Easy and Sustainable New Year’s Resolutions

Resolution to Save the Planet

We’ve all heard the term “New Year, New Me”, and the start of a new year will always be a great time to create new self-improvement goals. This year, alongside your self-improvement resolutions, I challenge you all to create another goal, the goal of being more sustainable. There are so many different ways of living a more sustainable lifestyle, in fact, many of you may already engage in these sustainable tactics but we encourage you to adopt another healthy habit this year.

How to Live a More Sustainable Life

Here are some great resolutions to make an impact on the environment in 2022:

Hang dry your laundry. According to an NRDC report, Americans spend about $9 billion per year on electricity while drying clothes. In many instances, electricity is sourced from fossil fuels, when producing energy using fossil fuels an immense amount of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, which is one of the leading causes of climate change. By hang drying your clothes, not only will you save electricity money, and the planet, but you will reduce the risk of shrinking your clothes as well!

Reuse your water bottles! Yes, even if they are plastic water bottles, they are still reusable! However, we heavily encourage you to purchase a reusable water bottle, it will only cost about as much as one case of plastic water bottles and help reduce the amount of plastic that is dumped into landfills and oceans each year. 100 billion plastic water bottles are used by Americans every year, if you tied together each bottle together, you could reach around the Earth 773 times! However, the worst part might be that 8 million metric tons of plastic end up in the ocean each year. 

Bring reusable bags when you shop. You should find every excuse to reuse and recycle especially in the case of plastic. You may already know that these bags substantially harm wildlife and are a contributing factor to the death of many sea turtles; but did you know those thin plastic bags you use at the grocery store require 12 million barrels of oil to manufacture each year? You can stop contributing to these numbers by simply reusing those plastic/paper bags, or by simply buying cheap reusable bags and using those when shopping.

Swap your disposable items for reusable items. Disposable items are convenient and require minimal care-taking but in many cases, they are more expensive than reusable alternatives and they will inevitably end up in a landfill or maybe even the ocean. Beyond the major issue of plastic bags and bottles mentioned above, here are some other reusable ideas to minimize disposable waste:

• Swap your paper towels for cloth napkins or rags
• Bring reusable utensils to-go
• Buy a razor with a replaceable blade, or even a straight razor 
• Keep a reusable straw handy 

Donate your old clothes. Just because you do not like those outdated jeans anymore, or have outgrown your childhood wardrobe doesn’t mean they should be thrown away or sit in your closet forever! Put those clothes in your reusable bags and donate them to a local charity, Goodwill, Salvation Army, or thrift store.

Use less water! Freshwater is a limited resource and something we need to survive. In the wake of numerous recent droughts, water conservation is very important. Sure this sounds easier said than done but there are so many ways to minimize your water waste, you may just not know of them yet, and that is okay! Here are some ideas to help you save water:

• Take shorter showers or even take baths
• Turn off the water while brushing your teeth
• Turn off the water while shaving
• Run your dishwasher instead of always handwashing (try to only run full loads)
• Check your toilet and pipes regularly for any leaks
• Don’t let the hose run while washing your car

Be your Happiest and Most Sustainable Self

If you decide to take on one or more of these ideas, your planet will thank you, and you can feel confident knowing that you are taking action to reverse some of the damages the planet has incurred. Cheers to a great year full of prosperity and fulfillment! 

At Physis, we provide an intensive amount of sustainability information and tools available to asset managers. Through our innovative platform, investors can align their portfolios with the ESG issues they would like to address. Book a meeting with us today!