LIFESTYLE RELATED ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE
Even though we are primarily Green Runners, there are lots of actions that you can take in your daily life to be more sustainable.
This section summarises some of the best places for:
– Buying and selling second-hand
– Switching energy suppliers
– Carbon off-setting
– Giving to Charities
– Investing Ethically
If you want to find out what your providers are doing with fossil fuel investments click the Green Earth link
Buying and Selling Second Hand
As with your running kit, buying new stuff should be your last option.
If you’re looking for something there’s a strong chance that somebody else will have it, and will be willing to sell it to you, or swap it.
And you can do the same with your stuff too.
It’s a win for the environment, and a win for your bank balance too!
Check out these options:
– Vinted
– Facebook Marketplace
Switching Your Energy Company
This is one of the easiest ways to reduce your carbon footprint at home!
Household energy is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. And so switching to a green energy provider can mean you are making a big difference, easily.
Switching gas and electricity is also really easy now, especially in the UK, as your new provider will handle all the switch for you. You don’t even need to contact your old provider to tell them you’re leaving.
And most of the new green energy providers aren’t any more expensive than traditional providers!
Finally, don’t be trapped into buying a ‘green’ tariff from traditional suppliers. More often than not, these tariffs are a marketing trick. And the tariffs still use a lot of non-renewable energy.
Even better, if you have the means to get solar panels on your roof you can produce your own renewable electricity!
Here are some of our favourite companies:
Giving to Charities and Good Causes
There are loads of environmental charities to give to and it can be difficult who to choose.
Here are some of our top environmental charities:
– Trees Not Tees – https://treesnottees.com/
– ClientEarth – https://www.clientearth.org/
– Woodland Trust – https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/
– Protect Our Winters – https://protectourwinters.org/
Investing Ethically - Banking, Investments and Pensions
You think you’re doing a good thing for yourself by saving up for the future. Whether that’s paying into your pension, using a certain bank, or investing in stocks and shares.
The problem is, it’s very difficult to know what those company’s are doing with your money. Lots of them will be using it to invest in company’s in certain sectors and industries.
Traditional banks and investment company’s have invested their customer’s money in things like fossil fuels, tobacco and even arms dealing.
Fortunately, there are plenty of other options for where to invest your money. And you can have huge control over your pensions, even if it’s through a workplace scheme. It’s worth reviewing your investments, whether that’s pension, stocks and shares or others, and seeing where your money is actually going.
You might be quite surprised at what your money is being used for!
Check out the following websites to find out if your money is fuelling climate change:
As a starting point, according to Ethical Consumer.org the most ethical UK banks are:
– Triodos
– Cumberland BS Current Accounts
– Monzo
– Nationwide current accounts
– Starling Bank current accounts
– Metro Bank
And the worst performing banks and institutions are
– Barclays
– M&S Money
– HSBC
– First Direct
Improve Your Awareness
Check out our recommended books, websites and podcasts
Thought Leaders
World leaders on the environment. and some world-class runners who care about the climate impact.
Running Related Actions
A sustainable approach to travel, kit, equipment, nutrition and more