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

It’s worth highlighting that 362km of cycling, which while modest, nonetheless represents a significant percentage increase over previous years (up from just 79km in 2021). This 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.

International Travel

I made 1 trip involving two countries (France and Switzerland). I travelled by train (c. 2,400km) and bus (c. 300km).

This represented 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. It was also a far more interesting method of travel.

Food

I eat a 100% plant-based diet.

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’d estimate I produced 1-3 % of my food over the course of the year.

I phased out most Ultra Processed Food (UPF) this year, excepting contexts where choice is limited, such as restaurants.

Energy

I use a 100% renewable electricity energy supplier.

I consumed 3,698 kwh of electricity, and 635 m³ of natural gas.

Carbon Storage

I’m transitioning to no-dig horticulture, to avoid unnecessarily releasing carbon from my soil, to improve soil quality, biodiversity and plant health. I planted 2 trees.

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:

• 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!

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