Undertaking your Personal Environmental Audit The purpose of the personal environmental audit is to take a snap shot of your life and look at which activities are causing more environmental harm than others, and therefore help you identify how you can make a difference. The attached sheets ask you a series of trigger questions and provide some commentary on what each of these questions means for the environment. You can then ask yourself whether there is anything you can do [and are prepared to do] to reduce your personal environmental impact and help save the planet! As you go through the audit sheet, go through every item and ask yourself honestly, how what you do impacts the environment and whether you are really prepared to change what you do to make the difference. Many of these things you may not be able to change, but others are easy. So use these to prepare your own personal environmental goals to minimize the impact you personally have on the environment. It s useful to conduct a personal environmental audit every 6 months or so you should see an improvement in your environmental performance and identify new areas for improvement. Heaps of people are making lots of little changes and it s the cumulative sum of all of these little changes that will make the difference. You too can make a difference! So go ahead give yourself an audit and identify improvements you can make.
The House 1 How big is your house? The bigger the house, the bigger the environmental footprint to build the house and also to maintain it. A 4 person family can comfortably live in a 3 bedroom house. Is your house too big? 2 What is your house made from? Some materials like brick, blockwork and masonry, have better insulating properties than others so are better for long term power use. If building a new house, look into green building materials that have a lower environmental footprint. 3 How is your house orientated? Buildings facing north (in the southern hemisphere, and south in the northern hemisphere) make the best use of natural heating. Plant deciduous trees on this side of the house to shade it in summer and let the sun's heat in, in winter. 4 Does your house make use of natural shading and ventilation? Shading the hot western wall of the house, or growing a vine over it, will greatly reduce cooling costs. Make maximum use of ventilation and shading to minimise air conditioning requirements. 5 Is your house insulated? Insulation in walls and in the roof space helps minimise both cooling and heating requirements, and can be added to older homes too! 6 What type of hot water system does the house have? Solar hot water systems are great, although usually cost more to install. They pay themselves off though after several years. Instantaneous gas hot water systems are also very efficient. You can also save a lot of energy by reducing the set temperature by a few degrees. 7 Are hot water pipes lagged? This protects the pipes from losing too much heat. How long does it take for hot water to come out of the taps in the bathroom or kitchen? How much water do you waste by waiting for the hot water? 8 Does your house use any alternative energy sources? You can install solar cells and even wind generators in some areas to supplement power use. You may even be able to sell some of this energy back to the power company! These systems cost a fair bit of money to install, but you'll return that money in the long term.
Bathroom What is IN your bathroom? 1 Basins and Taps: Are the taps low flow or installed with aerators? What is the flow rate from your taps? Are any of the taps leaking/ dripping? These are the physical things that you may be able to fix with a 'once off' replacement or repair. Aerated water has appearance of white fluffy bubbles, rather than solid stream of clear water flow. Aerated taps and low flow taps can halve the amount of water used in the basin. Get a 1L container and time how long it takes to fill when the tap is fully open (use the water for your garden afterwards!). With a low flow tap it should take more than 10 seconds. A dripping tap can waste 10,000 L of water a year! Ceramic washers on taps are better for resisting leaks. Do all basins have plugs? 2 Showers: Do you have dual shower heads? Are shower heads low flow or installed with aerators? What is the flow rate from the shower heads? Do any shower heads drip or leak? Using a small pool of water in the basin for shaving and teeth cleaning can reduce water use for these activities by half. These can be wasteful as they double the water use! Get a bucket and find the 1L level by tipping in 1L of water from a measuring jug and putting a felt tip mark at the top water level. How long does it take for the shower to fill to this level. A good low flow shower should take more than 6 seconds. A dripping shower can also waste up to 10,000 L of water a year. 3 Bath: How much water is needed to take a bath? Does the bath tap leak or drip? 4 Toilet: Does the toilet have a dual flush operation? Does the flush button stick open? 5 Lighting and Ventilation: Get a tap measure and measure the average bath width, length and depth to your normal bath level. Multiply these 3 numbers together to find out. As above. Dual flush toilets can save up to 5L when a half flush is used instead of a full flush. Alternatively if you have an old toilet, put a brick in the cistern to reduce the water per flush. If water continues to run after you've flushed, get it fixed this is a massive water waster!
Bathroom Does lighting utilise Compact Fluro Bulbs? Compact Fluorescent light bulbs use only 20% of the energy of a normal incandescent light bulb and last about 10 times longer! Is natural lighting available during the day? Can a window be opened for ventilation? Is there an extractor fan? 6 Heating: Do you have ceiling mounted heat lamps? Do you have heated towel racks? Any other type of heating? 7 Other appliances: What other electrical appliances are there? What is the power consumption of these? Even diffused light will minimise the need for artificial lighting during the day. Natural air for ventilation is always best if possible. Natural air for ventilation is always best if possible. These are only efficient when standing directly underneath the bulbs and not for heating the room. These can use a lot of power for something that isn't really needed. Heating is a significant use of power. Lowering the thermostat by only 2 3 degrees can have a huge saving on power. In general, floor heating is the most efficient. Hair dyers, shavers, hair styling, etc do a list. On the appliance will be a tag that states power consumption in Watts. The higher the Watts, the more power it uses! How do you USE your bathroom? 1 Basins and Taps: Do you turn off the tap while cleaning your teeth? Do you turn off the tap while shaving? 2 Showers: How long do you take to have a shower? Do you turn off the shower between lathering and rinsing? How often do you shower? These are the routines that you use and may need to change to make a difference to the environment. Fill the basin rather than running the tap to sace water you can test this next time by putting in the plug and shaving/ cleaning teeth as normal. How much water has collected? Next time, try filling the basin to half this amount and cleaning/ shaving and see if it workd for you. You can have an effective shower in 4 minutes. From the shower flow rate you worked out before you can work out how much extra water you use for every minute in the shower you might be surprised how much this is! Given that showers are most water hungry fixture in the bathroom, cutting back to one shower per day will make a difference. Stay clean, but be rational.
Bathroom 3 Bath: What uses more water a bath or a long shower? Do your kids share a bath? Work it out based on your shower flow rate and bath volume. Little kids can share a bath makes it fun and saves water! 4 Toilet: Do you use the half flush when appropriate? 5 Lighting and Ventilation: Do you turn off the light when you leave the room? How long do you allow the extractor fan to run? 6 Heating: Do you only use heating when it's needed? Do you turn off heated towel racks immediately after use? 7 Other appliances: Do you over use hair styling products? 8 Other Products: What do you use to clean your bathroom? Do you use liquid or bar soap? Do you use soap savers? Some people always use full flush even when not required this is just wasting water! Any lights lefy on are just burning power for no reason. Turn it off! It only takes a couple of minutes for an extractor fan to clear the room of any steam. Or better still, open the window! Heating is a large consumer of energy, so should only be used when you're actually in the bathroom. Increasing the air conditioner or lowering the thermostat by 1.5 degrees C (3 deg F) can save 1 tonne of carbon dioxide a year. Do you need to wash and style your hair everyday? Many commercial cleaners contain a lot of water and are expensive. Try basic cleaners (such as bicard soda and vinegar) instead or use a steam cleaner. Bar soap has a better environmental footprint than liquid soap (which contains a lot of water) and is cheaper too! Soap savers can make the most out of bar soap by using all the little bits left over. Do you use a low phosphorus shampoo? Do you use recycled toilet paper? Phosphorus is a nasty environmental contaminant, and a lot of carbon dioxide is emitted in the process of removing it from wastewater. But low phosphorus shampoos and don't let it get in the water in the first place. Recycled from paper, it is still soft and saves heaps of trees.
Bathroom How much packaging are your beauty products packed in? Many of the expensive beauty products are packed in wasteful amounts of packaging to trick you into thinking you're getting more for your money. Cheaper products are usually just as good and don't waste all those resources in packaging. There are also some simple home remedies that work just as well. What disposable items do you use? Disposable products in general are worse for the environment than reuseable ones where there is an option, get the reuseable variety.
Kitchen What is IN your kitchen? 1 Sinks and Taps: Are the taps low flow or installed with aerators? These are the physical things that you may be able to fix with a 'once off' replacement or repair. Aerated water has appearance of white fluffy bubbles, rather than solid stream of clear water flow. Aerated taps and low flow taps can halve the amount of water used in the basin. What is the flow rate from your taps? Are any of the taps leaking/ dripping? Do all sinks have plugs? Do have use garbage disposal unit? 2 Dishwashers: Do you have a dishwasher? Is it a water and power efficient washer? Does it have split draws? 3 Cookers and Microwave Ovens: Do you have gas or electric cooktops and ovens? Do you have a microwave oven? What is the power use? 4 Fridge and Freezers: Do you have en energy efficient fridge and freezer? Is your fridge and freezer too big or too small for your needs? Where is your fridge/freezer located? Are the fridge and freezer seals in tact? Get a 1L container and time how long it takes to fill when the tap is fully open (use the water for your garden afterwards!). With a low flow tap it should take more than 10 seconds. A dripping tap can waste 10,000 L of water a year! Ceramic washers on taps are better for resisting leaks. Using a small pool of water in the basin for washing vegetables can reduce water use for these activities by half. These comsume some energy, and contribute to the organic loading in the sewerage system. A better use for vegetable scraps is as compost. Dishwashers can be as water efficient as washing up in the sink if they have a good efficiency rating and are used properly, but will always consume more power. Does your dishwasher have an economy cycle, or split draws one for dishes and one for pots and pans to allow for the different rate of use of these items? Gas is often more efficient than electric cookers. Check the power rating of your microwave. These can consume a lot of power, but only for short durations. Energy efficient fridges and freezers can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by half a tonne per year, compared with older models. Chest freezers are more efficient. If too big, you're only wasting energy cooling empty space. If too small, the fridge/ freezer may not work efficiently. Make sure they are located in cooler parts of the kitchen not in the sun or next to the oven and make sure they are properly ventilated. Broken or damaged seals can cause fridges and freezers to works very inefficiently and waste a lot of power.
Kitchen 5 Lighting, Ventilation and Temperature: Does lighting utilise Compact Fluro Bulbs? Compact Fluorescent light bulbs use only 20% of the energy of a normal incandescent light bulb and last 6 15 times as long! Is natural lighting available during the day? Can a window be opened for ventilation? Is there a rangehood type extractor? Is there air conditioning or heating, and is this efficient? 6 Other appliances: What other electrical appliances are there? What is the power consumption of these? Are they ALL necessary? Even diffused light will minimise the need for artificial lighting during the day. Natural air for ventilation is always best if possible. Increasing the temperature on the air conditioning or lowering the thermostat by 1.5 degrees C [3 deg F] will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1 tonne per year. toaster, kettle, coffee machine, sandwich maker, blenders, etc do a list. On the appliance will be a tag that states power consumption in Watts. The higher the Watts, the more power it uses! How do you USE your kitchen? 1 Sinks and Taps: Do you turn off the tap while washing vegetables and rinsing plates? These are the routines that you use and may need to change to make a difference to the environment. Fill the basin rather than running the tap to save water you can test this next time by putting in the plug and cleaning veges/ rinsing plates as normal. How much water has collected? Next time, try filling the basin to half this amount and cleaning and see if it worked for you. 2 Dishwashers: Do you wait until the dishwasher is full before turning it on? Do you use the economy cycle when only a light wash is needed? Do you rinse plates before stacking in the washer? 3 Cookers and Microwave Ovens: Do you leave cook tops or ovens on when not in use? Do you turn off the microwave at the wall after use? Even if the dishwasher is only half full, it will use the same amount of power and water as a full load so wait until you have a full load. Use the economy cycle to save even more water and power. If you do wash up in the sink instead, only fil the sink part way you don't need a full sink to wash up. There is no need to rinse plates first this just wastes water. Simply scrape any food scraps into the bin or compost. And hand wash large items as they waste a lot of space. Not only is this dangerous, but wastes energy too. Most microwave ovens have an in built clock. You'll be surprised how much power this uses over a year.
Kitchen Do you cook many high energy meals? Meals like roasts, and baking use more energy than lightly cooking veges [or even salads!] and stirfrys. Keep lids on boiling pots and thaw food before cooking to save more energy. 4 Fridge and Freezers: Do you leave the fridge or freezer open for long periods of time? Is your fridge and freezer temperature setting optimal? Do you maintain your fridge and freezer regularly? 5 Lighting, Ventilation and Temperature: How do you use your heating? Do you turn it off when you're not using the kitchen? Do you turn lights off when you're not in the room? Can you use an open window for ventilation rather than extractor fans? 6 Other appliances: Do you use all kitchen appliances efficiently? 7 Other Products What do you use to clean your kitchen? Do you use low phosphorus detergents? Do you compost your vegetable scraps and recycle glass, cans, paper, etc.? Leaving the door open will waste a lot of energy as the unit tries to replace all the cold air that is lost. Decide what you want before you open the door. Also, make sure you cool hot food down before putting it in the fridge/ freezer. Too low a temperature setting will consume a lot more power than necessary. Check you re the details on the compliance panel to find out optimal settings for your unit. Checking seals, cleaning out spent food and defrosting ice all help the fridge/ freezer operate more efficiently and use less power. Increasing the temperature on the air conditioning or lowering the thermostat by 1.5 degrees C [3 deg F] will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1 tonne per year. For example, do you only boil enough water for your cuppa, or do you fill the whole kettle? Just boil enough for what you need so you don't waste all that energy. Many commercial cleaners contain a lot of water and are expensive. Try basic cleaners (such as bicard soda and vinegar) instead or use a steam cleaner. Phosphorus is a nasty environmental contaminant, and a lot of carbon dioxide is emitted in the process of removing it from wastewater. But low phosphorus detergents and don't let it get in the water in the first place. Compost is great for the garden, and composting suitable household waste reduces the amount of rubbish you send to landfill. There are many places that accept recycling materials it does reduce energy and resource consumption.
Kitchen Do you buy locally grown food and produce? How processed is the food you buy? How much packaging is your food packed in? Locally grown food and produce doesn't have to be transported as far and therefore has a lower environmental footprint it helps support the local economy too! As a general rule, the more processed a food, the bigger its environmental footprint. Try to stick with fresh, unprocessed food where possible. Many of the expensive food and kitchen products are packed in wasteful amounts of packaging to trick you into thinking you're getting more for your money. Cheaper products are usually just as good and don't waste all those resources in packaging. What disposable items do you use? Disposable products in general are worse for the environment than reuseable ones where there is an option, get the reuseable variety.
Laundry What is IN your laundry? 1 Sinks and Taps: Are the taps low flow or installed with aerators? These are the physical things that you may be able to fix with a 'once off' replacement or repair. Aerated water has appearance of white fluffy bubbles, rather than solid stream of clear water flow. Aerated taps and low flow taps can halve the amount of water used in the basin. What is the flow rate from your taps? Are any of the taps leaking/ dripping? Do all sinks have plugs? 2 Washing Machine: What type of washing machine do you have? Is your washing machine energy and water efficient? 3 Dryer: Do you have a dryer or a line to hang your washing? Is your dryer energy efficient? 4 Lighting, Ventilation and Temperature: Does lighting utilise Compact Fluro Bulbs? Is natural lighting available during the day? Can a window be opened for ventilation? Get a 1L container and time how long it takes to fill when the tap is fully open (use the water for your garden afterwards!). With a low flow tap it should take more than 10 seconds. A dripping tap can waste 10,000 L of water a year! Ceramic washers on taps are better for resisting leaks. Using a small pool of water in the sink for cleaning can reduce water use for these activities by half. Front loading machines use less water and energy than top loading washing machines. Twin tub systems allow water recycling what do you use? Check the energy rating. Dryers cost money to buy and run, and have a high environmental footprint compared with using a washing line. If you do use a dryer, make sure it is an energy efficient one. Compact Fluorescent light bulbs use only 20% of the energy of a normal incandescent light bulb and last 6 15 times as long! Even diffused light will minimise the need for artificial lighting during the day. Natural air for ventilation is always best if possible. Is there an extractor fan? 5 Other appliances: What other electrical appliances are there? What is the power consumption of these? Irons, presses, etc do a list. On the appliance will be a tag that states power consumption in Watts. The higher the Watts, the more power it uses!
Laundry How do you USE your laundry? These are the routines that you use and may need to change to make a difference to the environment. 1 Sinks and Taps: Do you turn off the tap while cleaning? Fill the basin rather than running the tap to save water you can test this next time by putting in the plug and cleaning as normal. How much water has collected? Next time, try filling the basin to half this amount and cleaning and see if it worked for you. 2 Washing Machine: Do you wash when you have a full load? Do you use the economy cycle when only a light wash is needed? Do you pre soak clothing? 3 Dryer: Do you separate items before drying? Do you line dry when you can? 4 Lighting, Ventilation and Temperature: How do you use your heating? Do you turn it off when you're not using the laundry? Do you turn lights off when you're not in the room? Can you use an open window for ventilation rather than extractor fans? 5 Other appliances: Do you need to iron all your clothes all the time? 6 Other Products What do you use to clean your laundry? Even if the washer is only half full, it will use the same amount of power as a full load so wait until you have a full load. Use the economy cycle to save even more water and power. If you do wash a part load, set the water level accordingly. Wash in cold water where possible. This can be effective in reducing wash intensity add the soaking water to the washing machine to reduce use. Keep heavy items of clothing and towels separate from light items, that dry a lot faster. Don't over dry as it can damage your clothing. The sun is free! And doesn't produce carbon dioxide. Increasing the temperature on the air conditioning or lowering the thermostat by 1.5 degrees C [3 deg F] will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1 tonne per year. Buy crease resistant clothing and hang up when damp so the creases fall out. Dryers will cause lots of creases, so line drying is best for reducing the ironing load. Many commercial cleaners contain a lot of water and are expensive. Try basic cleaners (such as bicard soda and vinegar) instead or use a steam cleaner.
Laundry Do you use low phosphorus detergents? Phosphorus is a nasty environmental contaminant, and a lot of carbon dioxide is emitted in the process of removing it from wastewater. But low phosphorus detergents and don't let it get in the water in the first place. How much packaging are your laundry products packed in? What disposable items do you use? Many of the expensive laundry products are packed in wasteful amounts of packaging to trick you into thinking you're getting more for your money. Cheaper products are usually just as good and don't waste all those resources in packaging. Disposable products in general are worse for the environment than reuseable ones where there is an option, get the reuseable variety.
Living Areas and Bedrooms What is IN your living area? 1 Bedrooms: Do you have electric blankets on the beds? What other appliances are there in the bedrooms? 2 Office: What electrical equipment is in your office? How much power does it use? Does it have 'stand by' function and clocks? These are the physical things that you may be able to fix with a 'once off' replacement or repair. The more appliances, the more power you'll consume. And any appliances that produce heat use a lot more than others. All electrical equipment uses energy know how much energy each item comsumes. Stand by lights and clocks built into equipment consume a surprising amount of power over a year which ones can you turn off after use? Does your printer have refillable cartridges? 3 Entertainment Rooms: What makes up your entertainment system? How much power does it use? Does it have 'stand by' function and clocks? 4 Lighting, Ventilation and Temperature: Does lighting utilise Compact Fluro Bulbs? Is natural lighting available during the day? Can a window be opened for ventilation? Is there air conditioning or heating, and is this efficient? 5 Other appliances: What other electrical appliances are there? What is the power consumption of these? These will save heaps in repacement cartridges and reduce waste as well. All electrical equipment uses energy know how much energy each item comsumes. Stand by lights and clocks built into equipment consume a surprising amount of power over a year which ones can you turn off after use? Compact Fluorescent light bulbs use only 20% of the energy of a normal incandescent light bulb and last 6 15 times as long! Even diffused light will minimise the need for artificial lighting during the day. Natural air for ventilation is always best if possible. Increasing the temperature on the air conditioning or lowering the thermostat by 1.5 degrees C [3 deg F] will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1 tonne per year. Vacuum cleaners, etc. do a list. On the appliance will be a tag that states power consumption in Watts. The higher the Watts, the more power it uses! How do you USE your living area? 1 Bedrooms: These are the routines that you use and may need to change to make a difference to the environment.
Living Areas and Bedrooms Do you only use electric blankets to take the chill off the sheets? Do you turn off other electrical appliances when not in use? 2 Office: Do you recycle paper and buy recycled paper? Electric blankets only need to be turned on 15 minutes before going to bed, and turned off. Or better still, put on an extra blanket or just use a hot water bottle. Don't forget to unplug any appliances with standby lights to save more power. Using both sides of the paper and recycling the waste saves 2.5 kg of greenhouse gas for every 1 kg of paper used. Do you use both sides of paper? Do you recycle printer cartridges, etc.? Do you turn off other electrical appliances when not in use? 3 Entertainment Rooms: How much do you use your entertainment system? Do you turn off other electrical appliances when not in use? 4 Lighting, Ventilation and Temperature: How do you use your heating? Do you turn it off when you're not in the room? Recycling does make a difference do it when you can. Don't forget to unplug any appliances with standby lights to save more power. You may be surprised by how much power entertainment units consume. Do you really need to watch that much TV? Turn it off when not in use. Don't forget to unplug any appliances with standby lights to save more power. Increasing the temperature on the air conditioning or lowering the thermostat by 1.5 degrees C [3 deg F] will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1 tonne per year. Or use a ceiling or floor fan they use much less electricity. Do you turn lights off when you're not in the room? Can you use an open window for ventilation? 5 Other appliances: Do you clean vacuum filters regularly and empty bags? 6 Other Products What do you use to clean these rooms? Vacuum cleaners operate most efficiently when filters are cleaned and bags are empty. Bags can be emptied onto the compost too. Many commercial cleaners contain a lot of water and are expensive. Try basic cleaners (such as bicard soda and vinegar) instead or use a steam cleaner.
Living Areas and Bedrooms How much packaging are products packed in? Many of the expensive household products are packed in wasteful amounts of packaging to trick you into thinking you're getting more for your money. Cheaper products are usually just as good and don't waste all those resources in packaging. What disposable items do you use? Disposable products in general are worse for the environment than reuseable ones where there is an option, get the reuseable variety.
Lifestyle 1 Your Car: Do you have a fuel efficient or hydrid car? What type of fuel does it use and what it the fuel consumption? Hybrid cars are a lot more efficient than purely petroleum based vehicles. Some hybrids use electrcitiy and some can use ethanol based fuels. Diesel cars produce 2.7 kg carbon dioxide per Litre of fuel, the worst of all the fuels. However, diesel engines are usually more efficient and burn less fuel per km. Petrol cars produce 2.4 kg carbon dioxide per Litre of fuel, and LPG only 1.6 kg per L. Keep fuel receipts and odometer readings to work out fuel consumption. Anything less than 10 km/l or 30 miles per gallon is not very good. Do you keep your car well maintained? Do you maintain tyre pressure? How do you drive? A well maintained car is going to be more efficient to run than one that isn't. Running on tyres with low pressure comsumes a lot more fuel than optimal pressures. Keep tyres inflated to the correct pressure. Keep them balanced too! Aggressive driving [foot flat] will comsume more fuel than gently changing speed to the conditions. Always chose the right gear for maximum efficiency and optimise the use of the air con. How do you load your car? Any extra load carried by your car will burn extra fuel, so only carry necessary stuff in the car. Also, load roof racks and trailers carefuly to minimise drag resistance and excess fuel consumption. Do you always use the car? Can you walk or ride a bike instead? 2 Other Travel: How often do you travel and how far do you go? Of course the best way to save fuel is not to use the car! Try walking or riding a bike instead for short trips. The further you travel, the more greenhouse gases you emit. Minimise travel, or off set your emissions by planting a tree or contributing to a carbon off set scheme some airlines have this option when you purchase a ticket. 3 Recreation:
Lifestyle What do you do for recreation? How much energy or other resources does this consume? Is 'shopping' one of your past times? Think about travel requirements, power consumption, water use, etc. Do your recreational activities have an environmental impact? Remember that all products have an environmental footprint buy natural products that are locally made for the least environmental impact. 4 Work: How do you travel to and from work? Do you drive, or can you try car pooling, public transport or even riding a bike all of these are much better for the environment. Does your work have an environmental policy? Do you have any influence over environmental matters at work? Do you make a personal contribution to the environment while at work? If it does, proactively follow it and encourage your fellow employees to do the same. If so then try to make a difference. You can make a difference by recycling, turning off equipment when not in use, turning off the lights, using both sides of the paper and many others!