 you still produce…and you can do this with us

Your travel

Travelling can be one of the biggest sources of CO2 emissions. By cutting your energy use here, you can make a huge difference to the amount of CO2 you produce.

• Drive less – reducing your journey by even just a few miles every day stops tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere each year. Why not walk or ride your bike?
• Change your car – as well as saving fuel, cars with the lowest CO2 emissions pay less road tax!
• Check your tyres every week – make sure they are within the limits set down by your car manufacturer. You can cut CO2 emissions by around 200kg in a year, and save £60 on fuel. This also reduces tyre wear and improves safety
• Avoid short journeys – a cold engine uses twice as much fuel as a warm one, and catalytic converters can take five miles to work properly
• Take the bus or train – it can be cheaper and is better for the environment than flying
• UK holidays – there are many beautiful holiday locations around the UK. Why not visit some of these instead of travelling abroad?

Your home

Most of us now take the time to recycle – and with a little extra effort, you can also seriously reduce your home’s CO2 emissions. And of course, that also means saving money on your energy bills.

• Use the OFF switch – turn off appliances at the mains instead of leaving them on standby. You could save up to 10% on your electricity bills
• Change your bulbs – fit energy-saving light bulbs. These produce much less heat than traditional bulbs, and dramatically reduce your CO2 emissions. Fit all the lights in your house with energy-saving bulbs, and you could save around £600 over the lifetime of the bulbs
• Wash clothes at 30 degrees – by using a lower temperature and only washing full loads, you’ll save energy and water
• Insulate – you can often get grants to improve the insulation in your loft and walls, which are the two biggest sources of heat loss in your home. Also watch out for draughts around windows, doors and floors
• Turn down the heat – reduce the thermostat on your heating by just one degree, and you can save up to 10% on your heating bills