Climate change

What gets measured gets managed. The tools below can help you understand how your home and lifestyle is impacting on climate change, as well as practical suggestions on how you can reduce this:

• Use the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) calculator to measure and find ways to shrink your carbon footprint

Buildings use about 30% of all the energy we consume globally. Space and water heating, which are largely powered by fossil fuels, account for almost half of the global energy use in buildings. 

The UK has 30 million buildings, most of which are homes. Therefore, decarbonising domestic heating and improving the energy efficiency of homes is a major part of reaching net zero, as set out in the Government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy (October 2021) and the upcoming Future Homes Standard regulations, expected to be introduced January 2026.

Adapting our daily behaviour to use less energy at home can also  contribute to tackling climate change, at the same time saving money on our bills in a period when energy prices are very high. 

• The Energy Savings Trust provides information and resources to help make your home more energy efficient, reduce your carbon emissions and lower your energy bills.
• Warm and Safe Wiltshire offers all residents across Swindon free and impartial energy saving advice, especially those who may be struggling with their fuel bills or keeping their homes warm. Get in touch via their freephone helpline on 0800 038 5722.
• Check out these home energy saving tips from the Energy Savings Trust,  Octopus Energy and Money Saving Expert (Martin Lewis)
• This Government online service provides homeowners with free recommendations for home improvements that could make your property cheaper to heat and keep warm
• If you are a homeowner, get personalised recommendations for home improvements to save on energy. This also gives the estimated cost of making the improvement and the next steps you could take.
• A quarter of that heat is lost through the roof in an uninsulated home. Reduce heat loss in your home by installing insulation or draught-proofing
• Monitor your energy usage in real-time by upgrading to a smart meter
• If you own your own property, you can get recommendations for home improvements to save on energy. The UK Government website will provide recommendations, with the estimated cost of making the improvement and the next steps you could take.
• Find out which appliances in your household are contributing most to your carbon footprint and energy bills
• Discover more about solar panels and use this calculator to help estimate the potential energy bill savings and financial payments you could generate 
• Watch this explainer video and find out more about electric heat pumps
• Check if a heat pump could be suitable for your home and whether you are eligible for a government grant to cover part of the cost of replacing fossil fuel heating systems with a heat pump or biomass boiler (Boiler Upgrade Scheme).

The Warm Homes Plan, published on 21 January 2026, sets out how the UK Government intends to help people reduce energy bills and make the country’s ageing housing stock more comfortable and energy efficient. 

The plan has three main strands:

• Support for homeowners 
  Homeowners will be able to access low and zero interest loans to cover the cost of installing:
  • solar panels
  • battery storage
  • heat pumps
  • smart controls
  • home insulation
  • draught proofing
• Support for low income and fuel poor households 
  Households on low incomes or in fuel poverty will be eligible for full, government backed grants for the same measures listed above.
• Requirements for landlords
  Landlords will be required to bring their properties up to an EPC rating of C by 2030.

The intention is that this package of support will be accessible and beneficial to households across the country.

The UK Government will confirm later in the year when grants are available.

Transport is the largest emitting sector of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK, producing 26 per cent of the UK’s total emissions in 2021. Cars and taxis were the biggest contributors to this, making up 52 per cent of emissions from road transport.

Active travel is a great alternative and is all about getting you moving from A to B in ways that don’t use fossil fuels. Active travel not only improves your health and wellbeing, but helps reduce your carbon footprint and can save you money:

• Check out the Swindon walking and cycling maps, local cycling events and journey planner provided by Swindon Travel Choices
• Get advice from the Energy Savings Trust
• Find 20 tips to help you fit 20 minutes of walking into your day via Living Streets

The Government has committed to phase out the sale of new pure petrol and diesel cars by 2030, with all new cars and vans being fully zero emission from 2035. The full transition to electric vehicles will be one of the most important actions to achieve the UK’s net zero target:

• The Beginners’ Guide to Going Electric helps drivers understand what’s involved in switching to an electric car
• Read these common misconceptions about electric vehicles 
• Find out more about electric cars, including local EV charging points, from Swindon Travel Choices and the Energy Savings Trust
• Use the Government-backed EV8 Switch free appto calculate how much money you could save by switching to an electric vehicle (EV) compared to your current petrol or diesel motor vehicle, as well as the CO2 savings and air quality improvements

Find out where your money goes. Voice your concerns about responsible investment by writing to your bank or pension provider, and ask if you can opt out of funds investing in fossil fuels. There are also a number of ‘ethical banks’ you can investigate: 

• Go to the Good With Money campaign website for ethical saving suggestions
• Visit the Make My Money Matter campaign website which brings together pension savers to demand their money is invested in a way which helps, not harms the planet, aligns with their values and protects future generations
• Find out what responsible investment means for your pension through Imperial College London

Reducing what you waste is a great way to reduce your impact on the environment. Meanwhile many of the things we throw away haven’t always reached the end of their useful life. Sometimes items you don’t want anymore can still be used by someone else.

More than 30 per cent of our clothing goes to landfill, with nearly half of us putting some clothing in the bin. All of our clothing can either be reused or recycled.

Recycling saves energy and also reduces greenhouse gas emissions, which helps to tackle climate change. Current UK recycling is estimated to save 10-15 million tonnes of carbon emissions a year - the equivalent of taking 3.5 million cars off the road.

• Check out easy steps to reduce your waste
• Love Your Clothes has lots more ways to make the most of your clothes, keeping them lasting for longer, and passing on clothes you no longer need
• If it’s broke, fix it - Swindon Repair Café is a drop-in centre for broken appliances and products staffed by volunteers
• Find out about household recycling services in Swindon
• Not sure if an item can be recycled in Swindon? Check our A-Z guide and also use this postcode checker to find out how to correctly dispose of your household items
• Check out the store locator on the Repeat the Cycle website to see where you can recycle plastic films, plastic bags and wrapping
• Download the free Refill app to tap into a global network of places to reduce, reuse and refill. That includes over 70 venues in Swindon offering refills for water, coffee, food containers and plastic-free shopping
• Look for local businesses and shops that will help you minimise waste and fast-fashion, like vintage shops, charity shops or zero-waste shops in Swindon such as Weigh It Up in Highworth 
• By the end of March 2026, all properties will have access to food waste recycling. The food collected will be treated using a method called anaerobic digestion which produces renewable energy (biogas) and agricultural soil improver

What we eat, and how that food is produced, affects our health and the environment. Around one quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions come from the agriculture sector.

If as a population we were to reduce the amount of meat we currently eat on average, we could collectively help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve our health at the same time.

• Buying local and seasonal food supports your local economy and lowers the carbon emitted to get that food on your table
• The NHS Eatwell Guide shows how much of what we eat overall should come from each food group to achieve a healthy, balanced diet
• Reduce food waste by freezing leftovers and using apps like OLIO, where neighbours share spare food, and Too Good To Go, which lets you buy discounted surplus food from local businesses
• Find leftover food recipes and tips for reducing the amount of food your household wastes via Love Food Hate Waste
• Learn more about plant-based diets through BBC Food and the Vegan Society