How to be more sustainable
Our everyday actions and decisions help to reduce emissions.
Here are some day to day things you can incorporate to help live more sustainably.
Transport
- Use public transport if it’s available
- Walk and cycle instead of driving
- Consider using car share programs
- Offset air, other travel, freight and other unavoidable emissions
- Consider purchasing an electric vehicle (view a map of electric vehicle charging stations).
Food and home
- Eat less meat to reduce the need for land clearing, intense water use, and greenhouse gas emission associated with grazing animal production
- Grow some food, join a community garden, buy organic, and shop locally to reduce transport miles
- Reduce food waste, recycle, use your organics waste bin or compost food waste at home to reduce methane gas emission
- Plant a tree, bring plants into your home and workplace.
Tips for sustainable living can be found on Sustainability Victoria's website.
Your Home is a Commonwealth Government initiative that provides a range of information and tools to encourage the design, construction or renovation of homes to be comfortable, healthy and more environmentally sustainable.
Energy
- Have solar installed on your home, plan an all-electric home and make the switch from gas to efficient electric appliances if replacing items
- Advocate for solar on your workplace, school or sports club
- Buy renewable energy, such as Greenpower
- Insulate and draught proof your home, plant vegetation to assist with shading and cooling.
Rebates for the installation of solar and/or batteries for owner occupiers and landlords, solar water heating, heating and cooling upgrades, and on electric vehicle purchasing are available through the Solar Homes Program.
Purchasing
- buy fewer disposable products
- use what you already have more and buy less in general
- buy used goods and support the second hand economy
- give experience gifts rather than things
- shop locally, choose low waste and less packaged items
- use a web search page such as Ecosia – the search engine that plants trees
- choose banks and super funds that don’t invest in environmentally damaging activities, particularly thermal coal.
Model your passion
- create new social norms by what you do to be more sustainable
- talk about climate change and what decisions you are making to reduce your emissions with friends, your children, and on social media
- join a local group such as ‘Transition Kingston’ ‘zeroKingston2030’ or ‘Climate for Change’
- write to your MP asking for action
- prioritise climate action when you vote
- bring friends and neighbours to an information workshop in your local area related to sustainable living topics, such as Kingston’s Our Place workshops.
Learn
- Kingston’s Our Place enews and workshops throughout the year provide free information and community connection opportunities around sustainable living. Subscribe to receive the enews or come to a workshop or webinar.
- Kingston’s Living the Better Life for you and the environment - Webinar recording video
- Kingston’s A-Z of waste disposal and Rubbish & Recycling guides will help you recycle correctly, including using your green organics bin for food waste recycling.
- Kingston’s Gardens for Wildlife Program offers free onsite habitat planting advice in your garden and a follow up report and information booklet. Free plant vouchers for residents each year during Autumn provide you with five native plants.
- Use this carbon footprint calculator to work out your carbon footprint and understand how choices you make can significantly reduce your impact.
- Market Forces provides a guide so you can compare your bank and super fund and find out which institutions do and don’t support the fossil fuel industry.