When money's tight, how can we look after our family and the environment too?

Greetings from your Climate Change Champions on Origin’s Spotlight Panel. The Spotlight panel meet every three months to give our residents a voice and ensure we are aware of your’ concerns. The Spotlight panel also ensure that we deliver on actions agreed following scrutiny of our services. They play a key role in ensuring that we collect the views of a wide and representative resident base and influencing the work that we do.

Climate change is one of the most profound long-term challenges facing all our families over the coming years. Spotlight works with Origin to strengthen its services to its residents. And members have begun working with Origin Housing to help residents strengthen their responses to challenges of climate change. 

Today’s question is in many residents’ minds. And it should be. Every penny counts. But for the sake of our kids and our families we must remember the future. Here are some tips on how we can help save the planet and spend less at the same time: 

- Switch to energy suppliers that offer instead the lowest carbon, most renewable, energy 

- Not just count costs and calories, but also count energy use in food when planning meals. 

- Try and use local food  

2.  What about pollution? London’s air is often toxic. And our water now has lots of micro-plastics. Not good for human health or our environment. 

What to do? 

- Don’t use motor vehicles unless you must 

- Use in-store recycling schemes (A number of high-street retailers offer freebies or discounts on future purchases if you recycle items such as clothing, home textiles, empty beauty containers etc in their stores.) 

- Avoid buying clothes made with artificial fibers  

- Avoid single-use plastics and recycle as much as possible (Morrisons and Ocado will actually pay you to take used plastic bags off your hands when you shop online.) 

3. Saving water: And saving on water rates at the same time! How about: 

- Collecting rainwater to use in your home 

- Switch to showers if possible 

- Competing with yourself or others to have the shortest showers 

- Washing cloths less often (especially those with artificial fibers) 

- Turn off the tap (Running taps waste as much as 6 litres of water a minute, so try filling a bowl of water when rinsing vegetables or fruit) 

What about you? Let’s share what residents are doing now to protect all our futures.

Email Community.Development@originhousing.org.uk using the Subject heading: Climate Action