Electricity
- Switch off lights and fans/coolers/ACs in unoccupied rooms. Unplug electrical and electronic appliances when not in use.
- Shift to LEDs for lighting and 4/5 star rated ACs and other appliances.
- Use motion sensor lighting in common passages and stairwells/internal roads and parking areas in housing or business complexes.
- Go for offgrid or grid-connected rooftop solar PV installation wherever feasible.
- Go for energy efficient green building construction when buying/building a new house.
- For short distances (within 5 km) opt for walking or cycling. Collectively demand for road infrastructure that is safe for pedestrians and cyclists from local government.
- Use public transport wherever available. Collectively demand efficient and affordable public transport options from local government where these are not available.
- Maintain proper tyre pressure in your vehicles. Ensure that your vehicles undergoes proper servicing based on the schedule recommended by the manufacturer.
- While purchasing a new vehicle go for the most fuel efficient and least polluting option available within your budget range.
- Avoid air travel to the best extent possible. If you must travel by air look for options to offset the carbon emissions.
Mobility
Cooking
- Use fuel saving practices (e.g. putting a lid on the cooking pot when water is set to boiling) in the kitchen.
- Make correct use of energy saving appliances like the pressure cooker. Please follow the instructions from the manufacturer rather than traditional practices in using modern appliances.
- Incorporate induction cooking in your kitchen to the extent possible. This is currently the most energy efficient technology available for cooking.
- Incorporate renewable energy based cooking (e.g. solar cookers and urban biogas system) wherever possible.
- If you are building/buying a new house insist on architectural interventions that will allow you to seamlessly integrate renewable energy based cooking in your kitchen.
- Maintain a healthy and balanced diet based on locally grown foods.
- Go for 'slow fashion' rather than 'fast fashion'
- Explore options of 'repairing' before purchasing new appliances and gadgets to replace old ones.
- If you are a shareholder/investor in any business - demand that the business undertake annual carbon accounting and put the data in public domain every year.
- Properly segregate waste into organic inorganic-recyclable inorganic-nonrecyclable and hazardous waste. Only nonrecyclable and hazardous wastes should go to the landfill. The recyclable waste should go to appropriate scrap dealers. The organic waste must be dealt with at source through composting/urban biogas/biocharring.
Indirect
Click here for more such tips enumerated by the Government of India’s Mission Life ( Lifestyle for Environment) project, an India-led global mass movement to nudge individual and community action to protect and preserve the environment.
Share with us. We’ll add them to our Tips section.
