“Sustainable living” is a modern-day buzzword, you may have heard it mentioned by your favourite brand, blogger or local artisan. Many people are talking about leading sustainable lives and there’s a good reason why.
Living a sustainable life is a personal philosophy that benefits the world and future generations. Sustainable living is a practical lifestyle that aims to reduce personal and socio-environmental impact by making positive changes that help climate change and other negative environmental concerns. It encourages people to minimize their use of Earth’s resources and reduce the damage of human and environmental interactions. The aim of living sustainably is to achieve an environmental, social and economic balance.
The social equity pillar refers to societal systems and structures that actively support current and future generations’ ability to live healthily and comfortably. Socially sustainable communities are authentically democratic, diverse, equitable, connected, and provide people with a good living standard. [1]
The economic pillar represents strategies used to encourage individuals and corporations to use socio-economic resources to their advantage. Economic sustainability ensures that businesses make a profit without creating social or environmental issues.
The environmental pillar of sustainability is probably the best-known, occurring when processes, systems, and activities minimize the environmental impact of their products, facilities, and operations. It focuses on zero-waste product manufacturing, managing energy consumption, and switching to green energy in offices, headquarter buildings, warehouses, and factories.
Without one of the others, these pillars would collapse, but the three of them together means sustainability in its ideal form. These pillars encourage people, politicians, and businesses to make decisions betting on the long term and taking future generations into account. [2]
What Can I Do?
With the weight of the world and future generations on your shoulders, you may be asking yourself "what can I do to help?". Here are a few easy tips to get you started.
- Shop local and support local farmers and artisans- this cuts down on shipping costs and gives local businesses time to shine. Local businesses often source their products from local manufacturers and growers. This helps to reduce long-distance logistics, fossil fuel usage and even helps to ensure local farms and agriculture thrive.
- Opt for a natural and cruelty-free product regime. Whether this is skincare, personal care or cleaning products. By committing to using natural products you are preventing chemicals from having a negative impact on the earth. As well as sustainable packaging, it's important to look for organic ingredients, cruelty-free certification, locally made, GMP certification, recyclable or reusable packaging and carbon neutral. It is easy to create cleaning products from left over citrus fruits and products you probably already have in your cupboard, this will ensure you are utilizing all your ingredients to their full potential.
- Adopt a plant-rich diet. The meat and dairy industry takes up 83% of all farmland and is responsible for 60% of the agricultural industry’s 13.7 billion tons of yearly greenhouse gas emissions. The Vegan Calculator suggests that adopting a plant-based diet can save 401,500 gallons of water, 10,950 square feet of forest, 7,300 pounds of CO2 emissions per person per year (not to mention the 365 animal lives saved). [3].
- Don’t waste food! There are many possibilities to be made out of the food you might usually throw away. The green tops of many vegetables (like carrots or radishes) can be turned into a delicious pesto. The wasted ends of vegetables can be stored in the freezer, ready to be made into a veg broth. There are endless ideas, search online and be creative.
- Grow your food where/when possible, start small by growing herbs on your windowsill or sprouting beans and seeds. Growing food at home sequesters carbon, makes cities greener, increases biodiversity and reduces food travel miles.
- Save energy at home, switch off your lights and appliances, turn your heating down and hang your clothes out to dry instead of tumble dry them. Also, be conscious of your water consumption.
- Switch to a sustainable commute. Riding your bike to work/school is healthy, reduces stress, saves time and money. If biking is not your thing, consider other alternatives such as public transportation, carpool, electric cars, or even try walking/jogging for short distances.
- Avoid plastic containers where possible. Invest in a nice reusable cup and you’ll want to bring it out with you all the time.
"Sustainability means making choices today that will positively impact the planet tomorrow. It means thinking of the needs of future generations by ensuring that they will inherit a safe and healthy planet to live and thrive on.
As individuals we may feel like our efforts are not making an impact but collectively, we have a huge impact on our beautiful earth." - Inspire Clean Energy
Sources:
[1] https://www.inspirecleanenergy.com/blog/sustainable-living/what-is-sustainable-living
[2] https://youmatter.world/en/definition/definitions-sustainability-definition-examples-principles/
