5 Apps That Help You Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
It’s normal to feel overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the climate crisis. Saving our planet is an incredibly daunting proposition and you may feel that there’s little you can do to help. There’s lots of news out there about how plastics, planes, and pigs are putting unsustainable amounts of carbon into the atmosphere and worsening the climate emergency.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to help the planet and those of us who call it our home. You can participate in ESG investing and show sustainable companies that they’ve got your support. Alternatively, you could download an app to calculate your carbon footprint and develop skills to reduce it.
Read on to discover our five favorite carbon footprint reduction apps. But first, let’s discuss exactly what a carbon footprint is.
What is a carbon footprint?
Your carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases that are generated by your actions. The calculation incorporates a range of different factors such as how often you travel and what you eat.
The average US household has a carbon footprint of 48 metric tons, which is higher than the average
in other countries. By better understanding your carbon footprint, you can take vital steps to reduce it.
Carbon Footprint Reduction Apps
There are lots of apps available that can help you in reducing your carbon footprint. These are some of our favorites.
1. Fat Llama
The 1980s are well and truly behind us and, because of this, we’ve thankfully lost the need to keep buying new things. These days, we’re much better off using what we need only when we need it. The Fat Llama app is on hand to help with this, letting you borrow items from people nearby.
DJ equipment, musical instruments, cameras, electric scooters, and sewing machines — you’ll find it all on Fat Llama. Using the app will save you money and reduce your impact on the planet.
2. Klima
Acknowledging that the climate crisis is the biggest challenge we face, but that governments aren’t doing enough, Klima came into being to invite ordinary people to analyze their emissions and take action.
The company is a B-Corp, meaning that it has been officially recognized for its efforts in the environmental space. The app is easy to use. You simply answer a range of questions about your lifestyle and are then presented with your carbon footprint. You pay a monthly subscription fee to offset your impact.
The app is ahead of the pack in terms of its performance. At least 100,000 tons of CO2e have been neutralized across 74 countries.
3. Ecosia
Ecosia works just like any other search engine, but the brilliant eco twist with this app is that they plant trees on your behalf as you search.
The company has planted at least 170 million trees since it began operating in 2009 and is by far the easiest way to reduce your carbon impact. You don’t need to spend any money or have any expert knowledge, just change a small habit.
4. Olio
Food waste is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions — not only in the production of the food itself but also in the landfill emissions that are created.
Olio invites users to share food with those in their community. If you don’t need or want something, you can let someone else have it, regardless of whether it’s shop-bought or homemade. You simply take a photo of the product, post it in the app, and wait for someone to get in touch. You then pick a place to meet. It’s that simple.
Olio has already shared over 57 million portions of food since its inception and is used by over 6 million people around the globe. Talk about a big impact — they’ve saved over 8.5 billion liters of water too.
5. Depop
You’ve probably heard of eBay before, but have you heard of the Depop app? Primarily a platform for selling clothes, Depop entered the market in 2011. The Italian company is owned by Etsy and boasts a community of sustainable users.
Depop addresses the issue of fast fashion. Social pressure to wear new clothes and change fashion with the seasons has created a wasteful culture wherein people buy new clothes frequently and discard old clothes quickly. Those new clothes are made using lots of water and energy which often isn’t renewable. Buying from Depop means that you’ll be getting clothes that already exist in the world, dramatically reducing your carbon footprint.
