Why change matters

Everything we do, everything we buy, and everything we use has an impact on our planet. In fact, around 80% of Scotland’s carbon footprint comes from consumption. It can feel overwhelming to think about the scale of the climate crisis we face, but there are changes we can make in our everyday lives to make a difference. 

We’ve all heard of carbon footprints, but how many of us know what ours looks like? 

Our carbon footprint is a measure of the amount of greenhouse gases produced as a result of our activities, from what we eat to what we wear and even the method of transport we choose to get around. Along with carbon dioxide these greenhouse gases are made of methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and chlorofluorocarbons. 

To put it simply our carbon footprints are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, or CO2 eq. 

There will inevitably come a point where an item reaches the end of its usable life, and we must make decisions about how we dispose of it. When an item can no longer be used in its current form, the best option will always be to recycle, extracting the materials within the product that are still useful and can be repurposed to make something else. 

This is the concept of a circular economy, where products and materials are used over and over so that we get the most out of them. 

The more use we get out of a product, the more we reduce the carbon cost of its production. Making things last also minimising the need to extract more, finite materials to make new goods, and avoids the emissions associated with manufacturing, packaging and transport. It’s worth keeping this in mind at the point of purchase – how long will this last, or rather, how long can I make this last. 

By buying only what we need, and avoiding buying things that are poorly, quickly and cheaply made, we can all reduce our own carbon footprints and benefit the planet.