5 Easy Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

*This is a collaborative post.

Reducing your carbon footprint might not be the first thing you think of as a parent but it is important that we teach our children how to respect the planet. With this in mind, here are some ways to reduce your carbon footprint and make the world a little better for your children.

Ditch the Car

This is probably one of the most oblivious things you can do to reduce that footprint. But ditching the car is more difficult than you think. If you can reduce the amount of times you use your car during the week, and build some healthy walking habits, you will still be making an impact. Leave the house earlier and walk the school runs to get some extra fresh air and exercise. The kids will enjoy stretching their legs and the teachers will thank you for helping them burn off some steam before class.

Help at Home

It shouldn’t be surprising that there may be a lot of waste going on in your home, mainly because we don’t realise what is affecting our footprint. Switching out the regular bulb for an es bulb can help reduce waste and save you money. Your choice of applicant can also be wasteful as many use electricity when they aren’t switched on. These ‘vampire appliances’ can add around £70 to your electric bill every year.

The Food You Eat

Do you know where your food comes from? The transportation of food around the globe is shocking with many fresh products travelling hundreds of miles before they reach the supermarket shelves. If you can, shop from your local farm shop where they grow and produce everything on site. Or, a better idea, you could grow some of your own. Growing fruit and veg with the kids can be a fun activity which will help engage them with what goes on their plate. One of the easiest foods to grow is the humble tomato. Raspberry bushes can grow freely in the garden and provide tasty treats every summer.

Support Clean Energy

You might not have the space for your own windmill farm in the back garden, but you can still support green energy. A lot of energy providers are becoming more transparent about where they get their energy from. Check out your local suppliers and see who is using the most clean energy sources. Or, you can get your own solar panels fitted to your home. Most solar panels can generate between 1-4 kW of energy every day. This amount comes off your energy bill and could save you hundreds of pounds a year.

Local Holidays

Air travel is one of the biggest culprits when it comes to carbon footprint size. As tempting as a foreign holiday might seem, is it really worth the air travel? If the answer is yes, then consider flying economy. If you can, take the train or a car as these have much smaller footprints than the plane. But if you just want to get away, you could consider a local holiday that is only a train ride away.