Sustainable Lifestyles*

How to adopt a sustainable lifestyle & Tips to boost your ‘green‘ commitment

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The planet’s resources are being depleted and a respectful and healthy model is urgently needed to ensure the future of the new generations. Leading a sustainable lifestyle is more than achieving responsible consumption, it is about living based on a commitment to the environment and it can be achieved by introducing small actions in our day to day life.

A sustainable lifestyle will preserve the planet for generations to come.

According to data from the United Nations (UN), in the world there are approximately 7,700 million people, and increasing. Each one of us eats, moves and consumes goods and services, and many of us do so in a way that is not environmentally responsible. The question is: does the sustainable action of a few serve any purpose? For most of the international organisations that try to preserve the planet, the answer is yes: “Every gesture counts”, they promote from Greenpeace.

In fact, a study from the University of Michigan in the United States affirms that the norms agreed by a population group guarantee the efficiency of a sustainable life strategy. The key? The reputation of each one serves as positive reinforcement in the others, that is, that a neighbour recycles correctly is an inspiration for the rest. For researchers, encouraging these small actions is as easy as following some advice and doing environmental pedagogy.

WHAT IS A SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLE

In 1986 the World Health Organization (WHO) defined the concept of lifestyle as “a general way of life based on the interaction between living conditions in a broad sense and individual behaviour patterns determined by sociocultural factors and characteristics. personal.”. A year later, the Brundtland Report, produced by the World Commission on Environment and Development, began to align lifestyles with sustainability: “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

From then until now, the negative impact of our way of life on the environment has continued to grow. The overexploitation of natural resources, water pollution, soil pollution and deforestation, the loss of biodiversity, among others, have exasperated the environmental problems to be solved during this century. To face these great challenges, actions have been generated aimed at achieving a sustainable lifestyle at a global level that prevents the planet from deteriorating further. The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are good examples. And the youngest, worried about their future, seem to be taking good note.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE A SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLE

Achieving a sustainable lifestyle does not depend exclusively on individual factors, there are also collective and external factors that can promote or hinder the achievement of this objective:

Individuals : The way we relate on a personal level with the environment in which we live determines our level of awareness of the need to protect the environment.
Collectives : In some societies the concept of the common good is more ingrained than in others, which tend towards individualism, and this is reflected in customs that affect the environment.
External : The legislation of each country or region, its geopolitical and economic situation or the degree of innovation, among others, can limit or promote the adoption of a sustainable lifestyle.

TIPS FOR ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES

The aforementioned Agenda 2030 is an ambitious plan that seeks to achieve prosperity that is respectful of the planet and its inhabitants. Its 17 Sustainable Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 12, which incorporates measures related to both responsible consumption and production and the sustainable management of natural resources, provide clues on what to do and how to act to lead a sustainable lifestyle.

In any case, the first step is to review our way of life and bet on introducing changes that generate sustainable habits. Next, we show the most relevant ones: