Sustainability Action Blog

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New Years Resolutions: The Sustainable Challenge

By Jessica Lobo |

New Year’s resolutions are all about changing your life for the better, however in the past mine have always turned out to be fairly unsustainable in the sense that they only last a few weeks! This year however, I am determined to make a resolution that will not only be a fun challenge, but can also contribute to a better and more sustainable way of living.

I spent a long time over the holidays thinking about what longer lasting change I’d like to make to my life, and realised that one of the things I struggle most with is trying to shop sustainably. I find it can be a challenge to buy reasonably-priced food that is locally sourced, and as a student it’s hard to justify spending the extra money to buy ethically made produce.

So, this year, I’m going to try and find ways to eat more sustainably, starting with an attempt to grow my own vegetables! Over the course of the year I’ll be searching for recipes, supermarket deals and ideas that can help me eat well and buy better. I’ll be sharing any tips and ideas I find, so look out for my blog later in the term to see how my progress towards my new year’s resolution is going.

It’s easier than you think to make a sustainable new year’s resolution and the chances are that you might already have made one!  Asking around my family and friends, it was really promising to hear what they are planning to resolve to do this year. My housemate for example, has challenged herself to buy all her clothes (bar the basics!) second hand. She’s looking forward to a year of charity shopping, swapping some of her old clothes for new ones at the University swap shops and generally cutting down on the amount she spends. Looking to reduce their bills, my parents are aiming to cut down on their energy usage and my cousin is hoping to spend the year trying out every sport that the Olympics show cases!

Doing something sustainable isn’t just about doing something green so whether it’s learning a new skill, improving your health, or managing your money better, everything helps towards a better future.

Have you got an idea for how you can be more sustainable this year, or a new year’s resolution you want to share with us? We’d love to hear what you’re planning to do, so post in the comments below or tweet us using the #SustainabilityAction hashtag.

From all of us at Sustainability Action, we would like to wish you a happy new year and good luck for all your sustainability endeavours in 2014!

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