Sustainable habits to pick up in 2025
January is the season for new beginnings. Many of us are tempted to pledge to give up an unhealthy or unwanted habit, or commit to a new goal.
But if you've already forgotten your New Year's Day commitments, you're not alone. Often, they fall by the wayside long before February.
How often do we choose resolutions that will genuinely make us healthier and happier in the long run? And how often do we make a serious plan of action to help us achieve our aims?
If you would like to live more sustainably in 2025 and beyond, here are some suggestions for smart resolutions to take on and how to stick to them.
Shifting to more sustainable habits
For long-term success, the key is to commit to habits that are doubly sustainable. Actions are more likely to stick if they are not just environmentally sustainable but also things you can sustain over the months (and years) to come.
Eco-anxiety has become a real concern for many. The government's most recent Public Attitudes Tracker survey, released in summer 2024, found that 80% of people said they were very or fairly concerned about climate change. 37% were very concerned.
Part of that is worrying about the state of the planet and what might happen in future, but it is exacerbated by a sense of guilt about our own actions and whether we're part of the problem.
Changing our habits to live and shop more sustainably can help us reduce our carbon footprint and feel better about our impact on the planet.
Habit stacking
We'd all like to achieve more by doing less, so making small changes that achieve multiple benefits is a win-win.
If you're keen to lessen your climate guilt, eat more healthily and save money, you might choose a single New Year's resolution that helps you achieve all three.
Habit-stacking is a popular technique, especially amongst health and fitness experts, that helps make new routines easier to stick to. It works by 'stacking' a new behaviour onto something that's already embedded into your routine.
For example, the late Michael Mosley popularised the idea of standing on one leg while brushing your teeth to improve your balance. It works because brushing your teeth is a well-established habit that you're unlikely to forget to do, and combining the two activities takes no extra time out of your day.
Which sustainable changes make the most impact?
So you're considering a sustainable new habit - but where do you start?
As everyday consumers, there are three key areas of our lifestyles that have the biggest impact on the environment. They are:
- Food
- Transport and travel
- Energy use, including home heating
Making more sustainable choices in any of these areas is likely to cut your carbon footprint more than anything else, but it will depend on your current lifestyle.
To calculate your own carbon footprint, and find out which factors are most impactful for you, try the WWF online carbon footprint calculator.
This will tell you your total footprint (in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year) and give you a breakdown showing how much of that is due to your home energy use, travel, diet and other consumption.
Sustainable food resolutions
Veganuary is a popular annual challenge to encourage people to eat only vegan food for the month of January.
But while following a vegan diet is a good way to reduce your carbon footprint, an all-or-nothing approach can be overwhelming, especially if your repertoire of vegan recipes is limited.
Taking on a new food habit one day a week might be a more achievable prospect and something you can continue all year round.
Food resolution #1: Cut down on meat and dairy consumption
To reduce your carbon emissions from meat and dairy consumption, try starting with a one-day-a-week swap. For example:
Meat-free Monday: Choose a meat-free dish every Monday (or whatever day of the week works best for you). If you would normally eat meat or fish every day, swap to vegetarian or vegan dishes on this day.
World Food Wednesday: It can be easier to find tasty, healthy vegan and vegetarian recipes from other parts of the world. Asian curries, African and Caribbean stews, or Middle Eastern mezze dishes are often naturally veggie. Many countries have a long history of vegetarian or vegan diets for religious or cultural reasons, and the spicing and vivid flavour combinations more than compensate for the lack of animal products.
Choosing any vegetarian or vegan swaps will cut your carbon footprint, as meat almost always has higher carbon emissions than any other type of food. If commiting to a specific day is tricky, you could try making a certain number of your lunches per week vegetarian instead.
Cutting down on red meat and dairy products can often result in healthier meals, and is likely to save you money if you cook using ingredients such as vegetables, pulses, herbs and spices, rather than buying meat-replacement processed foods.
If you're looking for a dairy alternative, find out which plant milks are best for your health and the environment.
Food resolution #2: Reduce food waste
You could also allocate one day of the week to use up leftover food from your fridge.
Fridge-raid Friday: At the end of the week (or whatever day suits your shopping schedule), check your fridge and cupboards for food that needs eating and make a meal out of it. For inspiration, the Love Food Hate Waste website has lots of recipe ideas that you can search by ingredient, including leftovers, and includes a filter for vegetarian or vegan options.
Using up leftovers prevents food waste, which is good for the planet, and saves you money.
Make your one-day-a-week swap a habit by giving it a separate section on your weekly shopping list.
And if you don't have a shopping list, planning out a weekly shop and deciding what you're going to cook in advance can be another good habit to get into - reducing your food waste and saving money.
Sustainable travel resolutions
Switching to a more sustainable form of transport in our daily lives can be difficult, if not impossible if you have a long commute or need a car for your work.
However, there are ways to incorporate some sustainable swaps into your routine.
Travel resolution #1: Walk or cycle to local shops
If you have local independent shops such as grocers, bakeries, butchers or fishmongers, make a habit out of using them occasionally instead of taking a car to a big supermarket.
It can often be a sustainable choice anyway - you're more likely to find an unwrapped, plastic-free loaf of bread or higher welfare, sustainably sourced meat and fish there than at the supermarket. It also helps your local economy, keeping money in the area instead of spending it with a large multinational company.
Visiting a local independent shop can be habit-stacked onto any trip you make regularly - going to work, visiting friends, school drop-off, a lunchtime walk or going to the gym. Just re-plan your route so you can walk, cycle or take public transport to incorporate sustainable shopping into your daily activities.
Travel resolution #2: Take a flight-free holiday
Taking just one return flight a year can account for more than a quarter of your total annual carbon footprint. If you regularly fly more than this, your contribution to global heating is likely to be above the UK average, and much higher than the global average.
It can be time-consuming and often expensive to travel far without flying, and we know it sometimes can't be avoided. But this year, why not resolve to fly less and explore somewhere a little closer to home?
If you're planning a short break, check out the best city breaks in the UK. For longer trips, find out how to buy cheaper European train tickets, or consider a scenic rail holiday in the UK or Europe.
Travelling more slowly can also bring other benefits. Removing the stress of check-in queues, flight delays and overpriced airport food leads to a more relaxing break, and you're more likely to meet and speak with local people, and experience local food, scenery,and culture.
Sustainable energy and home heating resolutions
Home heating and energy use make up around a quarter of most households' carbon footprint. In the UK, most of us have a gas or oil boiler, so it's hard to reduce our emissions much without switching to a more sustainable, electric heating system.
There are some simple actions we can all take, though, so if you haven't already done them, this resolution could be a quick win.
Sustainable heating resolution #1: Turn down the thermostat, reduce the flow temperature
Unless someone in your household has a medical condition that requires higher temperatures, most thermostats should be set to around 19o Celsius. It may be well-worn advice, but adding an extra layer of clothing instead of turning up the heating will reduce your energy bills and cut carbon emissions.
Heated throws, electric blankets and hot water bottles can all be much cheaper to run than a room heater, and will warm you up effectively. We've compared the best and cheapest ways to keep warm this winter.
Reducing the flow temperature on the boiler will also help your heating system run more efficiently and save you money.
Find out more about flow temperature and the simple way to adjust your boiler to lower your heating bill.
Other cheap and simple resolutions could also cut your bills and your carbon footprint as well as making your home feel more cosy.
- Check all your lightbulbs and swap any old non-LED ones for low-energy LED bulbs.
- Check for draughts and draughtproof around doors, windows, letterbox, loft hatch and any other openings, and add thermal curtains and draught excluders. Find out more about how to draught proof your home.
Sustainable heating resolution #2: Prepare your home for low-carbon heating
Over the next 10 years, every homeowner in the UK will need to think about how their home will adapt to a low-carbon heating system.
We all need to understand what options are available, which ones are most suitable for each home, and what work will be needed to achieve a warm, affordable and sustainable home in future.
This is something that needs careful thought and planning, so this resolution is more about taking first steps to understand your present situation. But it can difficult to know where to start.
Our free home energy planning service gives you the know-how to make the right decisions for improving the energy efficiency of your home according to your means.
A more energy-efficient home will save you money as it's cheaper to heat, and you'll have a smaller carbon footprint as well as a warm and future-proofed home.
To find more effective ways to reduce your environmental impact, check out 10 simple ways to be more sustainable.
