How to be green - tips from NGOs

By now you know my incentive for beginning this search for green (there is no planet B) and also what I mean by 'green' (to reduce my carbon footprint). Using help from NGOs, it's time for me to discover how individuals can be green.

NGOs represent one potential area of efforts to become green: NGOs are able to use multiple communication and advocacy techniques, such as lobbying, public education and direct action. NGOs are able to address carbon footprint reductions through public education campaigns that try to change behaviour directly which in turn mobilises policy support, as well as inside and outside strategies: inside strategies focus on direct lobbying, whilst outside strategies shape public opinion and values and therefore, increase support for policies or alternatively build a movement that is able to produce policy.

I visited several websites of established environmental NGOs that specifically address climate change. These included: WWF, The Nature Conservancy, Greenpeace, Carbon Trust, Earth Day, EarthShare, Carbon Fund, Sierra Club, Rainforest Alliance, Friends of the Earth, Conservation International, and World Resources Institute. I searched for NGOs outside strategies and public education, specifically tips on how to become more green. My findings were interesting!

Here are the main tips I found:

• Eat less meat: all of the charities that had tips advocated for individuals to eat less meat. Global livestock produces 18% of all anthropogenic GHG emissions and therefore, altering your diet can make a big difference to your carbon footprint. 
• Be a conscious consumer: buy local and/or sustainable/certified products. Buying products that support nature hep shift demand that in turn puts pressure on suppliers to become more environmentally-aware.
• Plant a tree by donating money: deforestation accounts for around 20% of global warming. Replanting trees can help offset carbon emissions. 
• Less food waste: according to WRAP, UK households throw away 7.3 million tonnes of food and drink annually. Reducing our food waste results in the GHGs used to produce, process and transport products to not be wasted. 
• Improving our commute: choose energy-efficient vehicles, or use public transport, car shares or walk/cycle to work. This reduces the amount of GHGs we release through transport. 
• Increase your home's energy efficiency: change to certified energy efficient appliances or use appliances more efficiently; ensure your home has adequate insulation; install solar panels; monitor heating and cooling appliances. 

There seem to be many ways we can seemingly decrease our carbon footprint and become more green. However, I wish it was that simple: my dad has taught me to be sceptically, and I can see some flaws with these tips. These actions are not as simple as perhaps first claimed.

Interestingly, some charities had no tips on how individuals can be green, whilst others varied in detail and extent (check out this huge list from EarthShare!). WWF, Greenpeace, Carbon Trust, Sierra Club and WRI placed emphasis on supporting the charity through donations, campaigning and volunteering as a way to address climate change - albeit, Carbon Trust is an organisation that works specifically with public and private sectors. While Greenpeace acknowledged that individuals must reduce energy consumption and advocate for clean energy, governments and businesses are the institutions requiring action. I found this disconcerting: when charities fail to mention how an individual can help mitigate climate change, you question whether individuals can even make a difference and whether there is even a point. I plan to delve deeper into why NGOs are reluctant to encourage individual action and what this means for individuals trying to be green.

My research today has shown that maybe becoming green is a bigger conundrum than first thought.