Sustainable New Year resolutions

As we start 2024, many of us will be thinking about making changes in our lives and perhaps setting ourselves some New Year resolutions. Making a sustainable resolution, such as one of the top ten ideas below, could reduce our own impact and help our environment.

1. Pledge to reduce your personal carbon footprint this year – this is one that encompasses all the ideas below, but if we set ourselves a target to reduce our carbon footprint by a certain percentage this year we are more likely to achieve it. There are lots of carbon footprint calculators available on the internet. We like the World Wildlife Fund’s calculator(External link) which only takes about 10 minutes to complete. Find out what your carbon footprint is currently and then decide how much you want to reduce it by.

2. Commit to not using any disposable single-use cups or bottles – there are so many great reusable bottle and cup options out there. If you haven’t got one yet, consider investing in one at the start of the year and try to remember to take it with you everywhere you go. You could use the refill app(External link) to find out which local businesses will let you fill up your water bottle for free.

The Cheshire Cup, a reusable, returnable coffee cup scheme, is available. This scheme was developed due to a need to eliminate billions of single-use cups from landfill. Find out more on the Sustainable Cheshire website(External link).

3. Go paper-free – At home, contact your bank and household suppliers to opt out of paper bills and request digital receipts if possible. This will help you declutter your home too. If you attend regular meetings, try taking notes on your laptop instead of using a notebook.

4. Change what you buy – commit to only buying reused, recycled or sustainably-sourced items. Try visiting your local charity shop or purchase items from sites such as Facebook Market Place or Vinted. Some of the Council's Recycling Centres have Reuse Shops where you can pick up Items such as bric-a brac, small electrical items and some furniture, all of which are safety tested. Find your nearest Recycling Centre.(External link)

5. Choose more sustainable travel options – consider walking or cycling shorter distance or car sharing with a colleague to either go to and from work or to meetings you are attending together. If you’d like to gain more confidence to cycle, Chester Cycling Campaign run a Chester Cycle Buddies scheme(External link), which matches experienced volunteer cyclists who are campaign members with those who would like some support to help them cycle more in Chester. Alternatively, consider using public transport – traveline(External link) is a useful site for planning your trip. During January 2024 the Council is offering free travel on the Chester Park and Ride service too – find out more(External link).

6. Eat more plant-based meals – if you have not tried many plant-based recipes before, a good place to start is committing to just one or two meals a week that is plant-based. If you want to challenge yourself further take part in Veganuary, a national campaign encouraging people to try a vegan diet in the month of January. The BBC Good Food website(External link) has a whole section of tasty vegan recipes to inspire you.

7. Turn your thermostat down – by turning down your central heating thermostat down by just one degree you could save around 10% on your energy bill and around 320kg carbon dioxide a year. However, do make sure your home is warm enough during cold weather to ensure you don’t damage your health. The ideal temperature range to set your thermostat is 18-21 degrees.

8. Take your own shopping bags – refuse any plastic bags when you are out shopping and use your own reusable shopping bag. Don’t forget about those small plastic bags available to put loose fruit and vegetables in – as an alternative just put them loose in your basket, take your own container or small bag, or use a paper bag if you really need to.

9. Shop locally and in season – try to buy products that have been grown or made locally so that they have fewer miles to travel. Growing fruit and vegetables in season requires lower levels of artificial inputs like heating, lighting, pesticides and fertilisers than at other times of the year. So, seasonable produce has a lower environmental impact. Eat Seasonably(External link) has a useful calendar to tell you what is in season each month. If you are interested in growing some of your own fruit and vegetables this year the Love the Garden website (External link)has advice on what to plant each month.

10. Avoid fast fashion – wear something already in your wardrobe, buy second hand clothes or buy from an ethical and sustainable clothing brand if you need to purchase something new. Every year, global emissions from textile production are equivalent to 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2, a figure that outweighs the carbon footprint of international flights and shipping combined.

Information sources

(External link)https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/home-energy-efficiency/thermostats-and-controls (External link) Energy saving trust

(External link)http://eatseasonably.co.uk/ (External link) Eat Seasonably

(External link)https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2019/09/12/fast-facts-about-fast-fashion/ (External link) Green Peace