4 Tips for sustainable living

At SISD, we believe that living sustainable lives is key to a better future. In fact, it’s one of our core tenets, and we’ve made great strides in working towards a goal of a sustainable campus, from hiring our very own Sustainability Coordinator to complying with the Swiss MINERGIE Ecolabel and even winning the DEWA Conservation Award. But sustainability isn’t just the responsibility of institutions. It’s up to every single one of us to live lives that have as small an environmental impact as possible. That’s why we’ve promoted sustainability initiatives in the classroom, so that our students take home the principles and apply it to their daily lives. How can you live out a more sustainable life? Based on our expertise in creating sustainable solutions, we’ve come up with a list of tips that can help you lead a more environmentally friendly life.

1. Give up plastic

Plastic might seem like a ubiquitous convenience, but it’s one of the most non-biodegrading things you can think of. It’s going to stick around in landfills for decades, if not centuries. The best thing you can do to fix this problem is to avoid using disposable plastics wherever possible. The biggest impact this practice will have is in food. Use reusable bags when you go shopping so you don’t contribute to plastic waste; you can buy some reusable bags at this local seller. Another place to start would be to end your practice of accepting plastic straws, instead bringing your own metal straws whenever you eat out. You can also bring your own reusable and washable eating utensils whenever you go out, rather than relying on disposable plastic cutlery from restaurants or food trucks.

2. Shop for used goods.

The temptation to buy brand new is always out there, but pre-loved stuff is an alternative that isn’t just cheaper, it’s also more environmentally friendly! A huge amount of water is used, and plenty of waste and greenhouse gases generated, in the production of almost every consumer good. When they’ve been taken care of and come from good, durable brands, secondhand clothes are pretty much just as good as new. Book lovers can also consider secondhand books, which are found all over the city. For more of your secondhand needs, there’s a variety of buy-and-sell groups on Facebook, online marketplaces, and flea markets.

3. Recycling

One of the most iconic environmentally friendly catchphrases is “recycle.” But for many of us, it’s been hard to identify and locate recycling centers that are near us. Thankfully, Dubai has several services that offer to pick up recyclable materials right from your own home. From general recyclable collection, to paper and aluminum cans, and even to e-waste, you have plenty of options that will allow you to contribute to the environment via recycling, without having to leave your own home.

4. Eat less meat

A huge amount of the world’s clean water supply, and a large portion of global greenhouse gas emissions, come from meat consumption. Reducing your meat consumption and switching to vegetables and meat alternatives can be a huge benefit to the environment.

Sustainability for the future

Sustainability isn’t just about a cleaner world – it’s about having a world at all to begin with! Climate change, if left unchecked, will devastate nations, result in mass extinctions, and make life harder for future generations. Your children’s generation. If you want to secure a future for your child, sustainability is a mandatory practice to follow, there’s no way of going around it. With SISD, you can be assured that we know this fully well, and we hope to instill these sustainability values in our children, and our entire community.