Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Reduce What You Can, Offset What You Can’t.™
That’s our motto, and we’re proud of it. Everyone has a responsibility to reduce their individual carbon footprint, and there are lots of ways to do so. We encourage everyone to think about their lifestyle decisions and find opportunities to reduce their climate impact.
You can get partway to carbon neutrality through how you live your life, i.e., reducing your carbon footprint, and get the rest of the way there by supporting Carbonfund.org’s carbon offset projects.
Here’s a good start.
Did you know that the energy used to produce, deliver and dispose of junk mail produces more greenhouse gas emissions than 2.8 million cars?! You can dramatically reduce your junk mail and offset CO2 emissions through the service of our nonprofit partner 41pounds. 41pounds will contact dozens of direct mail companies to remove your name from lists, including catalogs you specify. The cost is $41 for everyone in your household for 5 years, and 41pounds will donate $15 to Carbonfund.org to help support our mission. Sign up now!
Here are some more ideas to get you started on your zero carbon journey:
Reduce the Carbon Footprint of Your Car
Maintenance - Keep your car tuned up and running efficiently.
More Maintenance - Replace your air, oil and fuel filters according to schedule.
Tires - Keep your tires properly inflated (just this can save 400-700 pounds of CO2 per year!).
Drive better - Studies have shown up to 30% of the difference in mpg is due to driving habits alone. You could save more than a ton of CO2 per year by:
- Accelerating slowly and smoothly
- Driving the speed limit
- Maintaining a steady speed
- Anticipating your stops and starts
Make your next car a super efficient one (41+ MPG).
Household fuel efficiency - If your household has two cars and one is used mostly for commuting, make the commuting car a real gas sipper.
Downsize - Get rid of your car altogether. Impossible? Read the book How to Live Well Without Owning a Car by Chris Balish and it won’t seem so.
Reduce the Carbon Footprint of Your Travel
A lot of our emissions come from just being inefficient or not deliberate with our daily decisions. Every day think about how you could reduce the miles you drive and pretty soon you’ll start identifying lots of opportunities:
Combine your trip with another.
Carpool - Just once a week saves 20%.
Check out your transit options - It may not work for you every time, but use it when it does.
What about your bike? - Get in shape, too!
Only a mile? - Walk.
Think it through - Do you need to take this trip at all?
Get it on the Internet.
Optimize - Save this trip for later and combine with another.
Telecommute - Work from home occasionally.
Reduce the Carbon Footprint of Your Air Travel
Travel by flying creates a lot of CO2. If you’ve used our calculator, you’ve probably noticed that.
Think about the trip - Can you defer it or combine it with another?
Train - For some trips the train may be a good choice. More relaxing and roomier, too.
Fly nonstop - Nonstop flights are better than connecting flights (for lots of reasons).
When you get there - Do some research ahead of time to find better ground travel options (shuttles, transit, trains, etc.) at your destination.
Lodging - Ask your hotel about their environmental commitments.
While you’re away - Turn your stuff off. Turn down your thermostat and your water heater; turn off your electronics (even smarter: unplug them to protect from electrical storms). What’s the point of things being on with no one there?
More tips - Take a look at green travel tips.
Reduce the Carbon Footprint of Your Home
Programmable thermostat – Costs about $50 or less and will save you that much or more in the first year.
Weatherstripping and Caulking – Costs almost nothing while reducing your energy use, reducing drafts and improving comfort.
Lighting – Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) have that cool curly shape and save more than 2/3rds of the energy of a regular incandescent. Each bulb can save $40 or more over its lifetime. Better yet, get The Bulb and your lighting becomes CarbonFree®.
Heating and Cooling - Keep your heating and cooling system tuned. When it’s time to replace, do your research and ask for ENERGY STAR.
Insulation – Weatherstripping, caulking and insulation work together to save you energy, improve the comfort of your home, make it quieter and help you save money.
Showerheads – These little guys keep the pressure firm while reducing your hot water bill.
Appliances – Always pay attention to the total lifetime cost, including energy—not just the price tag. Look for the ENERGY STAR label (check out energystar.gov).
Bigger isn’t always better - Just get the size you need; do you really need that extra fridge in the basement?
Electronics – Likewise, look for ENERGY STAR. And do like your Mom said- turn things off.
Windows – These can be expensive, but when it’s time to replace them, make sure they are ENERGY STAR rated.
Solar – We love solar, but make sure you reduce your energy load first to keep your costs down.
New Home – Make sure yours is an ENERGY STAR Home.
Reduce the Carbon Footprint of Your Office
Turn ‘em off - Only use the lights you need. If you’re using your computer you may not need your office lights on, too.
Turn ‘em off 2 - Shut off lights in unused rooms. Better, get your building to install occupancy sensors.
Enable your power management - So your computer and monitor shut down (do this at home, too).
Push the button - Push the power button on your computer monitor. Even while on standby, it still uses energy, so what’s the point if you’re going to be gone all weekend?
Don’t print it - Do you really need those hard copies, or can you save it on your computer instead?
Double-side print - Saves paper, too.
Can you carpool or transit or bike to work? See above.
Open up - If you have windows you can open, use them to intelligently save energy.
Bring your lunch - Or walk to the local eatery instead of driving.
Reduce the Carbon Footprint of Your Life
Only 40% of the average American’s carbon footprint is due to their direct energy use. The other 60% is indirect; it comes from everything we buy and use—goods and services. Pay attention to your consumption and waste habits, and you’ll find lots of opportunities to conserve.
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
You’ve heard it before, but it’s still great advice. Manufacturing products produces an average 4-8 pounds of CO2 for every pound of manufactured product.
Donate old electronics to charity. Donate your old cell phone, PDA, digital camera, or iPod to Recycling for Charities and benefit the charity of your choice!
Stop your junk mail with 41pounds, a nonprofit service that contacts dozens of direct mail companies to remove your name from their lists.
Buy local. Shipping burns fuel. A 5-pound package shipped by air across the country creates 12 pounds of CO2 (3 ½ pounds if shipped by truck).
Eat less meat. If you’re already a vegetarian, you’re saving at least 3,000 pounds of CO2 per year compared to meat eaters. Good going! If you’re not ready to take that step, just increase the number of vegetarian meals you eat each week by one or two. Also, poultry is less greenhouse gas intensive than beef.
After reducing your carbon footprint, go carbon neutral by offsetting your remaining footprint.
Click here to get started now.
