New Year’s Resolution: Be more sustainable…
It’s New Year, traditionally a time to rein in your cake and biscuits consumption and hide the Christmas gin you bought until February 1st comes around.
This year however, why not try something different that will do you AND the environment good and will have a much more long lasting effect than a month of running away from cakes.
To help get you started, we’ve put together ten ideas for how you can make a positive impact on your environment. Don’t just stop at one though – many of the ideas below work even better if they’re combined!
- Shop local.
Shopping local means you’re helping the local economy and securing jobs, which in turn creates a local high street that is also at the heart of the community. It’s also a much more sustainable way to shop, as you can walk or cycle there, reducing carbon consumption and traffic whilst having and positive effect on air quality.
2. Shop sustainably.
We’re lucky enough to be situated just across the road from the 8th Day Vegetarian Health Food shop and café, but if you’ve not got a resource like this on your doorstep, worry not, as there’s now a range of sustainable companies that come to you! Our favourite is Door Step Refillery, who are aiming to reduce plastic #justonebottle at a time.
3. Try sustainable travel.
One of the benefits of hybrid working is that if you’re going to work less regularly, you can look again at how you get to and from work. Do you need to drive, or could you get to work in a more sustainable manner? Take a look at Transport for Greater Manchester’s active travel page if you live in Greater Manchester, if not, check your local council travel pages for more details.
4. Eat less red meat, or eliminate it altogether!
Eating less red meat, or adopting a vegetarian lifestyle is better for us, for the environment, for everyone, so why not give it a go! For some culinary inspiration check out our wonderful student led nutrition, wellbeing and sustainability enterprise Met Munch.
5. Make THIS the year you go fully paperless.
Be organised, find out how you can transfer to paperless versions of bills, statements and magasines and make this the year you transfer your To Do pad onto Outlook tasks!
6. Donate unused goods.
We’re proud to support Real Change MCR, the campaign to provide people with practical items to help make changes to their lives. Many of their partners require donations of furniture or goods too. Manchester charity Mustard Tree is a fantastic example, but there are many other examples in your local area.
7. Volunteer.
At the back end of last year, we sent Lou Milne one of our events coordinators off to one of our sustainability team’s workshops. To find out more about her experience and how you can volunteer in your area click here.
8. Switch to a green energy supplier.
Switching to a green energy supplier means that electricity you buy will be matched by purchases of renewable energy, creating more energy security and helping to conserve the natural resources of our land.
9. Use white goods well.
You know that ‘ECO’ setting you’ve got on your washing machine or dish washer? It’s time to press it! Using the eco setting will reduce water usage and the temperature of your wash, whilst still keeping your whites, white!
10. Work with a greener venue!
If you’re organising a conference, residential summer school or event, consider us or one of the many other sustainable venues out there. To find out more about us, click here.
