Stories For A Sustainable Future

RESPONSIBLE LIFE CHOICES
#EUROPEANFOOTPRINTS #WHATDOYOUCAREABOUT
Anna, Finland
The past years have been overshadowed by
worsening environmental problems and climate
change. As these problems have become more
evident and severe, a lot of people are now
overwhelmed with feelings of inadequacy and
hopelessness. While it is true that solving the climate
crisis requires determined and radical action from
governments and policy makers around the world, it
is equally true that over 70% of carbon emission
originates from households’ everyday activities.
Keeping in mind that we, Europeans, have one of
the highest carbon footprints per capita, it is not
negligible what and how much we consume in our
everyday lives.
A lot of this consumption is unnecessary and useless. Even the most conservative
calculations show that people could save around € 3,000 per household every year by
cutting back on goods such as alcohol, cigarettes and junk food, and by making
environmentally friendly choices such as reducing private car mobility and air travel. Hence,
my fellow researchers and I wanted to tackle the commonly held misconceptions that
citizen-consumers’ choices do not have any
Europeans have one of the
highest carbon footprints
per capita.
impact and role in stopping climate change,
and that climate action is expensive and
requires very advanced technology. In fact,
stopping climate change would only cost € 3
per person per day, if we were to start
investing immediately. This amount is based on the Stern report of how much needs to be
invested in climate change mitigation measures, such as renewable energy, to stop climate
change at 2°C. The €3 is calculated according to GDP, accounting for Europeans’ share in
the effort.
Nevertheless, making environmentally conscious decisions at all times may sometimes feel
exhausting and discouraging. Doing something for the environment should be just as easy,
fast, fun and convenient, as shopping is today. Hence, we came up with the idea of
Useless, which aims to encourage and empower citizens for anti-consumption through a
mobile application. Save your money, and save the environment! Furthermore, when the
saved money is invested in sustainable projects, such as renewable energy or regenerative
food production, citizens can leave a
double impact on the climate: by
avoiding CO 2 emission from deterred
consumption, and by decreasing CO 2
emission through making sustainable
investments. Thus, Useless combines
micro-saving with impact-investing.
While waiting for the application to
come on the market, don’t be useless,
just use less! :-)
1
Do you know where
your clothes are
made? Many
companies resort to
inhumane working
conditions or child
labour in third
world countries in
order to reduce the
cost of
manufacturing. Next
time you shop, take
a look at what the
labels say.
2
Try an experiment!
Track how much
waste you produce
in one month. Do
you separate waste
and recycle? Does
everything need to
be thrown out, or
can you perhaps
reuse some things?
3
How often do you
buy new things? To
help the
environment, you
could check second
hand shops or swap
items with friends
and family.
23