How to Be a Green Driver

Motor technology has advanced hugely over the last 50 years and it’s incredible to see how far it’s come from first being created at the beginning of the 20th century. We rely heavily on motor transport all around the world for day-to-day activities. 

This has many advantages as we can travel to work and go on holidays, however, what a lot of us don’t realise is the amount of fuel consumption that vehicles give off during their journeys. So, for the last 20 years many motor companies have been trying to reduce CO2 emissions to help save the environment from further damaging emissions. 

It’s crucial we all play our part in saving the environment, so here is a list of ideas for you to become a greener driver and help reduce carbon emissions.

Carbon Offsetting

More companies and individual drivers are starting to take responsibility for their carbon emissions, through carbon offsetting. It can be difficult for companies to reduce their footprint due to having low-carbon options available to provide for their markets. However, through carbon offsetting they can begin funding environmental projects in an attempt to compensate for their emissions.

Funding environmental projects is key to taking action in the battle against climate change, and here at EcoSpeed, we feel that this should be done on a local level. Investing in our immediate surroundings e.g. towns or cities makes a lot more sense to us, and for this reason, we partnered with the Lancashire Wildlife Trust for a decade.

We are very proud to have partnered with the LWT as they’re one of the UK’s leading conservation charities, who worked hard with us to deliver our targets. Each month 10% of our profit was donated to them to be invested in various North West based carbon offsetting projects.

The money went directly to the purchase and restoration of local nature reserves, peat bogs and mosslands such as those around Chat Moss, on the border of Manchester and Warrington.

Since the start of our partnership to the end of 2021, EcoSpeed’s contributions have helped restore mossland habitats in Manchester with a carbon absorption value of 1827 tonnes of carbon. No mean feat and something we are immensely proud of.

#WiaseHighlight A positive social enterprise offestting Carbon through Offseting Carbonhttps://t.co/0ISwKI7Wjc pic.twitter.com/TXQrcY5vLZ

— Wiase Capital (@Wiasecapital) May 5, 2020

Recycle

Household recycling has become second nature to many of us over the years, but did you know you can recycle vehicle parts? Recycling has many economical and environmental advantages, and when you recycle vehicle parts you’re allowing the reuse and conservation of limited materials. 

Being able to recycle steel is very beneficial as it reduces the need for more manufacturing processes, which then helps reduce emission of greenhouse gases into the environment. It’s not just steel that should be recycled, but also plastic too. Plastic is manufactured during the production of cars, and is very damaging to the planet. There have been many issues with recycling plastic over the years which continues to be a common problem, and it doesn’t help when we use large amounts of this material for car manufacturing.

Mining for steel pollutes soil, and therefore can have huge implications on wildlife. Recycling steel is important to ensure that animals are able to maintain their normal habitats. Protecting our wildlife is more important than ever, and recycling is a crucial aspect of this.

We can all do our part by reusing what we can and recycling whenever possible! ♻️🌎 #Recycle pic.twitter.com/B6F4WgjiW5

— BHS Environmental Club (@BHS4Environment) October 21, 2021

Go Electric

It goes without saying if you really want to become a greener driver, you should consider purchasing an electric car. Electric cars produce zero emissions while they’re running, because no fuel is being burned and therefore no C02 emissions are being released into the atmosphere. 

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges with maintaining an electric car is the need to charge the battery. However, this challenge is decreasing each year due to improved energy production techniques and better battery technology that is less reliant on materials which harm the environment. The cost may be higher for an electric car, but it is almost certain most drivers in the UK will be driving one by the year 2040, a recent study shows. 

The key for an electric car to be 100% green is for it to run on renewable power. The potential is there for electric cars to succeed petrol and diesel vehicles in the future, and it’s expected that they will continue to improve in technology and be made more affordable to the wider public in years to come.

Drive Sensibly & Maintaining Your Motor

Driving sensibly is perhaps the most easily attainable solution for motorists looking to reduce their carbon footprint.  The way you drive can have a major impact on the environment and substantially reduce your fuel consumption.. If you do the basics such as keeping fuel wastage to a minimum, accelerating smoothly, and breaking gradually plus many more all helps towards reducing emissions released to the atmosphere. 

To be a green driver you must adopt eco-friendly habits when you’re driving and you can do this in a number of ways. For example, you may not need to drive everywhere all of the time, this may seem simple but many people forget the fact that petrol and diesel motor vehicles increase CO2 emissions even on short journeys – so don’t drive for the sake of it.

Also, simply maintaining your vehicle will only help you naturally adopt eco-friendly habits. By consistently checking your tyre pressures amongst other maintenance work will save fuel, and of course – save the environment. 

We hope you enjoyed reading our latest blog on how to be a green driver. If you have found our tips useful then be sure to get in touch and let us know what you think.