Sustainable Living

The world now recognises that cuts in carbon and greenhouse gas emissions must be made in order to preserve the planet that we live in. Taking action should be top priority, and these pages will provide you with the relevant local information to support and inform you, and also let you know what others are doing and what is happening across the city.

There are loads of small things we can do every day to make Worcester a 'climate friendly' place to live, work and do business in. Small things like turning off the tap when you're brushing your teeth, taking your own bag to the supermarket or switching to energy saving lightbulbs may seem small and insignificant on their own, but together they will make a big difference.

For specific information on making your home more energy efficient and 'green', see the Sustainable Home page.

Your Carbon Footprint

Unsure where to start? Why not start by calculating what your current ‘carbon footprint’ is? The carbon calculator takes information about you and your lifestyle, and tells you what your current carbon footprint is – how many tonnes of CO2 you are responsible for each year.

The UK has a carbon footprint of 500 millions tonnes of CO2 per year, with individuals responsible for 45% of this (Statistics from Google’s UK Carbon Footprint Project).

Worcester City emits 5.8 tonnes of CO2 per person, which is lower than the County average of 8.4 tonnes per person. Since 2005, Worcester City’s emissions have reduced by 0.8 tonnes per person (a summary of the information from Worcestershire is in the table below, for the full report visit the DECC)

District

2008* (CO2 tonnes per capita)

2005 (CO2 tonnes per capita)

% change

Worcester

5.8

6.5

11%

Wychavon

8.6

8.8

2%

Wyre Forest

6.0

6.4

6%

Malvern

7.2

7.2

0%

Bromsgrove

6.1

6.3

3%

Redditch

7.3

7.8

6%

*2008 is the most recent data available

Want to reduce your carbon footprint?

The Worcestershire Green Directory is a free resource packed with handy tips and useful contacts to make it easier for you to live a sustainable lifestyle.

We’d also recommend taking a look at:

Pledge to reduce your emissions

More than 90,000 people have already signed up to the 10:10 campaign, committing themselves to reducing their carbon footprint by 10% each year. The 10:10 campaign gives lots of information and advice on how to do this, and serves as addition pressure for Government to understand that people are ready to take action.

Contact Us

Please contact us if you need any more information or support (ruth.johnson@worcester.gov.uk; 01905 722056).