150+ Sustainability Resources – Ways To Save Energy, Water And Food
This resource campaign was launched to educate everyone from kids to adults – here you’ll find over 100 ways to conserve water, energy and food with individual tips on how to lead a more sustainable lifestyle. We have also sourced the top 50 sustainability facts and quotes – some might shock you!
Each of our 100 sustainability tips are also printable posters, or shareable images for social media too! Will you help us share these vital messages? Click here to download all hi-res printable posters.
Energy Saving Tips
1. Always make sure your windows and doors are closed while the air conditioning is on!
2. Leaks in your home can be silent – always check for leaks to ensure air isn’t escaping. This could happen around doors, windows and fireplaces.
3. Turn your heating off around 30 minutes before bedtime, and set it to warm up 20 minutes before you need it back on.
4. Leave drapes and blinds open as much as possible during the day, for natural heating from the sun.
5. Use energy efficient bulbs like CFLs instead of regular light bulbs – save energy but still get light.
6. Install timers so that lights turn on for the morning, but off when you’re out for the rest of the day.
7. Microwave or toast your leftovers! This uses a lot less energy than cooking with an oven.
8. Freeze more food – the fuller your freezer, the less energy it uses. You could even fill it with water!
9. Make the most of the summer and use a grill for dinner – you won’t need so much AC indoors.
10. Get the right sized, tight-fitting lids for your pots and pans. It’ll take you less time to cook and save energy.
Click here to learn more energy saving tips and download graphics to share online.
Water Saving Tips
1. Make a list and do one thing every day to help prevent water waste.
2. Shower in less than 5 minutes and you could save around 1,000 gallons of water per month.
3. Drink out of one glass for a whole day, to limit the time you run your dishwasher.
4. Get your evaporative cooler maintenance check once a year for efficiency.
5. Never use warm water to thaw frozen food – get it out of the freezer earlier and put it in the fridge.
6. Getting your car cleaned? Go to a car wash that you know recycles the water they use.
7. Save water by running maximum regenerations before getting a water softening system.
8. Got broken pipes or sprinklers? Pick up the phone and get them fixed!!
9. Don’t flush tissues down the toilet – put them in the trash to save on gallons of water.
10. Don’t leave water running while you shave – turn it off to save up to 100 gallons every week.
Click here to learn more water saving tips and download graphics to share online.
Food Saving Tips
1. Plan your meals, make shopping lists and avoid impulse buys – don’t buy unnecessary things while grocery shopping.
2. Just because food looks funny, doesn’t mean it should be thrown away! Buy what other people don’t – it’s edible!
3. Come up with new ideas if you don’t cook the food you originally planned. Never toss it, try something new.
4. After grocery shopping, put the oldest food at the front of the fridge and newest at the back so you use food before it goes off.
5. Keep a log of what you throw away, and use that to cut back on your next grocery shop.
6. Keep an eye on your food expiration dates and use what’s going off soon to avoid food waste.
7. Make the most of leftovers before you decide to cook a new meal. Get creative with cooking!
8. Use every bit of food. For example, keep the skin on your vegetables (potatoes!) and use stems of broccoli.
9. Store food in containers, this will make them last longer and it’s great for cupboard/fridge storage.
10. Check if your fridge is working! It should be at optimum temperature and have tight seals to keep the cold in and food fresh!
Click here to learn more water saving tips and download graphics to share online.
Sustainable Facts That Might Shock You
So why is it so important to encourage sustainable lifestyles? Well, it’s actually incredible just how much energy, water and food we could save by making simple changes to our day-to-day lives. Take a look at the stats below to see how we’re eating away at the Earth’s natural resources, and quickly.
1. Over the next 6-8 years, developing countries are predicted to produce at least twice as much e-waste as developed countries.
2. If you recycle a six-pack of cans, you save enough energy to drive a car for up to five miles.
3. There is NO limit to the number of times aluminum can be recycled.
4. 20 to 50 million metric tons of e-waste is thrown away, not recycled, globally each year.
5. Around 70% of heavy metals in landfill are thought to be discarded electronics in the US.
6. Just one cadmium cell phone battery is enough to pollute 60,000 liters of water.
7. If the US recycled 1 million laptops, the energy saved would equal the equivalent of electricity used by 3,657 homes in a year!
8. The EPA says that e-waste is the fastest growing municipal waste stream in the US.
Click here to see more sustainable facts and download graphics to share online.
