Sustainability is one of the most popular lifestyle choices of the past decade and will hopefully become second-nature to us all in the coming years. As we transition from lives of convenience and fast-fashion to lives of environmentally conscious choices, sustainability will continue to permeate almost all of our daily decisions.

Sustainability comes in many forms CMD368 and has many benefits, but have you ever wondered what it means to live sustainably? Read on to learn what sustainable living looks like and how you can achieve it in your own life.

What is sustainable living?

Sustainable living is achieved by making choices that aim to reduce our individual and collective environmental impact by making positive changes to offset climate change and reduce environmental damage. It is a way to reduce our carbon footprint and better use the Earth’s resources to minimize the environmental damage that can be caused by our lifestyle choices.

Sustainability means making choices today that will positively impact the planet tomorrow. It means thinking of the needs of future generations by ensuring that they will inherit a safe and healthy planet to live and thrive on.

What are some examples of sustainable living?

There are plenty of ways to live more sustainably, like buying local and in-season foods that are farmed sustainably. Foods that aren’t in season often require certain chemicals to be grown that aren’t necessary for in-season foods, or they need to be shipped from somewhere that experiences a very different climate from your own. Sustainable farming discourages waste and encourages low-impact, seasonal diets. Eating less meat (or no meat at all) is another way to live sustainably.

Industrial meat is one of the biggest contributors to pollution, deforestation, and greenhouse gas production. Beef and lamb are the most harmful meats when it comes to eating with the environment in mind.

Another example of sustainable living is buying items made using recycled materials or designed to be zero-waste. Many cosmetics companies produce items in bottles and jars made from recycled products. You can also find clothing, bedding, and furniture made from recycled materials.

What is the importance of sustainable living?

Sustainable living is vital for our health — and our planet’s health. Living sustainably can improve our life balance by reducing our dependence on vehicles or machinery. By being less reliant on vehicles, we’re more likely to walk or cycle, which helps us create healthier habits. We can also live healthier lives by consuming high-quality, local foods. As a large proponent of environmental damage, red meats are also unhealthy for our physical health, and by eating less meat-based diets, we’re able to reduce the damage done to our bodies and the planet.

We all have to throw things away – with almost 8 billion people on the planet, that’s a lot of waste that all has to go somewhere. Landfills are not a healthy option and not a long-term solution, either. Every year, around 150 million tons of trash make it into marine environments. Only compostable products will biodegrade within 6 months – in fact, even biodegradable plastics may outlive us. The only way to curb the amount of trash scattered across the planet is to recycle and use biodegradable materials when possible.

Of course, our use of fossil fuels to power our homes, businesses, and transportation creates harmful gases that warm our planet and create more extreme weather conditions. If we don’t act to stop this within the next decade, the damage may be irreversible.