Go plant-based 🌿

You don't need to be a die-hard vegan to make a difference. But switching to a plant-based diet is an effective way to reduce your carbon footprint.

The BBC did a comparative study about the carbon emissions of different diet types and published their findings:

• Vegan CO2e emissions per week: 9.9kg
• Vegetarian CO2e emissions per week: 16.9kg
• Omnivore CO2e emissions per week: 48.9kg

This shows that switching to a more plant-based diet for even a few days a week can make a difference. For instance, changing just one meal from omnivore to vegan can save 1.8kg CO2e (depending on the ingredients).

 

Want to try to make the switch? Check out these vegan recipe resources.

Veganuary – the home of the plant-based revolution.
Bunch UK – a vegan spin-off from Mob.
BBC Good Food – all their vegan recipes in one place.

There are loads more online, and Instagram reels are also a great source for tasty vegan recipes to try.

 

Food waste

Reducing your diet's carbon footprint isn't just about what you eat; it's also about what you buy and how you store it. Reducing food waste is something everyone should make efforts towards. Any food you put in your general waste heads to landfill and releases harmful greenhouse gases (like methane) into the atmosphere as it decomposes. Globally, this is estimated to contribute 8-10% of our total emissions.

 

Most food packaging gives guidance on how it should be stored to stay fresh. Use it to manage your food inventory. If you find yourself with leftover ingredients near their use-by date, don't throw them away; get creative instead.

If you need some inspo for how to use random ingredients lying around your kitchen, try Tesco's recipe finder tool. Type your leftover ingredients into it, and it will suggest different meals you can make with it, which can help save you money and reduce your food waste.

 

If you're interested in more ways to reduce your carbon emissions and save money, take a look at these tips from the Energy Savings Trust.

 

*Please note: we're not in partnership with Tesco, or any of the other companies mentioned on this page.