7 most important steps to reduce your carbon footprint

Have you ever wondered how many steps it takes to walk the globe around? If not... that means you have some more interesting things to do. But easy peasy, we've calculated it for you anyway. Well, assuming we walk on the equator (and we can breathe underwater), getting around our globe requires, just about, 57,250,000 steps.

And now there's another question. Have you ever wondered how many steps it takes to try to save the globe? A little less, but still a lot. We, on the other hand, armed with the knowledge of what a carbon footprint is, will try to collect the most important information and face this problem.

STEP 1: Be a smart consumer

Let's start with the primary, daily and most important activity we do. Yes, sleeping is important too, but this time we are talking about food.

Just by developing conscious purchasing decisions and changing our eating habits slightly, we can help the planet. So what does it mean?

Buy only what you really need - smart shopping means less waste (this principle goes much wider than food, of course - clothes or electronics, same story).

Go for plant-based and not processed foods, i.e. foods that take far less energy to produce or process.

Choose local products whenever possible - transporting food from all over the world is obviously not the best thing for the environment.

And a word of advice for hard-core meat eaters - limiting meat consumption (especially red meat) is important - the meat industry is responsible for a large proportion of global pollution and forest devastation.

STEP 2. Do not waste water

You can easily waste some time on reading or, God forbid, writing a blog, but the thing that definitely must not be put to a waste is water. A short shower will be just as effective as a bath. If you're doing the washing up by hand, turn off the stream when it's not needed. Using the dishwasher? Run it only when it's full.

STEP 3: Plastic is not fantastic at all

Yes, it's a punch to a certain well-known and universally loved song in pink. Plastic is not cool at all, and the fact that it takes thousands of years to decompose is the least of it. For this reason alone, we need to take care to use as little plastic as possible. An example? Here you go. When going shopping, get a reusable bag (how many plastic bags can we bring home from a short shopping trip?). Buy products by weight and give plastic bags a wide berth.

STEP 4. Save energy at home

Are we talking about the right amount of time spent lying on the couch? Also. But first and foremost, we mean managing electricity wisely. Take a look around and see if all the appliances you are currently using must be plugged in? Exactly. Also remember to switch off the lights in the rooms you are leaving. And if the earth's wellbeing isn't quite enough to convince you, how about the wellbeing of your wallet? These days, saving energy is on literally everyone's mind.

STEP 5: Travel smart

When you are travelling in the city and you have the opportunity - choose public transport instead of a car - you will reduce excessively harmful traffic pollution. And as long as the weather cooperates, consider travelling by bike. Not only is it an environmentally friendly option, but it also brings a host of additional benefits, such as money saved on tickets, time saved avoiding traffic jams during rush hour, and of course it keeps you fit!

STEP 6: Segregate your waste

As a society, we should remember that the various colours on the waste bins are not there to make the city cleaning service feel better. Proper segregation of waste allows it to be redistributed to the appropriate facilities and recycled, i.e. processed. This simple habit, which everyone can implement without any effort in their own homes, directly leads to a reduction in the need to produce new items.

STEP 7. Enjoy the benefits of the circular economy.

We will take a closer look at the circular economy on another occasion. For now, we need to know that modern economic systems give us the necessary tools to change practices and habits that have a positive impact on the world around us. More and more companies and organizations are choosing to head down the path of sustainable growth, and one of the solutions that will help them (both companies and individual customers) is precisely Gleevery - a platform that allows you to rent your favourite products, which then end up in the hands of the next person, instead of a drawer, thus extending their lifespan. A simple action with a visible benefit for the good of the planet. So, how about renting for yourself? ;)

As we can see, even without digging too deeply into the subject, there are a number of solutions that each of us can easily implement in our everyday lives.

And it's only up to us which ones we decide to go for.