Ten tips for living a more sustainable life

Your diet can make a lot of impact on the environment. For example, did you know that one steak is equivalent to fifty bathtubs of water? Beef (red meat) has the greatest environmental impact of all types of meat. Also cheese has more impact on the climate than many people think. In terms of emissions, it is equivalent to pork, says the Netherlands Nutrition Centre. 

Fortunately, there are plenty of vegetarian and vegan alternatives these days. Most supermarkets now offer a wide range of tasty meat substitutes. You can avoid waisting food by making a main course soup from leftovers, or a different dish. Or by freezing your leftovers and reheating them later in the week.

Cycling is good for the environment and healthy too. If you live quite far from your work, an e-bike can be a good solution. You don’t consume petrol and have less trouble finding a parking spot. More and more employers are encouraging their staff to take the bicycle through National Bicycle Projects. 

In our climate, periods of excessive sunshine and heavy rain alternate ever more frequently. This presents us all with the challenge of holding water better and for longer. You can also help in this, for example by replacing some of the slabs in your garden or on your balcony with plants.

Not buying any new clothes at all would be best for the environment. But who doesn’t enjoy putting on something new every once in a while and add new items to their wardrobe? Fortunately, there are plenty of sustainable options for buying clothes. With sustainable clothing – made from linen or bamboo, for example – you avoid wasting resources. Or opt for vintage clothes. Now that’s truly circular!

At Nationale Nederlanden, we take great care to ensure that your pension is invested responsibly. But we also have investment funds that invest only in companies with sustainable development policies . Want to know more about the sustainable choices we make? Read more about our SRI policy.

Working from home – it’s something we have become all too familiar with in the past few years. It not only saves you travel time, but also reduces commuter traffic and thus carbon emissions. Of course, it is good to meet up regularly with colleagues and clients. But is it always necessary to get in the car and go to the office for just that one meeting?

The word ‘sustainable’ may conjure up all sorts of associations in your mind of things that ‘must’ be done. But a sustainable lifestyle can also be fun and surprising. At some charities you can buy gifts. At Trees for All you can have a tree planted and give away the accompanying certificate as a gift. You can even add a personal birthday wish. 

You can also make a difference with the Too Good To Go app. In this app, you can order a magic box that you pick up at a shop near you. This way you prevent products from being thrown away. And you have something nice to unwrap at home for a friendly price!

Reducing your time in the shower greatly limits water consumption. You can easily keep track of time with a timer or hourglass in the bathroom. And have you ever tried cold showering? Good for your circulation, it wakes you up in an instant and it decreases your gas consumption. 

Of course it’s fun to go into town and go shopping. But does it always have to be something brand new? A growing number of thrift shops these days have high quality offerings. You can also browse offers from other consumers on websites for second hand items. And you can also sell or give away your own things that are taking up space but are still in good condition. Because reusing something is better – and more sustainable – than throwing it away.