10 Tips for greening your Christmas habits

Worried about how to be sustainable at Christmas? Here we give you 10 tips to make it possible:

1. Make a budget and plan for your purchases. This way you will avoid compulsive shopping, save money and do the planet a big favour.
2. Buy responsibly. Try to buy things that you and others will use and really need, choosing products that are durable, ecological and have a lower impact on the environment.
3. Reduce food waste and eat more greens. Calculate the quantities well, make the most of the food or reduce precooked food.
4. Reuse decorations, toys, books or any other goods. Go for reusable wrapping and use natural, organic and recycled products (i.e. like dried flowers or evergreen boughs) to make sure your impact is minimal this Christmas.
5. Reduce the use of heating, especially now that it is very expensive. Wear thermal clothing and use your Christmas sweater!
6. Be responsible with lighting. Ideally, avoid the use of products that consume energy. Choose LED lighting and preferably devices with sensors or powered by solar panels.
7. Make your own gift or buy local. This way you will contribute to the environment and social causes and innovative projects that generate transformative changes.
8. Send Christmas e-greetings. There are numerous providers of personal greeting cards that can be easily sent online, helping to reduce CO₂ emissions and avoiding unnecessary waste.
9. Go for a real Christmas tree. While plastic Christmas trees are reusable, real trees are more sustainable if they are locally grown and have a FSC or PEFC certification. Check the new sustainability trends. It can be a tree in a pot or a tree for rent.
10. Have a zero-waste party. There are many ways to have a zero-waste party. One way is to use reusable plates, cups, and utensils.

You still have a few weeks to go before Christmas and New Year, so why not plan greener, more sustainable and ethical celebrations? Small changes in habits can go a long way for the planet and add more meaning to the festive season.

For more tips to integrate environment and climate change into key development sectors, contact:  INTPA-GREENING-FACILITY@ec.europa.eu | NEAR-GREENING-FACILITY@ec.europa.eu

Also, read the Quick tips to integrate environment and climate change into sectoral programming.