Is sustainable living really more expensive?
Right now COP28 is unfolding in Dubai, as leaders, lobbyists, powerbrokers and etcetera gather in a city built on oil to discuss, among other things, the demise of fossil fuels.
As you probably know, the aim is to limit global warming to +1.5 degrees. A handful of years ago we were tracking for +4 degrees but we’re now on-course for between 2.5 and 3 degrees. It depends who and what you read.
Progress of sorts has been made, but it’s no understatement to say that controversy and disagreements sit at the heart of the climate change issue. Not least because you’re asking world leaders to come together and find consensus in 2023 of all years.
The macro picture is wrought with politics and strife, and on the ground it’s not much easier. Many of us do want to live more sustainably, but it’s so much more expensive …
Isn’t it?
We’re in an era of inflation, belt tightening, high interest rates. This you know. The money we earn has to work harder at the till and many UK families are on the edge.
So it’s hard to argue the logic. If you’re barely surviving today, there’s little brainspace to worry about how breadline consumption patterns may impact tomorrow.
If a product’s raw materials, supply chain and credentials meet a higher standard then, invariably, it costs more to buy and the heftier costs are passed to the customer. No surprise Britons have let green habits slide through the cost-of-living crisis.
There’s responsible, sustainable, organic chicken (££) and there’s warehouse hens (£). There’s Patagonia jumpers (£££) and there’s Primark ones (£). It may cost the same (or even more) for a British staycation (£££) as does jetting off to an island paradise (££) …
Mindset shift (not lift and shift)
Food, clothes, beauty products, treats and etc. If we like-for-like replace the normal versions of what we buy with more sustainable versions then yes, the costs show.
But living consciously is more mindset shift than lift and shift. It is challenging the motivation; not just the purchase. Take fashion: buy based on need (not trends or desire or Instagram) and it’s cheaper. Ditto in beauty.
We can have eight-minute showers or realise we’re clean by minute one. We can switch to organic meat for every meal … or we can eat less meat overall.
A mindset shift is moving from a default-to-purchase mentality to something different – to repairing goods; fixing things; renting and borrowing. If it has to be bought then putting up a bigger initial investment will help to cultivate a sense of product stewardship that’s missing when we default to buying-fast and / or buying-cheap.
NB we’re not experts. Get to know Mike Berners-Lee for some real insight.
Then there’s money
At Money Means we advocate taking control of your money, and that includes investing as a way to build additional security into your future.
But you can invest in sustainable businesses and funds (plenty of good fund managers will help you) as a way to vote with your money for the future you want.
By choosing not to invest in certain funds, companies or industries — and consciously putting your money behind certain values — you effectively tell the system what you think is okay. And not okay. Speaking of not okay, here’s Oblivia Coalmine.
There are different ways to engage with ethically-minded companies and funds. Here’s a guide from The Times to help you get started.
Ask why
Maybe we got preachy again. It’s getting to be a habit. But there’s no time like right now to make the kinds of conscious changes that matter in small and massive ways both.
Change isn’t really about keeping lifestyle now going with a few tweaks as much as it is changing what lifestyle now is and how it runs. Mindfulness can be a real ally in helping this process: try asking yourself some questions ahead of actions and purchases, such as:
Do I need to do / buy this?
Do I need to do / buy this now?
Do I need to do / buy this item this way or is there an alternative?
Interestingly, that word alternative used to be common in this space (alternative energy etc), but alternative doesn’t just mean buying Y where you once bought X …
It can mean another way entirely. A way which may boost your bank as well as the world.