Community involvement at both global and local scales are one of the greatest ways we can strive towards a net zero future that can help reduce the impacts of climate change. Therefore, in the context of Leiston, local residents have a great opportunity to show their support and commitment that will not only support our project’s journey to net zero, but can lower your carbon footprint and can provide you with additional benefits too, such as lowering your bills and improving your health!
We believe there are a wide range of actions you could take on such as active travel, energy efficiency upgrades, reducing food miles and more that can provide you with a variety of benefits alongside supporting NZL, where these actions are highlighted below! NZL would love to hear how your net zero actions / commitments are making a difference and supporting the net zero journey. You can let us know through our website’s contact page or via our social media channels. Additionally, if you are interested in getting your story out, we will display your commitments on our platforms as a net zero highlight that can encourage others in the community to get involved.
Here are some actions you can take on supporting our net zero journey…
Reduce Driving
Driving a non-electric car is a major carbon emitter, so walking or cycling to work or school can have a serious reduction on your carbon footprint.
Most cars emit around 0.3 kg of carbon dioxide per mile, so over a year, it adds up!
Turn out the Lights
Save energy by turning off lights of the rooms you aren’t using or invest in sensors which detect movement and turn off the lights when they aren’t needed.
Reducing your energy consumption has a direct effect on your carbon emissions.
Solar Panels
Investing in solar panels reduces your reliance on the national grid, which is not yet decarbonised. By doing this, you reduce your own energy bills and your carbon emissions!
Recycle
Try and recycle more, putting the correct waste in the correct bin. This reduces the amount of waste that has to go into landfill, which produces harmful greenhouse gases.
Insulate your Home
Improving the insulation of your home reduces the amount of fossil fuels you need to burn in your boiler to keep your home warm. This leads to a major reduction in your heating bills and carbon emissions.
Buy Local
Try and buy your food from local sources to reduce the distance it has to be transported. Reducing your food miles reduces the amount of HGVs driving around the country, which has an effect on carbon emissions.
Reduce your water usage
Heating water is expensive! It takes a lot of energy which mainly comes from burning fossil fuels, emitting carbon dioxide. By having shorter or slightly colder showers, you can reduce your bills and carbon footprint.
Lower your Heating
Turning down the thermostat in your home by 1 degree can lead to a 15% reduction in heating required. This helps with bills and carbon emissions!
Heat Pumps
Hump Pump devices can draw naturally occurring heat from one place to another using electricity as its power source. Heat Pumps often can achieve 200-600% efficiency rates which can work very well if your home is very well insulated. Pumps can also be accompanied by solar panels as the source for electricity, where utilising renewable electricity generation reduces your home’s reliance on burning fossil fuels.
