How does turning off your lights for Earth Hour help protect the planet?

We have always turned off the lights for an hour, but the truth is that we need to think about it all the time, not just once a year for an hour. However, Earth Hour is an excellent time to reflect on your personal activism goals.

We all know that every effective movement starts with intentional action. The key is to find where your passion and opportunity for change align and then use that discovery to influence surrounding world. The mobile app launched by SEB Bank last December, which allows anyone to calculate their environmental impact, could be a good tool for this.

The CO2 MyFootprint | SEB app is available to everyone - both SEB Bank customers and non-customers. It is free and can be downloaded freely from the Google Play Store and App Store. If you haven't managed to find the time to measure your environmental impact yet, we invite you during Earth Hour to calculate your personal carbon footprint based on your lifestyle and consumption habits in five categories: food, housing, shopping, transport and travel. In addition, the app offers practical tips to reduce your environmental impact and challenges you can take part in with friends or family members to move towards a greener lifestyle together.

Here are few ideas and inspiration on how to live greener:

Clothing

It is worth considering that between 2000 and 2014, clothing production doubled and today everyone buys 60% more clothes than 15 years ago, but the clothes they buy last twice as long. So each of us should think - maybe it's better to buy better quality clothes but do it less often - they will last longer and can certainly be recycled or reused - there are also companies in Latvia that collect reusable clothing for charity and reuse.

Another option is to visit second-hand clothing shops, where you can sometimes find interesting designs. Buying and reselling second-hand appliances is also a good habit

Food

The average Latvian throws away around 30 kilograms of food every year. It all starts with poor planning when shopping and ends with not knowing what to do with the leftovers. Most people throw away fruit and vegetables. But if we see that we won't be able to eat fresh fruit and it will spoil soon, we can freeze it and use it in appropriate recipes where frozen food fits in well. Often we do not know what to do to live more environmentally friendly lives.

Air pollution

To reduce air pollution, which is a concern for citizens, it would be useful to choose more environmentally friendly ways of travelling or to make greater use of alternative energy sources.

And to reduce water pollution, use less household chemicals or replace them with natural detergents.

Cloth bag

Using a single cloth bag instead of dozens of large plastic bags can significantly reduce personal CO2 emissions. Calculations show that using a cloth bag without regularly buying plastic bags can reduce CO2 emissions by 6 kg per bag not used. A relatively simple solution to live greener and make a significant impact. But even more benefits would be gained by avoiding packaging altogether.

Transport

Transport is often a challenge to reduce your carbon footprint - especially if you have children in the family or live further away from school or work. It undoubtedly requires determination and adaptation, but there are options - you can use bicycles, electric scooters or walk instead of driving. You can also use public transport.

Earth Hour 2021

Please join us in turning off our lights for one hour at 8:30 p.m., your local time on Saturday, March 28, 2020, to show your support for a healthy planet