“What is the one thing I can do to make a difference when it comes to climate change?”

As a keynote speaker in sustainability, I’m often asked this question, “What is the one thing I can do to make a difference when it comes to climate change?”.

The answer is never quite what people want to hear, because it has to do with the somewhat controversial topic of reducing meat consumption. Don’t stop reading! There are many reasons and creative ways to do this — there’s even a hierarchy of protein choices that you can use to design your lower-carbon meals, with poultry being the least impactful animal-based protein , along with many ways to get your protein fix from plants!

The reason food choices are so critical to combating climate change is that agriculture contributes 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This report from McKinsey shows how cattle and dairy cows fall between China and The United States as being the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters. This analysis of protein sources found that eating less meat is always better than just swapping to a more sustainable meat option. As we enter into a heated debate about climate action at COP26 next month, the world will be focused on the decisions leaders make, and leaders are there to respond to the pressures of their constituents. Yes, we need massive cultural shifts to address climate change, from the way industries produce goods and services, to the regulations governments put in place, as well as actions we each take as individual consumers to help shift the market.?

Given that there is resounding science that reducing animal meat and dairy consumption is one of the quickest sure-fire ways to help lower carbon emissions globally , and it reduces a host of other detrimental environmental issues related to meat farming (like deforestation of the Amazon to grow soy to feed cows and eutrophication of waterways from effluent runoff from factory farms), it’s well worth the effort to explore how you can contribute in a way that works for you.?

With the rise in more convenient consumption styles such as the flexitarian and reducetarian movements, you can have full autonomy over how often you’d like to eat meat (and which types) without feeling limited by binary labels.?

But there is more good news: there is never just one solution to lowering your personal footprint and having a positive effect on the planet! There are many everyday actions aside from food choices that we can each take to help shift the economy away from polluting and destructive, to positive and productive systems. I know individual actions alone will not reverse the effects of decades of destructive behaviours from industry. We need true leadership at COP26 and beyond to ensure a safe and sustainable future for us and our shared planet. But for sure, our actions are added up as data that influence the decisions of all of the bigger players in this system, so transforming our lifestyle choices can and will have impact, especially if many people join in the transformation too!

Our consumption choices become the foundations for the decisions industry makes. What we eat , the stuff we buy , the way we move around our cities , where we invest our money and how we have fun all dramatically contribute to what will end up being prioritized in our economy. This is how we, as individuals, each have the power and agency to use micro actions to make positive change. The things we buy matter; each purchase contributes to a consumption trend that is read as a demand in the market and fulfilled by companies wanting to capitalize off of that demand.?

Conversely, everything you choose NOT to buy reduces demand and thus reduces the interest of companies to continue investing in that product. So, we can each effect change through our consumption actions. This applies to us as individuals, but also to us as employees. Consumption is one of the biggest drivers of sustainability and thus a perfect place to take action to address climate change. Just look at how many meat alternative products are now on the market and doing very well (Beyond Meat, for example, had a huge IPO a couple years back ). That's in part due to innovation, and in part due to consumer preferences changing towards more meat-free food products . Yes, there is still an environmental cost associated with creating pea protein, oat and almond milk ect, but all studies show it's way less of an impact than the animal-based alternatives.???

That’s the thing about change; it comes about for a multitude of reasons, effects and actions. To address climate change, we need many dramatic changes that include new innovations, new mindsets and new consumer preferences.???

Activating your Anatomy of Action?

This was the basis for the project I did with the United Nations Environment Program. Together, we wanted to figure out how to make sustainable living irresistible, to help people see the relationship between their actions and the potential positive impacts that we can all have. We found that there were many organically emerging and naturally desirable trends and approaches to living a more sustainable life that were already out there, so we made a matrix of them all and looked at the scientific data to see which ones would have a positive effect if many people adopted them. From there, we had a long list of scientifically-validated everyday actions for a climate-positive future!?

The result is the initiative called the Anatomy of Action , and it focuses on the five main lifestyle areas we each take action on every day. We all eat food, buy stuff, move around our cities, earn, spend and save money, and we all (hopefully!) like to have fun. These five main lifestyle areas emerged from our research as having many micro actions we can each take to transform our actions into positive impacts.

From the 5 main lifestyle themes, there are 15 core actions and over 60 (!) micro actions. You can view them all here on the AOA website , but I have also did a summary of three form each theme that help address climate change, all of which you can take action on right now:

Food: 3 Micro-Actions for a Climate-Positive Future

• Protein Swaps: Opt for locally-produced foods; swap out your protein on certain or all meals for plant-based options. Invest in local farmers who are using sustainable production processes.?
• Use All Your Food: Get a compost or worm farm to reduce organic waste going to landfill. Find out what’s available in your local neighborhood/community and advocate for communal composting and organic waste processing solutions to be made available. Find ways to use up all your food to reduce food waste.?
• Grow Your Own: Connect with your food: find out where your food comes from and how it is produced — and farm, plant, and grow whatever you can, whenever you can.

Stuff: 3 Micro-Actions for a Climate-Positive Future

• Beyond Buying: Rent, borrow and share things if you can before you buy new. Keep things in use longer; especially for technologies and gadgets, you can use them longer, repair and donate them and at the end of life ensure you find a reliable recycler.?
• Ditch Disposables: Swap daily disposables such as straws, bags, coffee cups, take out food containers, forks, razors, sanitary products for reusable alternatives (you will save money in the long run too!).?
• Fashion Slow Down: Use your consumer power to buy better clothes and to increase the availability of more sustainable fashion option; opt for second hand, handmade or a capsule wardrobe.?

Move: 3 Micro-Actions for a Climate-Positive Future

• Keep Active: Swap short drives for walks or bike rides (or learn to rollerblade, skateboard, or scooter if you want a cooler way to get around).
• Share Your Ride: Join bike, scooter, or car share services if your city has them.
• Go Cleaner: Adjust your routes so that you are going the least distance.

Money: 3 Micro-Actions for a Climate-Positive Future

• Ethical Investing: Spend time and money on things that have climate-positive impacts, such as investing in products and companies that are taking action.?
• Divestment: Move your money; ask your bank how they invest your money.? If it is in fossil fuels or other unsustainable industries (such as weapons, tobacco etc), then move banks and tell your bank why. You can divest from banks, retirement savings and energy providers.?
• Energy-Positive Homes: Compare energy providers available and choose one that offers renewable energy (there are many start ups offering this now). Take actions to insulate and reduce heat loss from your home so that you can live comfortably with lower energy requirements.?

Fun: 3 Micro-Actions for a Climate-Positive Future

• Enjoy the Journey: Travel slowly and take time to discover by taking the train/bus or cycling and walking.
• Stay Curious: Be future-focused and stay positive about how to contribute to a better world.
• Choose Experiences: Pursue purpose and passions, not possessions. Invest in local companies and find more carbon friendly options.

It might seem like some of these actions are small-fry when you look at the scale of the problem of a dramatically changing climate. But doing something is always better than nothing, especially when your actions help to shift markets and change the behaviours of people around you. Whilst individual choices are part of the system of change we need, even more so the actions we take at work offer scope for significant change. So, see how you could potentially adapt some of these actions outlined here to your work life. If you want to discover more about activating sustainability in business , I have prepared a free toolkit on this .?

There are lots more actions and the full data validation document available at the Anatomy of Action website.

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This article was written as part of the LinkedIn #Changemakers campaign — a campaign shining a spotlight on individuals using LinkedIn to drive genuine change in the world of work. To find out more about the partnership, read more here . And if you want to join the conversation, share the one thing you’d like to change about the world of work in a post on LinkedIn with the hashtag #ConversationsForChange.