There is No Planet B
B-Alternative shares 5 things we can do today to help reduce our impact on the earth
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
For B-Alternative, finding sustainable solutions to problems affecting the environment is at the core of their business. And they’re supporting us to raise funds for 1% for the Planet!
Today, the team at B-Alternative share 5 top tips on how we can be better citizens of the world.
Use the code WETEACHME at checkout and for every purchase made until 31 December 2019,10% of revenue goes to our charity partner.
Climate change is without a doubt the hottest topic right now (pardon the pun). And with good reason, there’s a lot going on! Sometimes, that can seem overwhelming and people can feel helpless or confused about what difference they can actually make. Ideally, the governments of the world would be making sweeping changes to reduce the impact we have on the planet. Unfortunately, governments tend to move slowly and not always in the ways we want them to, but that’s a whole other conversation. So let’s look at what each of us, as individuals working in a big city can do.
1. Choose to Reuse
Reusable cups are everywhere now. Definitely a good thing. Yet are we actually using them every time? You know the story, you want to do the right thing, you just don’t have your cup with you and you’re walking past the coffee shop. Moral dilemma. Here’s a radical idea….. Take 5 minutes and sit in! If you have time to go for coffee, you can nearly always sit down to enjoy. I can hear the “I’m too busy for that” cry’s from here, but just consider it for a moment. Or crazier yet, get your cup and come back! I remember the first time I went into a takeaway place and asked them to use my container. Honestly, I was a little fearful. “Will they think I’m crazy, I don’t want to be a pain, will they tell me where to go!” None of the above! It was no bother at all because it’s more and more common. You’d be surprised how many people are choosing to say no to single-use packaging.
Fun fact: A single-use packaged takeaway meal has a similar carbon footprint to burning 1lt of petrol. Small behaviour change, big impact.
2. Choose PT or human-powered energy over driving alone
Living or working in a metropolitan city means most of us have great access to public transport. Trains and trams create significantly less pollution than driving or taking a bus. Although shared cars and busses create only half the emissions of us driving alone in a car. Trains and bikes can get us most places in the CBD area and surrounding suburbs and you might even find yourself feeling more productive after some exercise or downtime if you chose to PT. Give it a go.
3. Choose locally sourced food
Choosing to buy food that’s grown locally has a significant impact on the planet and cutting food miles is important for your nutritional intake too. When your food travels less it’s Recipient Name Date Page 2 fresher and the nutritional content is still at its highest. So choosing to buy local keeps us, our planet and our local economy healthier. Wins all round!
Go to B-Alternative and use the code WETEACHME at checkout. Ten percent of revenue goes to 1% for the Planet, for every purchase made until 31 December 2019.
4. Choose to vote with your wallet
Where we choose to spend our money sends a message to big corporate groups about what we want, and what will and won’t accept. For example, think about the clothes you choose to buy. Can you choose more natural fibres which don’t contain microplastics which shed and enter our waterways every time they’re washed? Does your bank or super fund invest in things you personally wouldn’t put your money into, like coal or oil drilling? Can you take your own jars to a bulk wholefoods store instead of accepting everything wrapped in single-use plastic from a supermarket? Remember one change is better than no change.
5. Choose to have positive and engaging conversations
Yes, despite the apparent doom and gloom, we truly believe that right now is the most exciting time to be alive. We have more information and more choices available to us than any generation previously and recognising that is empowering. Having great conversations with people about the changes you’ve made can be hugely impactful. Being preachy can, of course, be super off-putting but if you talk to 5 people in a positive and fun way and teach them something new that they can get on board with, that’s amazing. You never know perhaps, they will then have 5 conversations with 5 other people and before you know it we’ve saved the planet! Compound interest all the way! Ok, we know it’s not that simple but every conversation helps.
The reality is there are many things we can do every day, that do make a significant difference. The choices you make each day matter and small changes can have big impacts. It’s also really important to remember that none of us is perfect, but making one change is always better than making no change.