4 Easy Ways You Can Reduce Climate Change
Tahlia • Feb 27, 2019

I’m really proud to work for a company that values the environment and makes efforts to be more sustainable. Not only does it align with my personal values, but it gives me hope that there are other businesses trying to be kinder to the environment too. And it’s more than just about being kind, it’s about saving ourselves too.



Earlier this year, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a report stating we have 12 years to make urgent changes to halt climate change. Global temperatures have increased by 1.5C since the pre-industrial era, and that’s where we must stop it. The consequences will be enormous if we let the earth warm a further 0.5 degrees…


What Will Happen if it increases by 2.0C:


  • By 2100, the ocean will rise 10cm more, affecting 10 million more people
  • More than 30% of the world’s population will experience extreme heatwaves at least once every 5 years, compared to 14% at 1.5C
  • Ice free summers will occur every 10 years rather than every 100 years, leading to greater habitat losses for polar bears, whales, seals, and sea birds.
  • All of the world’s reefs will be lost
  • Water stressed populations will increase by 50%
  • Hundreds of millions more people would be at risk of climate-change related poverty
  • Insects – crucial to the pollination of crops – & plants will be twice as likely to lose half their habitat


Current Warming Estimates


Unfortunately, current scientific estimates state that the world is on course for a disastrous 3.0C of warming. Twice what we are currently experiencing. If we don’t start making real, tangible changes now, then we are going to cause irreversible damage to the planet.


Everyone needs to make changes in order to stop this course, and it doesn’t need to be hard. There are a myriad of small changes that everyone can make in their lives that will significantly improve our chances.


4 Easy Ways You Can Help:


1. Eat less meat & consume less dairy


Look, I like cheese & meat boards as much as the next person, but it’s not good for us and it’s even worse for the environment! If over the course of a year you skip meat & cheese one day a week, it would be the equivalent of taking your car off the road for 5 weeks. Skip your steak once a week and it’s the equivalent of taking your car off the road for three months. If everyone in the US didn’t eat meat of cheese for just one day a week, it would be the equivalent of taking 7.6 million cars off the road…


2. Recycle!


Recycling 1 plastic bottle can save enough energy to power a computer for 25mins. Glass can be recycled over and over and over again, but it takes over 1 million years to break down in a landfill. Recycling one aluminium can saves enough energy to power your TV for an afternoon. And it’s as easy as putting it in the right bin!


3. Reduce Electricity Usage


No one is expecting you sit at home in the dark with no lights on, but there are a few simple ways you can reduce your electricity usage. Turn your computer off overnight, don’t leave it on sleep mode, but actually shut it down, and if it’s a desktop, switch it off at the power point. Use energy efficient lightbulbs – if every house in the US* used energy efficient lightbulbs, it would reduce pollution by the same amount as removing one million cars from the road.


4. Plant a tree!


Planting a tree is one of the best ways to fight climate change. Trees reverse the impact of land degradation and filter the air, thus helping stave off the effects of climate change. In just one year, a mature leafy green tree produces as much oxygen as 10 people inhale. Imagine what would happen if we ALL planted a tree or two?!


*I know we’re in Aus but most research has been conducted in the US and it’s the only stats I have to work with!


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