Sustainable Living At Your Fingertips
Ejiro is a new mom who just had a bouncing baby boy. She read about compostable baby diapers and decided to buy them in her next shopping.
Who doesn’t know Anna in the neighborhood? She is popularly called “F & B” for Funky and Bougie. Her signature look is chic and classy. She doesn’t miss out on buying any latest styles and designers in vogue, from shoes, bags, and clothes.
Mr. Smith’s morning is not complete without a cup of coffee from the popular coffee café in downtown. Every morning he buys a cup of coffee in disposable cups. This has been his lifestyle for the past 25 years.
In these scenarios above, we see a representation of our everyday lives, and a common fundamental feature of all mentioned above is “Choice.”
Life is all about choices; every new day presents another opportunity to make a choice, to continue living our lives the way it is, or to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle. As consumers and customers, we can drive the transition to a more sustainable future through our choices, and with this power comes responsibility
We need to start seeing environmental problems as individual problems because our well-being and survival are at stake when the environment is destroyed. This means that caring for the environment is not you trying to be altruistic or noble (even though these are good). It is about you ensuring your well-being and survival.
It is very convenient to push the responsibility of decarbonization and environmental protection to the government and businesses and forget that consumers/ customers can make a huge statement because they have the power to drive the market from the bottom to up, encourage innovation and competition and drive sustainable production.
As consumers, we have so much power to change the world by just being careful on what we buy. Emma Watson.
This brings us to the concept of sustainable living; here, the focus is on consumers, you, and me.
According to United Nations Environment and the One Planet Network program on sustainable lifestyle and education, “ A sustainable lifestyle is a cluster of habits and patterns of behaviors embedded in society and facilitated by institutions, norms, and infrastructure that frame individual choice to minimize, the use of natural resources and generation of waste while supporting fairness and prosperity for us all.”
Sustainable living is the practice of making our everyday choices that have less impact on the environment. It involves imbibing a lifestyle where sustainability naturally becomes one of the fundamental criteria for making daily decisions. This might look unachievable, but we can start with little actions.
Thankfully, in collaboration with partners, the UN has come up with a concept that is as easy as counting your fingertips.
The UN Environment, in collaboration with the Unschool, came up with an initiative called the anatomy of action aoa. The anatomy of action is a simple framework for connecting our everyday actions to sustainable development goals to promote a more sustainable lifestyle. According to the framework, there are five main lifestyle areas in which we make our daily choices, and they are
1. The food we eat
2. The stuff we buy:
3. How we move around
4. How we spend our money
5. The fun things we do.
The food we eat
Growing your food will help you to appreciate the process of planting and understand how plants thrive; this might change your perception about disposing of food unnecessarily. When growing your food is not feasible or possible, source locally-grown food.
Secondly, meat production businesses have substantial negative environmental impacts (excessive water use and GHG emission). Every day presents opportunities to choose to reduce your ecological footprint by incorporating more plant-based produce in your meals.
According to USDA, nearly 40 % of edible food goes to waste; you can prevent this by finding more creative ways of storing food and ensuring you consume what you purchase. Finally, get organic waste out of trash heaps and landfill to reduce methane.
The stuff we buy
Before buying a product, ask yourself if you really need it; if you do, prioritize gently used instead of new products. Opt for products with minimal packaging and shipping if possible.
Prioritize products guaranteed to last longer and stay away from fast fashion, which significantly impacts the environment. Finally, everyday products that cannot be reused should be refused.
How we move around
A little change in your commuting habit can reduce your footprint significantly and improve your health. Opt for walking, biking, carpooling, or public transportation where possible. Make fewer trips by combining tasks and errands; you can also advocate for change by starting a car-free day in your community.
Ensure your car is in shape with regular tune-ups and tire inflation; this improves fuel efficiency. Do you know that if all Americans kept their tire inflated, gas use nationwide would reduce by 2%?
If you can afford it, opt for electric vehicles and cleaner fuels
How we spend our money
Invest in energy-positive homes; adapting your homes to be more energy and resource-efficient with energy-efficient appliances, renewable energy like solar, and even energy-saving habits as simple as switching off appliances when not in use will enhance your comfort and saving fuel and money.
Trying to grow your wealth through investing? Consider investing in socially and environmentally responsible options.
The fun things we do
Embrace a life of constant learning, adventure, and curiosity, and keep an open mind. Consider spending more time with nature and on things that add value to your life.
I will leave you with the words of Jessica Alba below
All the little choices you make add up, and if we all do a little bit, it will collectively make an impact
