What can you do?

Take on the Nailsworth Carbon Challenge to reduce your household carbon footprint. The Challenge includes 10 areas in which we can make a difference. You’ll find helpful tips below on how to achieve each of the 10 areas below.

 1. Walk, cycle, use public transport or share journeys if possible, before using the car.

Why? Lower emissions from Active Travel (walking and cycling) means better air quality for all.

• Edemo Bikes in Nailsowrth can give demo sessions of electric bikes.

• If using your car less is not an option, consider switching to an electric or hybrid vehicle.

• Want to learn more - visit the Transport Fair happening in Nailsworth June - sign-up to the NCAN newsletter for information.

2. Switch off. Don’t leave appliances on standby. Turn down the thermostat, even by 1 degree.

• By turning down the thermostat by one degree you can save between 5-10 % off your energy bill.

• Electricity demand peaks between 4 pm and 7 pm and will therefore often have to rely on non-renewable and carbon-heavy ways to meet demand e.g. coal. But choosing to shift your energy consumption outside of these times meets your energy needs are more likely to be met by renewables.

3. Bank and invest our money ethically. Move our money to a greener bank or pension.

Why? This is the most powerful change we can make to impact our personal carbon footprint. Many banks don’t invest our money ethically and many invest in companies that fund the fossil fuel industry.

• Visit bank.green and enter your bank’s name to discover how sustainable your current financial institution is.

• Do you have a company pension? Can you investigate how your money is being invested with your pension provider?

4. Reduce, re-use, recycle and refuse as much as we can to minimise consumption.

Why? Consumption of goods and services accounts for the highest proportion of Nailsworth’s carbon footprint per household. 

• Reduce what we buy: the more things we buy, the more things we throw away. 

• Do we need actually need new? Furnishings, gadgets, toys, tools etc. Can we borrow/lend?

• Find out when the next Repair Café is happening, and where to recycle locally.

• Refuse? Refusing to purchase additional products or items that are single-use or are very carbon-heavy means you are using your purchases to vote against practices that are harmful to the environment.

• Are there sustainable practices that people would like to learn? Repairing, mending, cooking etc?

5. Rethink our fashion choices. Swap and repair, or shop second-hand before fast fashion.

Why? The way that clothing is currently designed, manufactured, and used results in enormous waste and pollution. The “fast fashion” industry alone is responsible for around 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the U.N.

• Nailsworth has many fantastic charity shops for buying second-hand. Or look at Vinted and Depop for online second-hand clothes/shoes.

• Can you have your existing clothes altered by a local tailor?

• Host a clothes swap with your friends or community.

• Investigate brands to understand their eco credentials, buy Fairtrade and organic if possible.

• Buy ethical British brands where possible as these will have the least air miles.

6. Eat seasonally, shop locally, try not to waste food. Can we grow our own?

• Buy loose, for example, at Shiny Goodness in Nailsworth.

• Get support to grow your own produce from the NailsworthCAN Growing Whatsapp group

• Crop swap or share seedlings as well as produce. Forage!

• Have a local veg box delivered to cut down on the CO2 released transporting food across the country, for example, from Stroud Community Agriculture. Or shop at Ruskin Mill Shop (near, Hay Ln, Stroud GL6 0QE) for organic produce.

7. Eat less but better meat and dairy and more vegetarian or vegan food.

Why? One of the greatest ways to reduce your carbon footprint begins with what you put on your plate every day. This is because the meat and dairy industries are some of the top contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions. Buying meat from an organic producer means the meat is grown with the health of the environment in mind, for example, freely grazing animals helping to lock in carbon in the soil, and reducing the need for chemical fertilisers.

• Take a plant-based cookery course, for example, at the Natural Cookery School in Nailsworth.

• Ruskin Mill College Fish Farm is the only organic trout farm in the country.

• Buying locally supports local agriculture.

• Protein can be sourced from unprocessed plant-based sources such as nuts, seeds, legumes, tofu, and tempeh.

8. Travel better. Travel less, use public transport where possible and reduce our air miles.

• Holiday closer to home. The further you travel, the higher your carbon footprint will be.

• Opt for train travel over plane travel. You can reduce your carbon footprint by as much as 90 percent.

• If you must fly, choose a non-stop flight, as most of the carbon emissions from fuel are emitted during take-off and landing.

• Advocating for the use of video conferencing technology in your place of work could help to drastically reduce your carbon footprint. 

• Consider offsetting your carbon emissions when air travel is your only option.

9. Choose energy-efficient appliances, and switch to a low-carbon energy provider. Insulate.

• Switch to a low-carbon energy provider, you’re not only cutting CO2 by saying no to fossil fuels, but you’re also supporting low-carbon energy generation in Britain.

• Replace all incandescent light bulbs with LED bulbs.

• Defrost the freezer.

• Aim to replace white goods that are more than 20 years old with modern energy-efficient alternatives as this will have the most impact on reducing your carbon footprint. For example, refrigerators now use 40-60% less energy than models manufactured before the year 2000.

• Don’t buy a new gas hob, buy an induction hob.

• Consider heat pumps when replacing your boiler and solar power if you have the right aspect roof and space. Look here for details on this.

• Insulation is currently 0% VAT making it the most cost-efficient improvement to your home. 

• Draft exclude and fill holes in walls and window frames. Plug the gaps. 

10. Reduce water use in the home. Collect rainwater for the garden. Fix leaks.

Why? Moving, treating and heating water uses energy and creates C02e emissions. It also uses natural gas resources. Furthermore, climate change means that we have fluctuations in temperature and rainfall meaning that we cannot rely on water resources to be consistent.

• Install a low-flow showerhead and taps - the flow feels the same.

• Install a dual flush WC as this reduces the volume of water usage.

• Create a rain garden by installing downpipes not into drains but into a graveled area planted with bog plants.

• To prevent flooding, have permeable surfaces in your garden - i.e. not sealed surfaces that make water flood off. e.g gravel, block paving.