We celebrated Earth Day last week and offered suggestions to make small lifestyle changes to contribute towards a sustainable future for our planet in our Earth Day blog post. Keep that momentum going all year round by adopting one or all of the following suggestions to live a more sustainable lifestyle and reduce your carbon footprint on this earth!

A great option to reduce your carbon footprint (which is defined as the impact you leave upon this planet via carbon dioxide or other carbon outputs, in particular, those which are emitted as a result of fossil fuel consumption) is to recycle as much as you can. Even if you can't reduce or fully eliminate using single-use plastics such as water bottles, ensure that water bottle gets recycled by separating the lid from the bottle and making sure the bottle is clean and dry when it reaches a recycle bin. 

Another easy change to make is to switch your electricity provider to a green plan, or support a local renewable energy microgrid by purchasing power from them. If these options are available to you at a similar cost to a fossil-fuel option, it just makes sense to support renewable energy and power innovation. Microgrids reduce the strain utility companies face when a large number of consumers pull from the same electricity grid, and therefore also reduce the chances of brown or blackout periods due to high usage.

Take the renewable energy concept one step further and become completely energy independent with a solar energy system. If you own your own home or building and have a sturdy well-engineered roof, consider mounting solar panels on that roof (use a free tool like Google Project Sunroof to estimate how much sun you can capture on your roof) and possibly even installing a battery backup system to power an electric vehicle and keep your essentials running during a power blackout or brown out. If you're a business owner trying to determine if a solar energy system is a good option for you, this blog will help you.

Another great option for living a more sustainable lifestyle is to make conscious choices to buy local, sustainable, organic, fair trade, reduced packaging, or no packaging products when possible. Did you know that, according to independent think tank firm McKinsey & Company, the fashion industry is responsible for 4% of the planet's greenhouse gas emissions?* Search for recycled fabrics, sustainable harvesting or organic practices when purchasing clothing. Better yet, buy secondhand! Conscious consumerism puts your money where your beliefs lie, and there's no better way to vote than with your wallet. 

Take conscious consumerism to your workplace and encourage your team to make small changes to carry that lifestyle over to the place we spend 30% of our lives at! Read more about living sustainably at work in this blog post. 

Small lifestyle changes to conserve energy, like turning off the water when you're brushing your teeth, turning off lights when you leave a room, and unplugging small appliances when they're not in use add up to big savings, not only in reducing your energy consumption, but also in your wallet! Why pay more for electricity you're not using when you pay your power bill every month when you could be putting that towards something else? 

Join us in keeping the energy transition moving forward by making small, continuous changes to live more sustainably!