Wondering what our village’s load on the planet looks like? We have a diagram showing the estimate carbon footprint for Kinver in 2023.
Kinver’s carbon footprint is over 20 tonnes of CO₂ per household per year*. This is greater than the UK average of 16 tonnes and much greater than the world average. Why is this? Mainly because Kinver’s average household incomes are relatively high. Our homes are bigger and we buy more stuff. So, we have a greater impact on emissions — and could have a greater impact by working together to reduce them. And, reducing the village’s carbon footprint is at the heart of all of the projects we will be doing as a group.
Travel, home energy, food and goods/services each account for roughly a quarter of our carbon consumption. So where do we start cutting down? Let’s pick the biggest items and have a look.
Travel
Kinver has high car use as public transport is poor. Using your car to leave the village is often unavoidable, but try walking to school or the shops whenever possible. You could also limit your travel impact in and around the village by choosing an electric vehicle when it is time to replace your current car; lift sharing when you can; and limiting the number of short trips you do. Finally, think about how you holiday — flights cause huge emissions.
Home Energy
The biggest slice of Kinver’s carbon footprint is home heating. If upgrading your heating to renewables is off the cards, there are so many things you can do which are lower lift. Insulation is key! Warmer clothes for you, and your home make all the difference, so add or upgrade insulation, especially in the loft. Add curtains to reduce heat-loss around windows and doors.
Also, take a look at your electricity usage. Do the usual small steps of switching lightbulbs to efficient LEDs (and remembering to switch them off when not in use); avoid leaving everything on standby; and limit use of energy-hungry appliances like your dishwasher and tumble dryer. Finally, consider switching to a green energy supplier.
You can find more energy saving tips on our resources page.
Food
Over half of this is meat. Most meats have a high carbon cost relative to their food value so try cutting back a bit. Buying food in season (do we really need strawberries at Christmas?) saves on heating and transport. We are surrounded by farmland, so shop local and see the great range of plant-based options we have in the village for switching out some meatier meals from your diet. Also, do everything you can to avoid wasting food. The beauty of shopping in our butchers, bakers and greengrocers is that you can buy exactly what you need (with less packaging too).
Good and Services
Mostly, this is the stuff we buy. Of course we need some of it, but try to reduce, reuse and recycle. It’s amazing how much money can be saved by thinking twice before you buy new. We are lucky to have a good charity shop and dress agency in the village who make it easy to buy second-hand. And, not far from here, you can use the Stourbridge Repair Cafe to give a new lease of life to items you thought were destined for landfill.
*Data obtained from Impact Tool