My Climate Impact 2023
Over the year, I found myself questioning how I could reduce my carbon footprint. I realised part of the answer would ultimately come down to personal accountability.
By holding myself accountable for my environmental impact, I hope to make more environmentally conscious decisions on a day-to-day basis.
To help hold myself to account, I took the decision to make public my climate impact each year. My report for 2023 follows.
Now, this is my first attempt at climate transparency. Some of the data I could source quite precisely, but some are necessarily based on incomplete records and best estimates. Where this is the case, I’ve marked “c.” for circa.
I see this as a journey rather than a destination. I hope to improve my reporting next year, along with reducing my total environmental impact. In effect, I would like to see the numbers moving ‘in the right direction’.
Travel
Private Car | 9,103 km |
Car Share | c. 1,200 km |
Bus | c. 400 km |
Train | c. 5,400 km |
Bike | 362 km |
Foot | 6,207 km |
While still modest, that 362km of cycling represents a significant percentage increase over previous years. It was mostly down to conscious decisions to leave the car at home, attach a pannier to the bike and make smaller, more frequent trips to the shops.
2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
---|---|---|---|
Bike | 79 km | 73 km | 362 km |
International Travel
Trips | 1 |
Countries | 2 (France, Switzerland) |
Journeys by Plane | 0 (0 km) |
Journeys by Bus | 2 (c. 300 km) |
Journeys by Train | 6 (c. 2,400 km) |
There was a reduction in international travel from 2022, driven by a conscious decision to limit my number of international races, and focus instead on local races & training.
My aim is not to reduce international travel to zero, but simply to favour local where possible. When I do decide to travel, I will use low carbon forms of travel where at all feasible.
Using trains to travel to UTMB was far more expensive than flying, and took considerably longer. In terms of emissions, though, it meant the carbon footprint of my travel was a fraction of what it would otherwise have been. As an aside, it was also a far more interesting method of travel!
2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
---|---|---|---|
International Races | 1 | 2 | 1 |
International Transportation Method | Plane | Plane | Train |
National Races (including League, Club, Parkruns, etc) | 19 | 25 | 23 |
Food
Plant-based | 100% |
Homegrown | c. 5% |
This was year 2 growing some of my own food. In order of success, I harvested: courgettes, cucumbers, runner beans, beetroot, chillies, lettuces, green beans, tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, brussels sprouts, perpetual spinach, kale and pak choi.
I phased out most Ultra Processed Food (UPF) this year, excepting contexts where choice is limited, such as restaurants.
Energy
Electricity | 3,698 kwh |
% from renewable sources | 100% |
Gas | 635 m³ |
Carbon Storage
Trees planted | 2 |
I’m transitioning to no-dig horticulture, to avoid unnecessarily releasing carbon from my soil, to improve soil quality, biodiversity and plant health.
Waste
Most of my food comes from Riverford, whose packaging is either collected for reuse, home composted or recycled.
Most non-laminated cardboard is recycled into compost.
I have phased out buying Tetrapaks.
Running
I joined The Green Runners in November, as part of which I made the following pledges:
Pledge |
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Prefer local races & training |
Make almost all of my journeys by foot, bike, train, bus or carpool |
Be proud of & publicise kit longevity/repair |
Track and report my carbon footprint annually |
I’ll leave you with a photo of my go-to trail shoes. 2,190km and counting; with a few battle scars, but still going strong!
1 COMMENT
really inspiring climate impact report Adrian!