Twelve simple ways to reduce your carbon footprint

Buy less and make everything last longer - the clothing sector alone represents 3% of the world’s global emissions. Consider all the embodied energy in making things and the pollution when discarding things. Only ever buy things that can be recycled. Buy second hand where possible and make stuff last longer

Insulate your property and make it air tight – insulate your property. Around 32% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the UK result from heating our properties. Big improvements to the energy efficiency of a property can be achieved at relatively little cost by thoroughly draft proofing all external doors and windows and by sealing up any unused flues. Air leaks may account for 15 to 25% of the heat lost from your property

Change your light bulbs to LED - new LED light bulbs can give the same light using 85% less electricity

Install solar panels – you could potentially save up to £500 a year on your electricity bills by installing solar panels and battery storage depending on the level of insulation in your property

Limit your use of fossil fuels - use a heat pump in place of your gas boiler and swap an electric car for your petrol car. Preferably hire a car rather than buy one, or better still, join a car club

Reduce your speed – you can increase the fuel efficiency of your car by as much as 50% by reducing your speed to 50 mph on motorways while also reducing your carbon footprint

Wash clothes in cold water – and avoid using tumble dryers. Wash clothes less

Turn the thermostat down - you can save about 6% on your heating bill for each degree your thermostat is turned down during cold weather while also reducing your carbon footprint. Turn down the thermostats in bedrooms that don’t need heating

Walk or use public transport - use only public transport or cycle or walk. This could reduce your carbon footprint by as much as 2,5 tonnes per annum

Use only renewable energy – ensure your energy supplier only sources power from wind farms or solar energy

Don’t eat meat and avoid dairy products - cattle are the world’s third largest emitter of green house gases because they burp methane which 28 times worse than CO2 in terms of global warming

Don’t fly if you can avoid it - one transatlantic round trip releases 1.6 tonnes of CO2 almost as much as the yearly emissions of one person in India