Climate change is becoming the defining issue of our era. On World Environment day (5th June) the United Nations are asking countries, companies and communities to focus on greenhouse gas emissions and how to reduce them.
Whether you are an individual or an organisation, there are a number of steps you can take to reduce your carbon emissions, the total of which is described as your carbon footprint. You may think you don’t know where to begin, but by reading the following steps, taken from United Nations advice, you have already begun.
1. Make a commitment
Reducing your carbon footprint is no different from any other task. Simple actions like announcing your commitment to going carbon neutral can be very effective, while the simple act of asking for ideas can lead to creative and innovative solutions.
2. Assess where you stand
Knowing where and how you generate greenhouse gases is the first step to reducing them. For individuals and small businesses, online calculators and internal assessments can help start the process.
An online Carbon Calculator is now available on the West Yorkshire Travel Plan Network website!
3. Decide and plan where you want to go
Based on your assessment of climate-related risks and opportunities, a strategy and action plan can be developed. Targets help focus efforts and also provide a benchmark for measuring success.
Most businesses can reduce energy use by 10 per cent—which almost always results in a 10 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions—with a one year payback or less. A plan to reduce carbon emissions will first focus on the type of energy and the way it is used; for example electricity for buildings and fuel for transport. Reducing this energy can create instant savings. An effective tool is an energy audit. Many electric utilities and government energy offices now offer an audit as part of their efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
Don’t forget – this is where the annual travel review and action plan, as part of the WY Travel Plan Network membership renewal, fits in!
4. De-carbon your life
Everything an individual, organization, business or government does or uses involves some form of carbon, either in products themselves or in the energy and materials it takes to make them.
One way of reducing your carbon footprint is wasting less time and energy on travel. Companies can encourage low carbon habits (by ceasing to subsidize parking or by investing in hybrid technology company vehicles), and individuals can car share or use public transport. Sometimes simple actions can produce a shift. Secure bicycle storage and changing and shower facilities, for example, are often inexpensive compared to other parking structures but create a strong incentive for those who can commute by bicycle. In larger cities with adequate public transport, a monthly or yearly pass can be offered instead of parking facilities.
Remember, your Travel Plan Advisors can help you with many of the measures above; advising on car clubs, car sharing, promoting sustainable ways of travelling eg walking and cycling, and offering reduced rate annual passes for bus and train travel in West Yorkshire.
The above energy saving advice is taken from the United Nations Twelve Steps to Help You Kick the CO2 Habit.
Why not use the Travel Plan Network's Carbon Calculator to see how you can reduce your carbon footprint.
For further information on World Environment Day, visit the Environment Agency’s ‘Stand up to climate change’ website to see how they are focussing on the effects of climate change.
