It's not always easy to understand what actions we can take to help the climate or whether our efforts make a difference. That's why we've gathered some inspiration, tips, and ideas on how to live more sustainably. 6 out of 10 Norwegians believe they can halve their consumption or more without compromising their quality of life. In other words, there are many people out there who can and want to make a difference.
Choosing a few meals without meat and dairy products can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and support increased biodiversity. Producing plant-based ingredients requires less energy, water, and land. It also helps reduce deforestation and methane emissions from livestock.
If you still want some meat in your diet, opt for chicken, pork, or fish, and try to avoid beef and lamb. Beef is among the most carbon-intensive meat in the world due to methane emissions and deforestation for grazing land. In fact, you could eat chicken and fish every day of the week before your carbon footprint equals that of a single beef steak on your plate.
You can also try to reduce your intake of dairy products. If 20% of Norway's population reduced their intake to four times a week, we could avoid 565,217 tonnes of CO2 annually, equivalent to driving a petrol car from Nordkapp to Cape Town 35,000 times.
If aviation were a country, it would be the sixth-largest climate gas emitter in the world. Air travel constitutes a significant portion of each individual's carbon footprint and is one of our most polluting activities. Did you know that a round trip from London to Singapore can account for your entire carbon budget for a year, based on the 2050 targets? In other words, there's a lot to save here!
We can all contribute to significant emission reductions by reducing the number of flights we take. If you want to read more about greener travel tips, check out this article.
Seek alternatives to personal cars whenever possible, such as walking, cycling, or public transport.
Choosing to cycle benefits your and others' health, as it promotes exercise, reduces airborne dust, and reduces noise pollution. Additionally, a bike ride generates virtually zero emissions. There’s a lot to be saved here!
Car production also has a considerable climate footprint, so if you can find a solution where you participate in a car-sharing scheme, for example, with a neighbour, instead of owning your car, you can make a significant difference.
Norwegians have, on average, over 350 pieces of clothing in their wardrobes – far more than we need. In addition to clothes, we buy other items like ornaments, furniture, and equipment – all brand new. Our best tip: avoid unnecessary purchases, find your style, and stick to it.
To illustrate, let’s look at the Norwegian campaign from Framtiden i Våre Hender, which encourages buying only five new clothing items a year.
If 10% of Norwegians do this, we can cut CO2 emissions by over 100,000 tonnes annually, equivalent to 620 round-trip flights to the moon!
5. Share, rent and borrow to reduce consumption
If everyone continues to have full attics, wardrobes, and garages, we will demand a high production. But does everyone really need to own everything? Books, tools, ski equipment, golf clubs, children's clothes, etc. There is so much we can borrow, rent, swap, and share. By doing this, we can directly reduce our consumption.
To illustrate, we calculated that if a quarter of Norway's population didn't buy new ski equipment for one season, we would avoid 93,197 tonnes of CO2 emissions. This is equivalent to removing 43,515 fossil fuel cars from the roads for one year.
To summarise, what you do undeniably makes a difference. You alone can try to live sustainably, vote green, and inspire others. As described in this blog, your actions will have ripple effects far beyond your footprint. Together, we are strong, but we must all start with ourselves.
Learn delicious vegetarian recipes – and share them with others. Is a friend going to a wedding this summer? Lend her the beautiful dress you bought for a similar occasion last year. Improve your fitness and reduce your footprint by cycling to work. Take a course and learn how to reuse, repair, and sew beautiful things. Go on cycling holidays in your local area, or take the train and discover the many hidden gems we all have nearby.
What is your climate footprint? Check out our free calculator here.
Want to learn more, discuss the tips, or do a Ducky challenge at work to increase engagement and show the impact of small actions? Contact me at sofie@ducky.eco. ! I would love to talk about climate action with you.