Many of us are setting goals  that will up our game in the office, in the gym, or in our personal lives. While you’re in that headspace, I want to challenge you to consider the world that enables you to log those extra miles or take your team to the next level. This New Year, make 2019 your greenest ever.

For the next 12 months, I’ve got 12 ideas for very simple behavioral changes that can give our planet its best home court advantage:

1. Avoid plastic

Hydration and refueling is important, but try to avoid plastic bottles and food preserved in plastic packaging. Single-use plastic is used far too often and, apart from harming the environment, it is not beneficial for your general health.

2. Give new life to unwanted gear

Unused possessions collect dust and don’t do anyone any good. Worse, sending them to the dump only perpetuates an unsustainable consumption cycle. Make donations, organize flea markets, or just avoid buying further items which shortly after their first use end up in the cellar.

3. Less is more

If there is one thing that I have learned living in Germany it is that “less is more.” When organizing any kind of event keep it simple. Say it with me, “Reduce, reuse, recycle!”

4. Carpool or ride a bike

Leave your car at home. Get a lift with a colleague. Split the gas cost and reduce the emissions. On a nice day take a bike and turn your commute into your workout.

A person standing on a cycling track with her bike in front of wind wheels. sustainability, cycling to work, commuting, GamePlan A
Avoid being stuck in traffic by making your work commute on two wheels instead of four. Biking will not only reduce your carbon emissions but will guarantee that you start your day energized and refreshed.

5. Save energy

You can’t run a race without evenly pacing yourself. A sudden sprint at the beginning or middle will leave you exhausted and your body running on overdrive. Same goes for your appliance energy use. Do not use the dryer, the washing machine, the hairdryer, the heater and the iron at the same time. You’ll save money and reduce peak hours. And don’t forget to turn off all lights and devices when not in use.

6. Bring your own bag

My adidas tote bag goes with me to more places than just the gym. Keep a reusable bag in your car or backpack so it’s at hand whenever you stop by a shop. Say goodbye to double-bagged groceries and find that trendy reusable bag that you can take everywhere.

7. Save water

It’s so easy. Turn off the faucet when lathering soap at the sink or in the shower. Wash your dishes and your clothes on eco-cycles. Water your plants in the early morning or evening when it’s cooler, it evaporates more slowly when it’s cool.

8. Take product back

Bring your worn-out or unwanted clothes and shoes to the take-back station in key locations. We take any brand, not just adidas. We want to give them a second life.

A woman putting an old adidas sneaker in a take back program box. sustainability, recycling, product take back program
When your clothes and shoes can’t be donated, don’t throw them in the trash. Take them to your nearest Take Back point where they will be broken down and recycled into new material.

9. Keep a home recycling system

Help to recycle as many waste items as possible and separate glass, paper and plastic properly before you throw them in the waste containers. Compost food waste for your garden with eggshells, tea leaves, coffee grounds, fruit and vegetables to reduce landfill waste.

10. Be the sponsor for nature

There are many green areas in your neighborhood which deserve care and attention. Take your friends, partner or the entire family to a park and collect the trash on your walk. Or, join the plogging movement, and collect while running.

A mum and her son and daughter standing next to each other and smiling. They hold a plastic bag full of trash in their hands. collecting trash, nature clean-up, sustainability, family, GamePlan A
While you’re out enjoying the outdoors, why not do your bit and clean up the scenery you’re enjoying?

11. Buy local

Just like I enjoy supporting my local sports team, showing love for the local farms and plants not only ensures fresh food lands on my table, but it helps reduce the carbon footprint of produce transported across seas.

12. No junk mail

Save paper by opting out of paper catalogs, bank statements and bills. Browse online instead.

Do you have other easy green wins in your game plan? Feel free to share them in the comments below.

7 COMMENTS

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by Cameron 04.01.2019
Would also love to suggest reducing meat consumption - I'm by no means asking everyone to go veggie or vegan, but make a conscious decision to reduce your meat intake - its good for your bills, and its good for the environment.

Give it a try is all I'd say, by reducing your meat consumption it frees up a bit of extra money that means you can afford to buy local.
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by Jan 04.01.2019
Have you ever bought something only to realise later you already own it? Avoid over-consumption by adopting the Marie Kondo method of organising - store all like items together, and a way that you can clearly see everything at a glance - this works equally well for pens, ketchup, sneakers or tees.
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by Drew 07.01.2019
Great article. Thanks! I agree with all of these - but also think we need to significantly reduce our consumption of meat, dairy, and other animal products. Riding your bike and taking short showers are nice, but eating a cow burger for lunch is more destructive than your car or your hot shower would have been!
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by Matt Walters Drew 07.01.2019
Yes, I couldn't agree more Drew. Reducing diary and (especially red) meat consumption is the single greatest impact you can have on your personal carbon footprint. You don't have to give it up completely, I started by reaching my 'meaty' meals to just one per day and actually found it wasn't that hard.
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by Sabi 07.01.2019
To opt out of paper catalogs easily, try the following website. This site has saved me so much time!
https://catalogchoice.org/
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Interesting tool, Sabi.

Thanks for sharing!
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by Micha 14.01.2019
You can use the condensed water from your dryer for ironing.
Maybe you need to clean it (by filtering with a coffee filter) from small fibers before filling it into the iron, but then you don't need to dump the water it into the drain.
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