How to Employ a Sustainable Lifestyle as a Student

Last updated on February 15, 2022

Sustainability is a crucial topic today; countless companies finally focus on implementing a green business model to satisfy consumers and push a difference in the world. Even though corporations cause most CO2 emissions, individuals nonetheless take action. Consuming bioproducts ensure safe conditions for animals, chemical-free foods, and sustainable supply material.

However, as newly graduate from high school or university, sometimes leading a more sustainable lifestyle for a student is depicted as expensive. Regardless, there are activities that a student or newly graduate can enforce in their daily life or invest in to pursue a sounder, sustainable lifestyle without reaching bankruptcy. 

A misconception is to think of sustainable products or services as high luxurious and expensive goods/services; many products due to proper use of primary goods may result in more elevated costs. Still, there are services out there that can be embarked.

As a student never thought there would be much that could be done apart from recycling, dodging plastic fabrics, utilizing public transportation, or depending on our own two feet. In reality, there is considerably more without draining bank accounts but even economic opportunities. Here are different ways you can be greener in your daily life: 

Too Good To Go is an app that allows restaurants and stores to prolong food life. Over 10 million tons of food are thrown out every year due to company policies, though with Too Good To Go, you can select your favorite store or food for a discounted price, often more than a 50% markdown. Too Good To Go offers the opportunity to diminish waste as most of the time, goods are always in sound conditions but don’t reflect company policies.

With the pandemic, people take an instant to fly across the country to leave those ordinary daily routines behind to travel or visit family. With FlyGRN, individuals can choose from the most to the least sustainable flights; by calculating flight’s CO2 emissions for free, the FlyGRN will plant a tree or invest in solar panel projects to offset your C02 emission produced throughout your flights. FlyGRN works alongside two solar panel plants in Tamil Nadu and Telangana, India.

This action helps reflect the energy that would have been generated by fossil fuels into sustainable energy in one of the most polluting countries in the world due to the high population number.

Additionally, a tree can be planted in your name, fighting deforestation, which currently accounts for more than 10% of the global greenhouse gas emissions. Alongside a company located in Belgium, Treeplanter.net, FlyGRN helps its customers fight against deforestation and climate change. 

For a more fun and personal action, various platforms offer the opportunity to plant trees around the world. Treedom and Zero CO2 were founded in Italy. Today, both work at international levels. The companies provide individuals and companies the opportunity to plant, name, and follow the tress journey when it is grown. Owners can follow and receive updates on the tree from those in charge of that forest on special platforms. Both companies offer various trees and prices from 15 to 90 (dollars).

When moving into new dorms or apartments, we often miss things, but asking prices sometimes can be absurd for normal simple design pieces. Deep is a platform that resales secondhand certified design pieces. Via the platform, customers can find affordable and unique articles that today are no longer produced; all these pieces are certified and checked by the company to ensure high quality and genuine to promise items. Additionally, it offers economic support and opportunity to those looking to get freed of unwanted articles via a safe and manageable platform. 

Suppose you are looking for something more simple and pushing to make a more significant difference. Triodos Bank, founded in 1989 in the Netherlands but today located in Spain, the UK, Belgium, and Germany, only offers sustainable and ethical investments.

The bank supplies clients with projects worldwide, from funding schools in third-world countries to developing new sustainable ideas such as solar panels. The bank guarantees that clients’ money is placed in projects and companies which fight for a difference and sustain the proper business practice, with the chance of being highly rewarded in the future for their contribution. 

For school material or even at work, countless companies offer sustainable pen and paper, supplies that will further turn into vegetables, herbs, or flowers. Sprout world, founded in Denmark in 2012, supplies pencils and make-up materials that, when they reach the end of their life cycle by putting them in pots in necessary conditions and water will turn to plants thanks to the easy and inventive idea of a seed within.

Additionally, Botanical Paper concentrates on recycling used paper, which can be utilized for printer and design paper. The paper is embedded with seeds, so with an easy gesture placed in a pot with the necessary earth and water volume, the paper will decompose, and the seeds within will grow into the desired plant. 

No matter age or economic class, countless actions can bring financial support and a great sense of satisfaction while employing a greener lifestyle. These few ideas employed by many can make a difference for the world. The thought that sustainable means expensive is a misconception, an understanding that needs repolishing. As you can notice, with a few modifications, a green lifestyle is effortless and quick to embrace without completely turning lives around.