The Ins and Outs of Carbon Neutral Living
Being net carbon zero is leaps and bounds better than our current method of emitting greenhouse gases wherever and whenever. As a result, living a carbon-neutral lifestyle is something we should all hope to achieve, but it is important to understand that it can take some time and changes to get there.
First, we have to understand what exactly it means to be carbon neutral and how we can work towards using products that are considered carbon neutral.
What Does It Mean to Be Carbon Neutral?
Carbon neutrality acknowledges that some amount of carbon creation and emission can be unavoidable, but it should be minimized as much as possible. In order to be carbon neutral, we must offset as much carbon dioxide as we produce, creating an overall net neutral.
Carbon Offsets
The good news is that there are many ways to offset any CO2 creation we can’t avoid. Carbon offsets generally take the form of contributing to projects that will reduce future greenhouse gas emissions.
In doing this, we neutralize or offset the carbon dioxide emitting activity we, unfortunately, cannot avoid. Many carbon offsets provide ways to determine precisely how much carbon an activity would produce and how much to donate to get back to a net neutral.
These projects can include carbon sequestration (like planting trees), building renewable energy sources (solar, wind, or water power), and more.
Reducing Emissions
Other than contributing or donating to carbon offsetting efforts, we can take steps to reduce our carbon footprint.
Many of these strategies involve taking the things we do every day and slightly altering them to be more sustainable.
- Eat less meat, or even go vegan.
- Look into renewable energy sources in and around your home (solar, wind, etc.).
- Use electric vehicles that don’t use gas or diesel.
- Walk or bike as transportation when possible.
- Only buy what we need to reduce waste.
Why Is It Important To Be Carbon Neutral?
Being carbon neutral is so important because it is a monumental step in the pursuit to do more good than harm to our planet.
Until now, we have just used resources and allowed greenhouse gases to permeate our atmosphere, causing global warming and extreme weather. We are starting to recognize the importance of giving back to the planet rather than taking from it.
Carbon neutrality is a realistic way that people can help the Earth while still having a lifestyle similar to the one we’ve grown accustomed to.
How Can I Become Carbon Neutral?
There is no one way to become carbon neutral other than to offset any carbon you produce. The way people go about that can be different based on the individual, though.
Commit to Your Decision
People are only now starting to grasp the importance of living a carbon-neutral life, and as a result, it can feel a bit daunting to get started. There are large communities of people already living carbon-neutral or working toward a net carbon zero life.
If we don’t fully commit to reducing and offsetting our carbon footprint, it becomes all too easy to fall back into old, harmful patterns and activities.
We must be mindful of what and how we’re using it and how it affects the planet. If going ultimately carbon-neutral all at once feels too overwhelming or like something that might be difficult to stick to over time, try adding gradual and manageable steps to your life. These changes add up and may be easier to integrate into your life one at a time.
Determine Your Current Carbon Footprint
A carbon footprint is determined by how much carbon dioxide is being created and released into the world. These footprints are often made from completing everyday activities and rituals without even noticing, and as a result, they are unfortunately something that almost all of us have.
There are also more concrete carbon footprint calculators, like this one made by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Eliminate Current Sources of Emissions
Becoming carbon neutral isn’t only about offsetting our CO2 emissions but also reducing the amount of carbon dioxide we produce in the first place. Due to this, determining major sources of emissions present in our current lifestyles is a must for living carbon neutral.
Buy Carbon Credits
If we have minimized our carbon footprint as much as possible, that is where buying carbon credits comes in handy. Carbon credits are purchased and allow a certain amount of carbon dioxide emissions.
If a corporation does not use all of their credits, they can sell any extra to another corporation to be used there instead. Every year the total amount of carbon credits is reduced to eventually lower carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions to zero.
Keep Improving
Reducing our carbon footprint is an ongoing battle, and every little improvement matters. Going from zero to completely carbon neutral all at once can be overwhelming or challenging to maintain, but making manageable changes that build up in the long-term is the best way to alter our lifestyles consistently.
It’s better to make small steps than no steps at all, and then over time, those small steps accumulate to make a big difference. There are things we can all do to help our environment and lessen global warming potential. The name of the game is finding what works for you to limit co2 emissions and then adding to it.
We Are a Carbon Neutral Company
Since we have established the importance of living in a way that produces minimal carbon dioxide emissions, we at Bite knew how important it is to help the planet rather than harm it. We also knew that going carbon neutral was the way to do it. This is how we commit to being a carbon-neutral company.
We’re a Plastic-Free Company
Bite is proud to be a zero-waste and plastic-free company. We can avoid polluting our oceans and taking up already wildly crowded space in landfills; none of our products or means of packaging include plastic.
In terms of being zero-waste, we never use any materials that can’t be broken down naturally. We don’t contribute any extra waste into the world in any step of our process.
We use glass bottles to hold our Toothpaste Bits, rather than contributing to the mass amount of single-use plastic toothpaste tubes polluting our planet. Not only do these glass bottles break down into sand over time, but they also look beautifully minimalist while in use. These glass bottles are also reusable and can easily be refilled when your next shipment of bits comes in the mail.
We Use Existing Postal Routes
It’s important to us here at Bite to perform every part of our process with sustainability at the forefront of our minds, from production to shipment.
In fact, we ship our products right to your door using shipping routes that already exist. This means that postal services do not have to go out of their way and needlessly waste fuel to get you your order. This is basically the public transit of shipping services, and it makes sure that your order arrives efficiently while also minimizing carbon emissions.
We Invest in Sustainable Materials
We don’t stop at just our glass bottles, however. Not only is the way we ship sustainable, but what we ship in is sustainable as well. We ship in either envelopes or boxes depending on the order, but both of these packages are entirely plastic-free. Per our zero-waste mentality, none of our materials will ever have to end up in a landfill or the ocean.
The usual plastic poly-mailers lacked these qualities, so instead, we use envelopes that are recyclable and compostable. Our boxes, meanwhile, are totally recyclable. Each of those uses paper tape, which can also be recycled.
We’re a Direct-to-Consumer Company
Bite is a direct-to-consumer (DTC) company both for the good of our customers and the good of our planet. Being DTC means no unnecessary step between us and shipping your order right to your door. By foregoing retail altogether, we get your products to you quicker, more conveniently, and don’t burn any extra greenhouse gas-causing fuel along the way.
Our status as a DTC company also means that we don’t have to keep large amounts of inventory just lying around at any given time. As a result, we don’t need enormous warehouses, and we significantly cut down our land use. Having a direct-to-consumer platform makes us both more convenient for the customer and more sustainable for the Earth.
Conclusion
Living a carbon-neutral lifestyle can be a bit of an adjustment, but it makes for a significant improvement in the health of our planet. Making simple steps toward carbon neutrality helps to create rituals that our plant will be happy we made.
Sources:
What's Your Carbon Footprint? | UCAR Center for Science Education
Carbon Neutrality | Sustainability & Carbon Solutions | Berkley
