5 easy ways to make your home more sustainable

Since late 2018, to help cut carbon emissions, there’s been a ban in place on importing and producing new halogen bulbs in the EU. The more favoured LEDs (short for ‘light emitting diode’) are significantly more energy efficient than incandescent or halogen bulbs, consuming up to 85% less energy and lasting 20 times longer (between 20,000-50,000 hours as standard). LED bulbs also need replacing less frequently and can help to reduce electricity bills – the Energy Saving Trust estimates that the typical halogen bulb uses £11 of electricity a year, while a replacement LED would use only £2 worth. In fact, if the whole of Europe switched over to LEDs, we could save the equivalent of Portugal’s annual electricity consumption each year and cut carbon emissions by 15.2 million tonnes by 2025. The technology has moved on leaps and bounds since first being produced in the 60s, and it’s easy to find statement lighting and sculptural eye-catching pendants. Working from their London-based studio, Tala, for example, create sustainable LED light fittings and donate a percentage of their revenue to reforestation programmes in the UK and around the world, planting 10 trees for every 200 units sold.

It’s worth taking the time to understand where your furniture is made and where the materials have come from, so you can ensure you’re introducing ethically made, responsible designs into your home. There are various respected schemes that recognise companies that source materials responsibly, from Fair Trade to the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC). The better companies will have an environment report or statement on their website, but if you want to do a bit more research, the WWF publishes a Timber Scorecard each year that measures UK retailers based on their timber buying. The FSC label is one of the only clear ways for the consumer to know if the timber has been sourced from responsibly managed and socially beneficial forests. It’s a standard that provides a certified chain of custody to suppliers, helping track the wood from FSC certified forests to the consumer. There are three different labels – which can be a little confusing – but only FSC 100% ensures that all of the product has been certified and checked. The FSC Mix Label, for example, may only contain a small proportion of FSC certified timber.

The quick, easy route is often to buy everything new. But thrifting for secondhand finds, reusing materials and recycling furniture can help create a richer, more characterful home, while letting you be more mindful of the environment. Second hand furniture and unique found objects can help bring a home interest, texture and life. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure after all. From timber worktops and decorative marble fireplaces to cast iron baths and encaustic tiles, there’s a wealth of pre-loved materials already out there looking for a new lease of life. Trawl the International Antiques & Collectors fairs, browse eBay or head to a reclamation yard like Retrouvius to find something completely unique for your project.

The problem with alot of furnitureor materials is the distance they have to go to get to us, often flying across the world and racking up the carbon emissions in the process. One of the best ways to be more mindful and sustainable when sourcing for your home is to reduce your net and only source items from a limited radius. If you’re in the UK, that could mean prioritising British makers, local craftsmen or European production. There’s not many companies still producing furniture in the UK, but the likes of Ercol, Isokon Plus, Benchmark, Very Good & Proper and Konk Furniture are helping keep British craft alive. Benchmark, for example, uses Red List Free Declare labelling to show customers where a product comes from, what it is made of and where it goes at the end of its life. They also use Life Cycle Analysis to provide Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to demonstrate the low environmental impact and carbon emissions of each product.