October 6, 2026Guide

10 Sustainable Habits That Actually Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

By Lila Sengezener

When it comes to living more sustainably, it can be difficult to know which everyday habits actually make a difference. Reusable bags, recycling, shorter showers and turning off the lights are all familiar pieces of sustainability advice, but not every action has the same impact on your carbon footprint.

Your personal carbon footprint is shaped by many parts of everyday life, including how you heat and power your home, how you travel, what you eat and how much you buy and throw away.

So, which habits are worth focusing on? Here are ten practical changes that can help reduce the emissions connected to your everyday life.

1. Turn down the heating and air conditioning

Heating and cooling can account for a significant share of household energy use. Globally, buildings account for around 30% of total energy demand, making energy efficiency at home an important part of reducing emissions.

Instead of keeping your home at the same temperature all day, adjust your heating or cooling when you are sleeping or away. Even small changes can reduce the amount of energy your home needs. If your home uses fossil fuels for heating, reducing energy demand can also reduce associated greenhouse gas emissions.

Try this: Lower your thermostat slightly in winter and raise it slightly in summer, while using blankets, fans, blinds or other simple measures to stay comfortable.

2. Choose energy-efficient appliances

Your refrigerator, washing machine, dishwasher and other appliances use energy every day. Choosing efficient appliances can reduce the energy needed to provide the same service and can lower energy use over the lifetime of the product.

When buying a new appliance, look for the energy-efficiency label used in your country or region. These labels help consumers compare how much energy different products use and identify more efficient options.

Try this: Run dishwashers and washing machines with full loads, use efficient settings and choose an energy-efficient appliance when it is time to replace an old one.

3. Wash clothes with cold water and skip the dryer when you can

Laundry is another everyday activity that requires energy. Washing clothes with cold water can reduce the energy needed to heat the water, while air-drying clothes avoids the electricity or gas required by a tumble dryer.

Try this: Wash most clothes on a cold or lower-temperature setting and hang-dry them when weather and space allow.

4. Walk, cycle or take public transportation

How we travel can have a significant impact on our carbon footprint. Transport is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe, accounting for around 31% of EU-27 emissions in 2023.

Whenever it is practical, replacing a car journey with walking, cycling or public transportation can reduce emissions. For longer journeys, trains can also provide a lower-emission alternative to driving or flying.

Try this: Start with one regular journey, such as your school trip or grocery run, and replace driving with walking, cycling or public transportation.

5. Fly less when you have an alternative

Flying can have a significant climate impact, particularly for longer journeys. While air travel is sometimes necessary, choosing another form of transportation can reduce the emissions associated with a trip.

Rail is particularly useful for many journeys in Europe. The European Environment Agency identifies rail as one of the lowest-emission motorised transport options.

Try this: For shorter journeys, check whether a train or bus could replace a flight. When flying is unavoidable, you can also calculate and take responsibility for your flight's emissions.

6. Put more plants on your plate

What we eat matters for the climate. Food production generates greenhouse gas emissions through agriculture, land use, energy use, livestock and other parts of the food system.

You do not have to completely change your diet overnight. Adding more plant-based foods to your meals, such as vegetables, beans, lentils, grains, nuts and fruit, can be one way to reduce the environmental impact of your diet.

Try this: Start with one or two plant-based meals each week, replace some meat with beans or lentils, and experiment with new vegetables, grains and plant-based proteins.

7. Stop food from going to waste

When food ends up in the trash, all the resources used to produce, process, transport and prepare that food are wasted too. Food waste is a global issue: the United Nations estimates that food loss and waste are responsible for around 8–10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Food waste also uses land and water unnecessarily. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, around 19% of food is wasted at the retail, food-service and household levels, while another 13% is lost between harvest and retail.

Try this: Plan meals before shopping, store food properly, freeze what you will not eat in time and use leftovers. If food scraps cannot be avoided, check whether composting or local organic-waste collection is available where you live.

8. Buy less and make what you already own last longer

Every new product requires materials, energy and transportation before it reaches your home. This means the environmental impact of something you buy often begins long before you use it and can continue after you throw it away.

The European Environment Agency identifies food, housing and services as major areas of household consumption, while clothing, mobility and household goods also contribute to the environmental footprint. Because many products are manufactured and transported internationally, the environmental impact of consumption can occur far beyond where the product is used.

Buying secondhand, repairing broken items and choosing durable products can help reduce demand for new materials and manufacturing.

Try this: Before buying something new, ask yourself: Do I really need it? Can I repair what I already have? Can I buy it secondhand?

9. Choose renewable electricity when possible

The electricity used in your home can have very different climate impacts depending on how that electricity is generated.

Where available, choosing a renewable electricity tariff or installing renewable energy such as solar can reduce the emissions associated with household electricity use.

Try this: Check what renewable electricity options are available from your energy provider or through your local energy market. If you own your home, you can also investigate whether solar could work for your property.

10. Reduce, reuse, repair. Then, recycle

Recycling is useful, but it is only one part of reducing waste. Preventing waste in the first place means avoiding the energy and resources needed to manufacture, transport and dispose of products.

The circular economy approach focuses on keeping products and materials in use for as long as possible through actions such as reducing consumption, reusing, repairing and recycling.

Try this: Before putting something in the recycling bin, ask whether you could avoid buying it, reuse it, repair it or give it to someone else.

Small habits, bigger impact

You do not have to change everything at once. Focus on the habits that make the most sense for your lifestyle, start with one and build from there.

Whether it is using less energy, travelling more sustainably, wasting less food or buying fewer new products, everyday choices can help reduce the emissions connected to your lifestyle. And for the emissions you cannot avoid, there are ways to take responsibility for them too.

Take the next step with TeamClimate

Reducing your carbon footprint is an important first step. TeamClimate can help you go further by supporting climate projects that remove or reduce emissions and helping you take responsibility for the emissions that remain.

Start by calculating your personal CO₂ footprint. With a TeamClimate climate subscription, you can regularly support certified climate projects while making climate action part of your everyday routine.