Manage My Emissions - Reducing Your Carbon Emissions

Reducing your Carbon Footprint

We have created this page to show you some of the possible ways of reducing the amount of carbon you use. This has been set up to allow you to select some of these reduction methods to try in your own home or business and to set goals as to when you shall try to reach them.

In The Home

In The Office

		Your Targets	By When
How to save electricity in existing buildings	Lights should be swicthed off in unoccupied offices and conference rooms. Encourage your company to upgrade the building managament system so that lights and HVAC switch on and off based on entry / exit of people. In particular make sure that office lights are switched off at night in unoccupied offices.

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		Your Targets	By When
Downgrade to a more fuel efficient vehicle	You will be amazed at how much money this will save you and it will help the environment.
Make a concious effort to save electricity	Replace all incandescent light bulbs with low energy compact fluorescent bulbs.
	Putting a timer on your geyser if your hot water cylinder is powered by electricity and experiment to see how few hours in the day you need to have it switched on.
	Switch off lights if not required.
	Use air conditioning as sparingly as possible. Open windows and doors instead. Same in the car.
	Switch off applicance such as TV, DVD and computers at the wall rather than leave them on standby.
	Dry clothes on a washing line rather than using a dryer.
	When buying new dometsic appliances make sure that they are the most energy efficient within your budget.
	Why not propose to your local authority that street lights in your neighbourhood are switched off in the early hours of the morning?
	When buying new dometsic appliances make sure that they are the most energy efficient within your budget.
	Investigate the cost effectiveness of retrofitting a solar water heating system or using solar cells to generate electricity and check if your surplus electricity can be sold to the local authority.
Make sure your home is well insulated	This will reduce heating and cooling requirements and help to keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
Make a concious effort to use your vehicle less	Use public transport to commute to / from your place of work. This will probably save you a fortune in parking fees as well.
	If public transport is not an option form a lift club with associates from work who live nearby.
	Drive in a defensive manner, accelerate smoothly and anticipate your stops so that you can avoid excessice braking
	Buy a bicycle and use it for those short trips to the shops or your local, it will improve your health.
	Walk if your destination is close enough, it will improve your health as well.
Reduce air travel	Try to conclude your business via video conference rather the need for a trip.
	Only fly if absolutely necessary and make sure that you have a firm agenda and that all participants are properly informed and ready for the meeting to reduce potential for wasted trips.
	Reduce private joy ride air travel.
Save Water	Install a rainwater tank.
	Recover your grey water(water from washing machine, shower, sinks) and use it on the garden.
	Switch off the tap when you are brushing your teeth.
	Try to shower rather than bath.
Purchase local produce	Save transportation cost and purchase locally grown produce.
Recycling	Recycle as much as possible.
Try to be less consumer orientated	Try to be less consumer driven and purchase only things that you actually need rather than things that you think you want.
Be humble, be yourself	Try to become more comfotable with the person you are rather than trying to create an image of a person you think your peers / society wants you to be.