- Research-backed guidance breaks down simple steps towards a low carbon lifestyle
- Consumer action can save 5% of demand-side carbon emissions
- The Action Wheel helps UK households cut their carbon footprint
While most of the burden falls on global leaders and big corporations to cut carbon emissions, there are things we can all do to decarbonise the way we live.
Research-backed guidance developed by Futerra, BEWorks and WBCSD and based on the low carbon behaviours from an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, and is explained in ‘The Low Carbon Lifestyles Wheel‘‘.
As part of the report, ‘The Action Wheel‘ section is of most value to UK homeowners looking to cut their carbon footprint.
It breaks down pathway behaviours that the IPCC has identified as being the most impactful for high-emissions households in countries like the UK to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
‘The Action Wheel’ looks to demystify the mission of living more sustainably and provide actionable steps that we can all take, whatever our life stage or lifestyle.
In this article, we explain what the The Action Wheel is, how to use it, and how to address common barriers to action that we all come up against.
Why do personal actions matter?
While it’s undeniable that governments and large corporations are steering the ship when it comes to climate action, personal choices still make a difference.
According to data from the IPCC, we could cut the ‘demand side’ of carbon emissions by 5% if we all made greener choices.
Furthermore, research from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) found that if individuals and households adopted low-carbon technology, we could cut UK carbon emissions by 32% by 2035.
Daily changes — from installing to solar panels to eating less processed foods — when combined with political action from lawmakers, can drive the systematic change needed for us to meet our climate objectives.
What is The Action Wheel?
The Action Wheel is designed specifically to help people lower their carbon emissions through practical lifestyle choices.
It outlines a set of simple actions, called pathway behaviours.
These behaviours are broken down into four different groups to cover the different facets of our lives:
- Transport – how you get around
- Housing– how to save energy and decarbonise your home
- Shopping– change your shopping and purchasing habits
- Diet – reducing food miles and waste with a sustainable diet
How relevant each section of The Action Wheel is to you, will depend on where you live, where you work and your own personal circumstances.
The idea is that everyone will be able to find some part of it that they can take action on immediately, and work towards taking other actions that may require more time or money to tick off, like Lucy Shea, CEO of Futerra one of the authors, who put the Low Carbon Lifestyle Wheel it into practice:
“It’s one thing to create sustainability tools. It’s another to live them. So I picked 3 simple actions with my family:
- Cycle short distances – this involved getting my youngest onto his bike
- Research vegan meals – lentil casserole is now a hit – with occasional sausages
- Buy in bulk – joined a friends’ wholesale order – hello, tinned tomato mountain
“These pathway actions were surprisingly easy to adopt. They unlocked a sense of progress, and even a bit of joy and connection in our daily lives.
“They’re also powerful tools for brands: simple, science-based steps that break down big behavioural outcomes in to targeted, marketable actions.
“You don’t need a revolution. Just choose your next action.”
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How to use the Action Wheel
How you use The Action Wheel will depend on your own goals and where you are in your sustainability journey.
To get you started, here are some tips on how to navigate it.
- Take a look at the actions – Familiarise yourself with the wheel’s actions, and learn about what changes you can make in different facets of your life.
- Record your own habits – Assess your current routines in each category. This will help you identify the areas where you can cut maximum carbon.
- Prioritise certain categories – The wheel breaks actions down into different categories. Based on your assessment, pick one or two categories where you can realistically make the most significant changes to avoid getting overwhelmed.
- Identify realistic actions – Pinpoint specific actions that you could realistically roll out. These changes could be as small as cutting down on paper, or as high-impact as getting a heat pump or installing solar panels.
- Track your progress – Regularly revisit the wheel to review progress. Acknowledge successes, learn from challenges, and identify areas for improvement. This continuous process will help solidify new habits and move you steadily towards a lower-carbon lifestyle.
Barriers to action
The report itself acknowledges that there could be over a hundred barriers to sustainable living. These will vary from person to person, but these are the 12 practical barriers that are most likely to stand in peoples way when it comes to taking action on climate change:
- Price – Can I afford to make this change?
- Availability – Are these options available in my area?
- Awareness – Do I know it exists?
- Preference – Do I like it, or is it convenient?
- Shame – Is it embarrassing?
- Trust – Do I trust this will have an impact?
- Agency – Can I make any difference?
- Fatalism – Is the problem too big to solve?
- Social acceptance – Will my friends and family approve?
- Habits – Is it easier to stick to established routines?
- Myths – Are these beliefs false?
- Desire – Do I really want to make this change?
Some of these blockers are infrastructural and need to be dismantled by businesses and policymakers, not by consumers.
However, many obstacles to action aren’t structural, but rather stem from preconceptions, myths, or perhaps an unfavourable perception of low-carbon choices.
This is especially true for the wealthiest 10% of households, who can typically afford and access sustainable options, but often face emotional and social barriers to adopting them.
The morality myth
The reality is that even with the best intentions, adopting a low-carbon lifestyle isn’t straightforward.
Studies often reveal a notable gap between what people say and what they do when it comes to taking individual action. As the report says:
“The public say they care, say they’ll take sustainable actions, even say they’ll pay more for eco-friendly products… then they don’t. The value-action gap is touted as a reason why sustainable lifestyles aren’t possible, and it undermines the business case for sustainable products and initiatives.”
This leads to the dismissive idea that consumers are simply paying lip service to sustainability, lacking genuine conviction – an idea sometimes known as the ‘morality gap.’
However, the report authors challenge this and argue that a lack of action isn’t due to a lack of personal morality, but a result of perceived and real obstacles that are standing in the way. This idea is referred to as the ‘value-action gap.’
These barriers aren’t unbreakable, though, and identifying them is the first step in overcoming them.
The good news? These blockers and barriers can be overcome.
How to bust the barriers to action
The report recommends taking a proactive approach to busting the functional and psychological barriers to action. Here are some methods you can take to get the ball rolling.
Identify your barriers
Before you overcome your challenges, you need to know what they are.
The report recommends identifying the precise functional and psychological barriers that are holding you back, so you can understand how they’re limiting you from taking specific actions.
To help you recognise these pain points, consider asking yourself the following questions.
- Are you short on time?
- Are you low on funds?
- Are you finding it hard to make things stick?
- Do you lack trust that changes will really make a difference?
- Are you struggling to break established routines?
After you answer these questions honestly, you’ll be able to pinpoint and overcome the obstacles that lie in your way.
Focus on the benefits
Instead of focusing on your challenges, consider the advantages of making greener choices. This way, you can be motivated by what you have to gain, instead of dwelling on the uphill road ahead.
The Action Wheel splits up the many benefits into three distinct categories:
- Functional – Tangible, practical advantages, including better health, better value for money, increased efficiency, time saving and greater safety.
- Emotional – Positive feelings and sentiments you gain from adopting eco-practices, including experiencing more pleasure, heightened self-worth, and increased comfort.
- Social – Advantages gained in your relationship with others. Examples include the ability to foster community, an improved sense of belonging, and the feeling of becoming more desirable.
Make changes specific and measurable
Committing to vague pledges like using less electricity or changing your diet is unlikely to lead to lasting change. Instead, following well-defined, specific actions, like the ones outlined in The Action Wheel, will help make your goals more attainable.
For example, instead of aiming to ‘use less electricity’, you could set a goal to ‘turn the thermostat down by 2 degrees Celsius in the winter’, or ‘switch all the lightbulbs in the house to LEDs’.
Alternatively, if you’re interested in giving your diet an eco-makeover, you could set intentions to ‘avoid eating meat at restaurants’, or ‘subscribe to a vegan meal plan service’.
The biggest impact
The Action Wheel offers lots of quick wins when it comes to cutting carbon emissions, and these really make a difference.
However, if you’re really serious about cutting down your personal emissions in the long run, we recommend investing in the following high-impact solutions:
- Solar panels – Installing solar panels on your roof, balcony, or pergola is one of the best ways you can minimise your enviromental footprint long term. The average solar panel system can save 0.7 to 1 tonne of CO2 emissions per year, and this figure rises to dozens of tonnes over their 20-30 year lifespans.
- Heat pumps – Replacing a gas boiler with a heat pump can cut a household’s carbon emissions by around 1.5 to 3 tonnes of CO2 per year, depending on the size of the home and the previous heating system.
- Insulation – Proper loft, wall, and floor insulation prevents heat from escaping in winter and entering in summer. It can cut a home’s CO2 emissions by hundreds of kilograms annually, with estimates by the Energy Savings Trust suggesting up to 1 tonne of CO2 saved each year by comprehensive insulation upgrades.
- Electric vehicles – Switching from a petrol or diesel car to an electric vehicle (EV) can drastically cut your transport carbon footprint, with some studies suggesting that the average EV can save around 1.5 to 2.5 tonnes of CO2 per year compared to a typical petrol car.
- Double glazing – Double, or triple glazing, creates an insulating barrier that dramatically improves a home’s energy efficiency. While total savings vary, a typical UK home that installs double glazing can slash its CO2 emissions by up to 680kg per year.
Beyond helping you do your part for the planet, these long-term investments also benefit your bank balance, too.
By generating your own electricity with solar panels, reducing heating demand through heat pumps and insulation, or cutting fuel costs with an electric vehicle, you can see a noticeable decrease in your monthly utility bills and transportation expenses, putting more money back in your pocket during the lifespan of these solutions.
Next steps
Doing your bit for the environment requires commitment, awareness and most importantly, an informed understanding of the most effective actions to take.
If you want to cut your carbon emissions and your energy bills, the Low Carbon Lifestyles Wheel provides a practical roadmap. Simple, low-cost actions that are accessible to everyone.
If you can’t afford more costly actions like switching to an electric vehicle, being aware of your barriers to actions, focusing on specific benefits, and taking small steps to lower your carbon footprint is still enough to make a meaningful difference.
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Watch Lucy Shea, CEO of Futerra, talk about The Action Wheel on episode 8 of Positive Energy below:
