We all know we need to do better to make our impact on the environment smaller, we’ve got a few tips on a few ways you can start reducing your carbon footprint in your day to day life.

1 | Food Waste

One-third of all food purchased in the UK currently goes to waste, with most of it ending up in a landfill. By only purchasing the food you need, not only do we reduce waste, but we also need to import less from overseas, reducing our carbon footprint.

2 | Eat Local

We need to think more about where all our food comes from. What grows when and what is actually in season. Then switch your diet and eat food that are seasonal (This BBC table is a great guide) try and eat locally produced food instead of imported products. If you can shop in local markets, and support more local business this will

3 | Shop Responsibly

Avoid “Fast Fashion” and clothes you’ll only wear once and repair clothes rather than throwing them out for a small defect. Try and justify every purchase you make and think about if you really need it, or you have something else that could work. Research the brands you are buying, and try to buy items that will last you a lot longer. We are going to write a blog about the gear we have invested in and what we rate. In the meantime here is a blog post going more into what we call ‘The Gear Trap’

4 | Reduce Meat

Meat has a huge carbon footprint. It takes 18.2Kg of CO2 and 22,000 litres of water to produce 500g of beef. You don’t have to go vegetarian/vegan overnight, but reducing your meat consumption has a big effect. I turned vegetarian for this very reason, and found it surprisingly easy to cut meat out of my diet. I often get asked how I find enough protein and energy for doing the job I do - But its easier than you think. On all of my tours we eat vegetarian, and the feedback has always been super positive.

5 | Travel & Transport

Wherever you can, using public transport is an easy way to reduce carbon emissions. Avoiding flying where possible and taking holidays in Europe has a lower carbon footprint. If you do fly look at ways you can offset your carbon, and think of flying as a ‘treat’ maybe once a year rather than flying away for short weekend breaks. Use your car less and find adventures that you can go on using public transport. We encourage everyone to get to our trips & expeditions using as much public transport as possible.

6 | Renewable Power

The easiest thing to do is switch to a renewable energy supplier. Not only is it good for the planet but you can save hundreds of pounds a year! Check out the Big Clean Switch and find out how much you can save! Also make sure you are switching off all your appliances, its crazy how much energy gets wasted worldwide because we just leave things switched on.

7 | Garden & Green Spaces

Green spaces are one of the best things you can do for the environment. If you have space, creating a garden and planting trees will help absorb some of our CO2, as well as reducing local air temperatures, compared to concrete or brick. If you don’t have a garden try to encourage friends & family that do to plant more trees and help them build a space that is good for the planet.

All these things will start to make a difference and just being more conscious of it all will hopefully have a knock-on effect to every decision you start to make. We are trying our best here at Sidetracked Adventures, making sure we donate 10% of each trip to causes that are helping to protect all the wild places we love to explore. We will also try and offer incentives for people to choose a more sustainable travel company, and think about going on human-powered trips.

Read more about our ethics & ethos here and what we are doing to help our awesome planet.

7 ways to reduce your carbon footprint