Lifestyle

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint: 5 Tips For A Greener Life

We all know that remote working is good for the environment. It means less commuting, which means fewer cars on the road and reduced emissions. But how can you make sure your remote working practices are even greener? Take a look at these five tips to lower your remote working carbon footprint and lower environmental guilt a little along with it. 

Turn off your computer when you can

You might have a lot of control over the other ways you work remotely, you might not be able to help how much you use your computer. It might surprise you to know that computer use can significantly impact the environment, including if you don’t turn off your computer when you don’t need it. Modern computers are very energy-inefficient, and you might not even realise how much power they use. The average computer uses as much electricity as an old-fashioned light bulb.  And they continue to use energy while in standby and sleep mode. So make sure you totally power down at the end of the day and switch off by the mains to save energy and help reduce your carbon footprint.

If you use a desktop computer, you can also consider switching to a laptop. Laptops are much more energy efficient than desktops. Not only because they take less energy to run than their larger counterparts, but also because they’re able to work on battery power for a few hours.

Go as paperless as possible

Try to go paperless in your office, and use apps and tools to avoid printing anything you don’t need to. This includes using apps that let you sign documents electronically, storing important documents digitally, and using apps to track your work instead of paper-based project management tools. You can even go paperless at home by signing up for paperless bills, and tracking your everyday activity with apps like FitBit or Apple Health instead of old-fashioned notepads. 

Avoid large email attachments

According to climatecare.org, the carbon footprint of an email is about 4g of carbon dioxide. The internet itself consumes a great deal of energy. Surprisingly, an email may influence your ‘remote work carbon footprint’. If you include a large attachment to your email, it might go as high as 50g.

Save the planet by email by reducing your email attachment sizes. This can be done using data compression software or resizing large files before uploading them. Data compression software compresses large files to a smaller size without sacrificing quality. Resizing large images to a smaller size before uploading them will also reduce your email attachment size. 

Switch to a greener energy provider

Many energy providers have done increasingly better at lowering their carbon footprint in recent years. But it’s still a great idea for you to check what kind of energy provider you’re using for your home or office.

Despite the fact that energy prices are rising globally, some energy companies still provide better deals as well as offering ways to save energy.

There are still organisations like Utility Warehouse (also known as UW) that allow consumers to save money on energy. Bundling multiple services with UW allows you to save money on energy, for example. And by keeping track of your energy usage in near-real time using their free latest-generation smart meter, you can take action to reduce your consumption and save even more money. 

Go green with plants

Working remotely can be great for your health and mental well-being but it can also leave some people feeling isolated and lonely. Plants have been shown to have a calming effect on people and can help make your office feel more like home.

Plants can be easily incorporated into your work environment in many ways, and their benefits are valuable and long-lasting. They’re essential to our physical health too, because they can reduce CO2 levels in the atmosphere, improve air quality, reduce heat in urban areas, and mitigate the impacts of climate change.


You can also help the environment by supporting businesses with tree-planting initiatives. This can positively impact your daily life as well as the environment, especially if you get the chance to help on ‘hands-on’ projects. Look for energy companies with tree-planting initiatives to see how you can get involved.

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