Quiz: how environmentally friendly are you really?

How many baths do you have a year? Photograph: BONNINSTUDIO/Stocksy United

1. How many appliances do you have on standby, or charging, right now?

   1. Honestly, I have no idea.

   2. Just my wifi. *Quickly yanks plug from wall*

   3. TV, laptop, phone: three or thereabouts.

2. What’s your loo-flushing philosophy?

   1. I didn’t know I had to have a loo-flushing philosophy.

   2. “I love the rush of a big clean flush.”

   3. “If it’s brown, flush it down. If it’s yellow, let it mellow.”

3. It’s chilly on the sofa. What are you going to do?

   1. Put a jumper on.

   2. Turn the central heating up to tropical. That’s what I call climate change.

   3. Nudge the thermostat up just a little bit

4. How many baths do you have a year? Be honest.

   1. 365. Deep, hot, climate change denial baths. What of it?

   2. None. I prefer a nice long shower anyway.

   3. 12 – once a month or so. But I only shower quickly and I share the bathwater so it’s not that bad, right?

5. You’ve had a major Kondo blitz at home. What are you going to do with everything you’ve cleared out?

   1. Divide it into piles for the bin and recycling.

   2. Joyfully set fire to it.

   3. Gumtree a few choice items, make a big charity shop donation, recycle the rest, and pledge not to buy anything that doesn’t spark joy ever again.

6. How did you get to work today?

   1. I cycled. Or ran. Or walked (walking from your bed to the kitchen table totally counts, if you work from home).

   2. I drove.

   3. I used public transport.

7. What’s for lunch?

   1. A lunchbox of leftovers, reworked from last night.

   2. A tuna and avocado sandwich, wrapped in plastic. Obvs.

   3. Something from the office canteen, eaten on a proper plate.

8. How do you take your coffee?

   1. Mine’s an espresso.

   2. I’d love a filter, please.

   3. I’ll have instant, thanks.

9. What green kit have you got in your bag today?

   1. I haven’t got a bag full of greenhouse gases, so let’s call it a win.

   2. A reusable tote bag and a refillable water bottle.

   3. Oh, just a bamboo cup, lunchbox, knife and spork, and my favourite metal straw. Plus the above, obviously. And only mild back pain from lugging this lot around.

10. What’s your least environmentally friendly habit?

    1. I can’t think of one.

    2. When I’m not fracking or campaigning for Trump, I like to ride my jetski at top speed, tossing my cigarette butts into the ocean behind me.

    3. Does throwing banana peel into the countryside count?

Solutions

1:B - “Vampire power” is the term for the amount of power a device uses in standby mode, and it’s as big a drain on electricity as leaving lights on all over the house. You’d never go to bed or off to work with your house lit up like a Christmas tree, would you? So, before you go to sleep or head out for the day, unplug as many appliances as you can. Some, like the dishwasher and washing machine, may be a pain to reach, but if you switch off the ones you can, the planet will thank you for it., 2:C - Wet wipes, tampons, cleansing pads and condoms can all cause problems for waste water pipes, the sewage treatment network and the environment. If you don’t already, keep a lidded bin in your bathroom for items such as these to reduce the risk of them ending up in the ocean. Now, on to the water-use issue … Older toilets typically use 13 litres of water to flush, and even modern ultra-low flow toilets use six litres. To reduce this, you could pop a Hippo (1) in your cistern – it’s designed to save three litres of water with every flush. Your new loo-flushing philosophy? “Think before you flush.”, 3:A - It doesn’t need to be an organic, handmade jumper knitted with locally sourced wool, it just needs to be warm: an extra layer can increase the temperature you feel by three degrees. Most of us tend to overheat our homes, so aim for between 18°C and 21°C, and if you want to see how this impacts your energy consumption, think about getting a smart meter. Smart meters show your near real-time energy consumption, so you can see where you can cut back on wastage and be greener in the home. But more importantly, they’re also the building blocks of a smarter energy system for our country, which will enable us to transition to a lower carbon future, with more renewable power and less reliance on fossil fuels – so pretty great all round., 4:C - Though a typical bath holds 80 litres of water, an eight-minute power shower uses about 62 litres of water (2), so if you like a leisurely lather, your good intentions might be going down the drain. Advice? If you don’t fancy sharing your bathwater, try a shower timer like Water Pebble (3), which measures water whooshing down the plughole and uses a traffic light warning system to automatically reduce your shower time by a crucial few seconds each time., 5:C - Our global decluttering mania generates tons of waste, particularly plastic. From an ecological perspective, we need to remember that this waste doesn’t magically disappear – otherwise we’re just making a mess of the planet. So, re-use or repair what you can, donate what someone else might appreciate, and carefully recycle the rest. The real impact of decluttering is when we break free from the buy/chuck cycle and consider new purchases more carefully. Result: tidy planet., 6:A - Happily, what’s best for the Earth is best for your body too: walking, running and cycling are the most environmentally friendly commuting options. Meanwhile, traffic is responsible for about 25% of airborne pollution in the UK. But if walking 40 miles to work along the hard shoulder isn’t an option, give yourself a pat on the back if you drive a hybrid/electric vehicle; a great big high five if you car-pooled; and a medal if you used public transport – you’ve earned it., 7:A - There are three key things to consider at lunchtime: packaging (single-use plastics), cooking time (energy use) and ingredients (air miles, water use and sustainability). Avocados, for example, have a significant environmental impact because of the energy, water, fertiliser and pesticide required to grow them, plus the energy used in processing and transporting avocados from as far away as South America. Jeez, you just wanted something to eat! So, let’s focus on what we can do. Pick sustainable, low-impact ingredients such as pasture-raised eggs, UK-grown vegetables and sardines. Rinse out single-use plastic food containers and either reuse or recycle. And tonight, cook extra so you’ve got a delicious lunchbox ready for tomorrow., 8:C - OK, there is the option of not drinking coffee at all. But then 50% of us would be asleep, a further 40% would be crying and the remaining 10% would have to save the planet on their own. So, here’s a surprise: instant coffee is the most environmentally friendly option. You read that right. Researchers from the University of Bath investigated every stage of coffee production, from growing beans to disposing waste, assessing the impact on climate change, ecosystems and water, and found instant coffee the clear winner. Why? Instant needs less actual coffee to make a single drink, so its overall impact is lower. If you simply cannot bear the thought of instant (let alone the taste) try shade-grown coffee, as rated by The Sustainable Business Toolkit (4). PS You know disposable coffee cups are basically the devil, right? Course you do., 9:C - Recently a deep-sea diver reached the record depth of 35,853 feet and found – wait for this – a plastic bag. A shameful 5,000 items of marine plastic pollution have been found per mile of beach in the UK, according to Surfers Against Sewage (5). So anything we can do to avoid using more plastic bottles, bags, utensils and other kinds of packaging is a big bonus for the environment., 10:C - Aside from the aforementioned fracking, Trump-supporting, jetskiing, smoking and littering, the only thing worse for the environment is thinking you can’t save the planet, no matter what you do. You can! Every time you say no to a plastic straw and say yes to the eco-friendly option, you make a small but significant difference. And when it comes to that banana peel, it’s definitely not ideal – they can take two years to decompose. For full green points, take it home for your compost heap.

Scores

1. 8 and above.

   You’re a clean, green eco machine. Wow, it takes some significant lifestyle changes to reach this level of eco ambassador – bravo! Your commitment to the cause has rewards that go far beyond your winning quiz score: being environmentally friendly is scientifically proven to make you healthier and happier (6), as well as protecting the planet. But as Kermit once said, it’s not easy being green.

2. 0 and above.

   You’re part of the problem (sorry not sorry!). Definite room for improvement here. But the good news is, completing this quiz has made you 100% more aware of the green habits that could minimise your carbon footprint. Continue your eco-awakening by cutting down on single-use plastics, installing a smart meter and recycling mindfully. Oh, and go easy on that jetski of yours.

3. 5 and above.

   You’re a work in progress. You’re already doing your bit, but hopefully we’ve inspired you to be a bit more eco-conscious. Who knew that about your daily cup of coffee? Now you’re more mindful about everything from flushing the loo to the amount of energy you use at home, you’ll gradually find yourself making greener choices.

We all want to make big changes to help our planet, but sometimes to make big changes, we have to start small. Smart meters can’t solve the climate crisis on their own but with the smarter, more energy efficient grid they help to create, they’re a start. To find out more about installing a smart meter in your home, search “I want a smart meter” or call 0300 131 8000*.

This article was paid for by Smart Energy GB, a government-backed organisation tasked with informing Great Britain about the smart meter rollout.
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