Going green and ideas for sustainability

Recently, all that changed and I’m on a mission to live a more sustainable life as a business owner, consumer and individual.

Find out why and learn my top six ideas for improving your sustainability today.

On the go? Here’s 30 seconds of take outs:

The earth is under threat of rising global temperatures and drastic changes in our climate.
Every one of us has a responsibility to become more aware of the impact we have on the environment, and to live more sustainably to preserve our beautiful earth.
There are easy ways to reduce your impact on the environment, for example reducing waste, particularly plastics, choosing reusable items like water bottles and coffee cups, and recycling wherever possible.

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Recently I began listening to the podcast The Wire, and it has radically changed my perspective on climate change and sustainability.

The podcast is run by Firewire, a dynamic surfboard company that is committed to eco-friendly and sustainable practices. I’ve been riding Firewire surfboards for years but I never really paid attention to the eco sticker on their boards. Firewire were actually early pioneers in eco-friendly business practices, building their business model with the philosophy of sustainability at the very core.

If you’re into surfing, I highly recommend getting into The Wire. But it’s not just for surfers! They also discuss sustainability more generally and talk about the impacts of global warming on the planet as a whole.

Listening to this podcast flipped a switch in my mind about how I can reduce my carbon footprint and start to do my bit to preserve this beautiful world.

So, in 2019, I’ll be publishing a series of blogs about how, as property investors, we can do our part to invest in our future. I’ll be exploring topics like, how design can impact lighting and ventilation, why solar power makes a great investment and the impact of energy efficient lighting and appliances.

But first, I’m going to cover some basic ideas we can all implement starting today to reduce our impact on the environment and live more sustainably.

What is climate change and global warming?

We – you, me, everyone living on this earth are producing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases through our everyday activities like driving cars, using power from the grid, catching planes. These greenhouse gases are emitted into the earth’s atmosphere where they are partially absorbed by the earth.

The use of fossil fuels and clearing of rainforests, along with the high emission of greenhouse gases created by our modern lifestyles, is creating a net increase in these heat-trapping gases in our atmosphere. The earth cannot absorb all of the greenhouse gases we are producing leading to an overall increase in global temperatures and drastic changes to our earth’s climate.

How can I help?

Climate change is a tremendously complex issue, so it can feel like there’s very little that we as individuals can do. But there are some small (and big) steps we can all take to lead a more sustainable life.

What is sustainability? ‘Avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance’ – Google dictionary.

A big part of living a more sustainable life is developing self-awareness around the everyday habits and decisions you make that impact our environment. Do you know how the food you eat is produced, who produces it, how it is packed? How much power and energy are you using, it is comparable to other households of the same size?

Once I started becoming more aware of my lifestyle I began seeing easy opportunities to improve sustainability everywhere I looked. Have you ever seen the carbon offset option when booking flights? This is such an easy way to reduce your carbon footprint and the cost is minimal.

If you’re looking for ideas to get started, here are six ways you can start to improve your sustainability today.

Idea 1 – Take your coffee cup with you

2017 marked the 30th anniversary of the modern single-use paper cup. In just three short decades, it is estimated that over 2 trillion of them have ended up in landfill. Reusable coffee cups are now widely available, there’s really no excuse not to take one with you for your regular cafe stop.

Idea 2 – Plant seeds

If you haven’t tried growing your own food yet, why not? It’s so rewarding to eat fresh produce you have grown yourself. If space is an issue you could try a simple set up of herbs and salad leaves on your kitchen windowsill.

Idea 3 – Resell and donate unwanted household items

It is estimated that every Australian buys around 27 kilograms of textiles (clothing, linens, towels etc) each year and they discard 23 kilograms each year to landfill. Reselling, reusing or donating unwanted clothing and other household items is a simple way of giving these items a new lease on life and significantly reducing this type of waste.

Idea 4 – Recycle as much as possible

It’s one of the three “Rs” reduce, reuse, recycle. If you’re not sure what materials can be recycled, or exactly how you can go about recycling them, check out Planet Ark’s website to bone up on the recycling rules in Australia.

Idea 5 – Drink from reusable water bottles

Fill up a water bottle to take with you when you’re out and about rather than buying bottled water. It’ll not only save you money but will also prevent plastic from ending up in landfill. Dependence on bottled water has added more than a million tons of plastic to landfill every year. Reducing single-use plastics, like water bottles and drinking straws can have a huge impact on this problem.

Idea 6 – Reduce household energy use

There are plenty of ways to reduce your household energy use, like turning off appliances and lights when you’re not using them, installing energy-efficient appliances, hanging wet clothes to dry instead of using the dryer, replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs).

And don’t forget about doing basic things like picking up rubbish where you see it and preserving environments like the beach and bush by leaving nothing behind. Increasing your awareness of the spaces you inhabit will help open your eyes to how important it is to respect our environment and preserve it for future generations.

I always thought that global warming was too big an issue for me to do anything about, but I was wrong. The Wire has opened my eyes to understanding the impact I as a business owner, consumer and individual can have on the environment. And I hope this article has started to get you thinking about climate change and has given you some ideas on how to live a more sustainable lifestyle.

Interested to get involved in this cause and you’re a surfer? Check out surf rider foundation