By Imani Holmer, Alliance Intern from UC Berkeley ‘25
Thanks Green America for their Guide to a Sustainable 2024 and article 10 Habits of Highly Sustainable People, which shows it’s not hard to adopt green habits, despite being in such a consumerist society. Though some of these changes may seem minor, small changes can make a big difference.
- Save Water with 13 tips for saving 65 gallons of water a day, including the use of water-saving shower heads (saving 2 gallons/day) and shower for 5 minutes instead of the average 8 minutes (saving 7.5 gallons/day).
- Go Nontoxic at Home by choosing eco-friendly cleaning products, detergents, fragrances, candles and body care, so that your indoor is air cleaner and you’ll have a healthier home.
- Green Your Closet by buying less, and when you do buy, avoid fast fashion and purchase secondhand or organic and green clothes.
- Green Your Energy Use through energy efficient measures, like reducing usage during peak electricity demand times and scheduling an energy audit.
- Bank and Invest Responsibly with community banks and credit unions rather than large banks and invest in firms with aligned sustainability and social goals.
- Choose “Good Food” by purchasing foods grown through sustainable methods, such as regenerative farming and avoiding foods obtained from the inhumane treatment of animals and exploitation of workers.
- Build Green with renewable, recyclable or salvaged materials to reduce pollution and waste from construction.
- Reuse and Recycle wherever you can by repurposing, swapping with friends, avoiding single-use plastics or buying pre-owned products to reduce waste and energy consumption.
- Green Your Transportation by switching from cars to greener transportation: walking, biking and public transit all substantially reduce individual emission levels.
- Travel Sustainably by choosing local and green businesses at your destination.
Your lifestyle has more environmental impact than you know. As these practices become more universal, their positive impacts grow too. Join the Alliance in implementing even a few of these simple steps and lead a more sustainable life. Whether it’s keeping one less plastic bottle out of a landfill or taking one car’s worth of carbon emissions from the atmosphere, your actions make a difference.