Going green is a daunting task for many people; it feels overwhelming, impossible even. Where do you start? What will you have to buy, or throw away?

Does it really make a difference if one person goes green?

Let’s talk about it.

What is the meaning of “eco lifestyle” and what stops people from going green?

Simply put, an eco-friendly lifestyle means that you live your life in a way that minimizes your negative impact on the environment. The key word here is minimize; living an environmentally-friendly life doesn’t require that you live off the grid, but it does mean being more mindful about the choices you make and the companies you buy from. 

There are many reasons why someone might not change their lifestyle to include more sustainable practices. Some feel better not knowing how the items they buy are made or the impact that they have on the environment. Others have a difficult time embracing change and because of that, they avoid making changes at all. Many people firmly believe that their actions as an individual will not make enough of a difference to justify the cost of making a change.

And really, all of them are justified in their beliefs. The truth is…

Switching gears to a more sustainable life is intimidating.

It is overwhelming to look at the truth behind our everyday purchases and see how unsustainable they truly are. The Good Place summed it up perfectly: “Humans think that they're making one choice but they're actually making dozens of choices they don't even know they're making.”

Think of it this way; if you go to a grocery store and pick up a piece of produce, you may think you’re just grabbing something innocuous for dinner. But in reality, there’s much more to the produce you’re holding in your hand; who picked it? Were they paid a fair wage? Did that produce have to be shipped to the store from states or countries away?

This leads us to simple eco-friendly mindset change number one: shop local as much as possible. When you go to a farmer’s market and you pick up an ear of corn, you’re likely buying it from the person who picked it and/or grew it. Plus, locally grown produce is delicious and supports your community; by making this one, tiny green change, you’re causing a positive ripple effect that affects more than just you.

Can one person really make an environmental difference?

This depends a little bit on how you’re defining “making a difference”. 

Scientifically: yes. It’s difficult to find studies that agree with each other, but it’s estimated that a person living in the United States will have an average carbon footprint of 16 tons over the course of the year. This is calculated by how much fossil fuel a person directly or indirectly consumes due to their activities and the choices they make as a consumer.

Obviously, this varies from state to state, and individuals have different consumption rates - that’s why we’re using an average for the sake of this article. According to Perch Energy, the top contributors to emissions are transportation, food, and electricity/utilities. If you’re interested in checking out an estimate of your carbon footprint, you can check out this neat calculator courtesy of The Nature Conservancy.

Even if you only make a few changes to where you buy your food or how often you take personal transportation instead of public transportation, you can drop your carbon footprint. Anything helps. 

So, we’ve arrived at simple eco-friendly mindset change number two: understand your footprint and tweak it where you can. Not every change has to be drastic or expensive. Carpool every once in a while, keep your thermostat a little cooler during the cool months or a little warmer during the hot months, and of course, shop local when you can.

Does it cost more to be environmentally friendly?

Again, this depends on what you as an individual are already spending; some items are definitely more expensive due to extra diligence and steps in production to ensure sustainability. 

Other changes are smaller and can even reduce costs. For example, many states have gotten rid of plastic bags in stores and encouraged shoppers to use reusable bags instead. This reduces the amount of plastic bags that end up in your trash, and ultimately reduces the amount of trash you produce and have to get hauled away.

Switching to more energy efficient appliances can also save you money on fuel and energy costs, and on a smaller scale, turning off lights in unused rooms or disconnecting unused electronics costs you nothing to implement and saves you cash in the long run.

Of course, there are larger investments to be made as well. Switching to solar energy or buying a more efficient vehicle can be costly and as with anything, you should weigh the potential benefit to the environment against the financial liability for you or your business before making that decision.

The bottom line brings us to eco-friendly mindset change number three: being environmentally-conscious does not need to be expensive. It costs nothing to reuse/repurpose glass jars from your store-bought jelly, bring reusable bags to the store, or turn off extra lights in your house. These small changes add up; what feels like a “too little” is, in reality, so helpful when more of us start making these changes.

How to be an environmentally friendly business

As a business owner, there are a few ways you can level up your commitment to the environment and still maintain a healthy bottom line.

• Shut down your business computers and appliances at night.
• Cut down on single-use plastics where possible.
• Consider offering recycled paper bags or cardboard boxes at events instead of plastic shopping bags.
• Offer refill services if you sell something that can be provided in a refillable container (just make sure that you’re sanitizing everything properly).
• Network with local farms and other business owners to find locally produced ingredients.
• Switch to digital record-keeping to cut down on paper waste.
• Try eco-friendly shipping/packing options like recycled cardboard fill or water-activated tape.

There are so many environmentally-friendly choices that require either very small changes and can even save you money in the long run. And we’ve arrived at eco-friendly mindset change number four: picking even one of these little changes puts you on the track to a greener business.

Conclusion

Change is daunting and we are often told that becoming eco-friendly is too expensive or that it won’t make a difference. It’s time to change that mindset and embrace small changes so you and your business can make a big difference!