Green Festival is the University of Reading’s annual sustainability celebration, hosted by the University’s Sustainable Services team. There are a number of exciting events taking place across the University’s campuses this week, make sure to visit the University’s sustainability pages for the full timetable of events.

As part of the University Green Festival celebrations the University has created their very own sustainability podcast filled with helpful tips on ways you can be more sustainable, whilst saving money in the process.

Jackie Simpson, from the Sustainability Services team, and the University’s Director of Energy and Sustainability, Dan Fernbank, discuss the ways you can reduce waste and be more sustainable both at home and on campus.

We have highlighted a few key takeaways from the podcast that you can try to incorporate into your daily routines:

• Switch off devices, this includes things like not leaving things like TV’s on standby.
• Only run your washing machine when you have a full load, this will save money and water.   
• Using a small electric heater in a small room can often be more cost effective than using the central heating to heat the whole house.
• Shorter showers saves both water and energy.
• Buy less stuff! Try to question your consumer decisions, buy second hand where you can and try to recycle old objects.
• Cut down your food waste by batch cooking meals, freezing leftovers or essentials such as milk and bread, and reduce plastic consumption by packing your own lunch. If you’re in a shared household, you can also try cooking together to reduce energy.
• Try and walk or cycle whenever you can to help contribute to reducing car emissions. Make sure to visit Dr Bike on Wednesday afternoon’s in Palmer Quad for free bike checks, and check out the cycling safety and security pages for tips on keeping safe whilst cycling.

Make sure to listen to the podcast for even more helpful tips on things you can do to save money whilst reducing waste, and saving water and energy, and download the Doing #UoR Bit app to keep track of all the positive steps you are taking to be more sustainable, and for a chance to win prizes!