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Green By Habit (GBH/ Sruthi)

@greenbyhabit

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🌿Sharing my learnings on Sustainability & Green Habits
🌿Start here- check 📖 (guides) ⠀
🌿Sustainable Sourcing Program Manager
@chr.hansen
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96

14

5 years ago

Sharing few sustainable choices from our Easter trip in beautiful Portugal❤
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This is not to claim I had a perfectly sustainable trip -but sharing small wins & conscious choices in case it inspires someone 🤗
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🌿1. Carbon offsetting
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Flying is one of the most carbon intensive things to do. When avoiding flying is not an option, I ensure to join the airline's/ trusted carbon offset program. We took KLM, who not only has a carbon offsetting reforestation program, but also contribute to sustainable aviation fuel project.
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🌿2. Carrying own reusables like straws, bottles, spoons, towels, shopping bag etc is the simplest thing one can do to refuse disposables
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🌿 3. Carrying reusables is useful only if we actually use it. For me, it is about pushing myself out of comfort zone in new settings & asking.The worst you can get is a 'no'. ⠀
🌿 4. Using public transport not only saves on individual carbon footprint, but is also my favourite way to explore a new place. It helps one to meet locals as well as see the city through their eyes⠀
🌿 5. Choosing hotel/ hostel instead of Air B&B when staying at Central locations in European cities is recommended. It is because in many big European cities, Air B&B is driving the rents up which is making it unaffordable for the locals to stay in the centers & making them move away.
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🌿6. Carry own toiletries and say no to the small bottles in the hotel. I was happy to see in the hotels I stayed that they were all using refillable bottles.
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🌿7. Don't shy away from repeating outfits (even for those pictures 😉). They also help you pack light . And I love flaunting my second hand summer jacket which I got last year and has used it already a zillion times 😁
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Bonus ones:
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• Use digital tickets/ boarding passes and avoid printing
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• Use water fountains to fill water
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• If you had to get a bottle, make sure to recycle it
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• Avoid room service and change of towels every day
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• Eat and shop at local shop
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• Carry grocery bags , so you can stock up on local fruits
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Do share with me your favourite sustainable travel tips. Take care!💚⠀⠀

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#greenbyhabit #learntogether #gbhwithsru #buildinghabits #sustainabletravel by @greenbyhabit

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11

4 years ago

Why 'Green By Habit'?
Because I believe that the best way to fully embrace a change is through habits rather than difficult choices🤗.

💪Many actions which we once thought were difficult or inconvenient (like wearing masks at the onset of covid, seat belts when they were first made mandatory, or just sanitizing), have become a normal part of life. Why? - because they are 'habits' we developed.

🌎When our actions are driven by a true purpose and an understanding of the 'why' behind it, better choices will be a natural habit.

❤Let it be small acts like using a reusable bag or proper waste sorting, to building energy-efficient houses or questioning the decision makers, each act counts. Your habits could in turn impact the choices of the people around you!

🌿Through GBH, I will be sharing blogs and videos on several topics which are close to my heart and my learnings, and I hope it can help someone looking for an extra push or direction to embark on their green journey.

📖Check out the welcome blog here: https://www.greenbyhabit.com/why-green-by-habit/
(Link in bio)

#greenbyhabit #sustainableliving
#lowwaste #habitbuilding #learntogether #youmatter #buildingacommunity #gbhwithsru #noplanetb🌎 by @greenbyhabit

106

2

5 years ago

🌿#Storytime: Normalising pre-loved gifts🎁⠀

I just had to share this with you. Last month we celebrated the 1st birthday of my friend Devaki's daughter Krishna. And it is very common here to have a gift registry/ wish list for the gifts. It is a great help for the guests to get something that the receiver actually can use and not something that ends up as a waste.

🌿I was super happy to see that not only did she prepare a gift registry, but many of them were links to pre- loved items on the Facebook marketplace. Pre- loved items not only promote reusing and help minimise the use of new resources, but it also helps more kids (people) to find joy from the same resource and reduce waste.⠀
And adding them on a gift registry is such a great way to normalize reusing.⠀
Gifts don't have to be new to make them special 💚⠀
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💡For great ideas for sustainable celebration and how to organize pre- loved gifts f as well as return gifts, do check out the highlights & posts from my favourite sustainable parenting hero @sonikabhasin

#greenbyhabit #gbhwithsru #learningtogether #normalizesecondhand #prelovedgifts #giftideas #sustainablegifts #sustainablecelebrations ⠀ taken in Copenhagen, Denmark by @greenbyhabit

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16

2 years ago

#🌿Storytime (long post ⬇️)⠀
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💚Last time we were at my in-laws place in India, we realized that mom needed some kind of table close to where she sits most of the day for the landline telephone, as the current setup was not very comfortable considering her physical condition.⠀

💚The old me would have directly ran to ikea or searched on amazon. Thankfully, mom brought to our attention an unused table, which was just standing in the attic. She said that it was as old as her but just stayed there worn out, and they did not know what to do with it. Though it did not look great, the wood was of very good quality (old is gold, right? 😉). ⠀

💚I would have loved to clean, polish, and reuse it, but we just could not fit it inside our home.⠀
Then came the thought of actually using the wood/ reusing to something we really need for now.⠀
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🙏Next day an experienced carpenter (magician uncle in my eyes 🤩) came home, who within 2 days converted the table to:⠀
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1️⃣ A smaller table with storage where they can store newspapers, magazines, etc, but with an extension for the telephone.⠀
2️⃣ A step stand for my in- laws to easily access stuff (from the leftover wood)⠀
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They were happy and we were happy 😊.⠀
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🌿Just wanted to share with all of you that sometimes there is unused gold right in our homes that we can reuse before buying new stuff.😊⠀
🌿 And, while getting lost in the comfort of online shopping and ikea solutions, let us not forget the magic in the hands of local carpenters and artisans who can convert anything with their skills and creativity.

#reuse #refusereducereuse #oldisgold #diy⠀
#upcycling #gbhwithsru #greenbyhabit # #learningtogether #mindfulconsumption⠀ by @greenbyhabit

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27

2 years ago

🌿We are super excited for the 1st growing season after we moved into our new home. We finally have a piece of land to experiment, learn and grow 💚.

And I wanted to share with you the joy of our 1st set of harvest of baby Spinach, which became delicious Spinach thoran for today's lunch.

No pesticides, but grown with compost rich soil and lots of love 💚

Being the 1st year, we are only starting with few vegetables like tomato, spinach, spring onions, squash, chillies and mint. Keeping fingers crossed for a successful harvest and scaling up for the next years when the garden is fully set🥰.

🌿For me the best part about growing food ourselves is how much we value it. Many times, we forget the effort and resources behind growing something when we can easily pick it up from a supermarket shelf.
🌿Growing own food helps me appreciate the farmers and the whole value chain of food production as well as be more mindful about food waste.

#greenbyhabit #gbhwithsru #learningtogether #growwithconfidence #growingownveggies #kichengarden #saynotofoodwaste #gardentoplate
Do you also have a kitchen garden? Do let me know what you are growing this year😊 by @greenbyhabit

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14

2 years ago

How beautiful is gifting quality time or experiences over material gifts?🥰 I have been practising it with some of my friends but finally managed to capture a day out with dearest @ashwinivinay , who gifted me the most wonderful late birthday present- a day out and her precious time❤️.

We keep meeting but in the constant hussle and 100 commitments it is not always that we get to sit and just talk from heart for hours (aka the therapy sessions we all need 🫂) . So this is something we treasure and try to gift for each other's birthday.

It was a beautiful sunny day in Copenhagen🌞
We did make sure that the day is filled with many #greenbyhabit moments:

👗 Thrift cloth shopping ( I even tried a dress in public near the most busy spot in Nørreport🤪)
☕️ Sitting down for coffee instead of take away - #saynotodisposables
🍦Choosing ice cream in a waffle instead of sdisposable cup
🚇 Choosing the metro
🌿And loots and lots of nature walk ...💚💚

Thanks for the amazing day Ash. Love you💚🤗🤗

PS: For those who understand the song, I chose this because we never want to go home at the end of these days 😁

#greenbyhabit
#learningtogether
#gbhwithsru #lowwastecelebrations #mindfulgifts #giftexperiences
What kind of gift do you prefer? taken in Copenhagen, Denmark by @greenbyhabit

57

14

2 years ago

Happy Mother's day to all the wonderful mothers who set examples of mindful and low waste living always ❤️⠀
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Cheers to my amma ⠀
■ who saves the smallest morsel of food in the fridge for the next day⠀
■ who never throws away take away containers and reuse them⠀
■ who makes sure we have cleaned glass jars at home always⠀
■ who embraced habit of composting after 60 years ⠀
■ who changed her mind about buying second hand ⠀
■ who make sure that no cloths go to waste but is reused, repaired or donated to someone we know⠀
■ who taught me that a little bit of love and care can keep things last longer⠀
■ who never fails to enjoy and appreciate time in nature 💚⠀
......the list goes on.⠀
And I am sure you all know mothers or others from the previous generations who are the OG sustainability practitioners.⠀
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This Mother's day, let us give some love to mother earth and remember that sustainable living is not about trend, but just how we have always been. We just need to connect back to our roots 💚💚⠀
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#greenbyhabit #gbhwithsru #mothersday #lovemotherearth #learningtogether by @greenbyhabit

44

15

2 years ago

🌿Sharing few low waste practices captured in our short India trip last week to be with family 💚
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Good old low waste practices are still so easy to follow in India🇮🇳, but it is sad to see the emergence of single use disposables in the name of convenience.⠀
Reusing and respecting nature is such an integral part of Indian culture and I hope we never let it go!
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With a little mindfulness on where you choose to eat and refusing unwanted disposables, we can easily avoid being a part of the waste problem.⠀
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Few green habits we try to embrace:
■ choosing restaurants that serve in reusables
■ dining in⠀
■ carrying reusable water bottle & mug⠀
■ carrying spoons ⠀
■ telling no to sachets of ketchup & sugar⠀
■ using cloth towel⠀
■ taking own containers for take aways
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To be honest, there were many times I failed fully or partially like the time I visited my favourite 'chat' person who insisted to serve that masala puri in already prepared bowls, or the time when juices at Sri's favourite place was served in disposable cups before we could say no. But in these cases, we tried to do the next best thing that we could do:⠀
➡️ Tell no to the disposable spoon & used own spoon⠀
➡️ Tell no to the straw & the plastic lid they usually give as default.⠀
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I am constantly inspired by so many amazing sustainability enthusiasts and knowledge sharers in India, who nudge me every day.
Do follow them if you have not yet and let us all together be part of the solution💚⠀
@sonikabhasin
@wormrani
@paaksiddhi
@trashysister_
@amulya_boondh_foundation
@greenhomemaker
@hasiru.irali
@zerowasteadda
@nayana_premnath ⠀
@vasuki.composting
@odettekatrak
@beautifulbharatorg

I especially urge my non-resident Indian friends to carry reusables in your next trip to India. I know how nostalgic it is to visit different eateries and special places in your short vacations. But let us do our part not to leave waste behind🌿.

#greenbyhabit
#learningtogether #refusereducereuserecycle #gbhwithsru #saynotodisposables taken in India by @greenbyhabit

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25

3 years ago

⚡️If you look at the biggest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions, the majority comes from energy produced from fossil fuels and transport emissions. It has been a long-term dream for us to transition to power our own home & transport to 100% renewable electricity. ⠀
As installing solar or going car-free is not an option for us currently, here are 2 small steps we are taking in this direction:⠀
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1. Green power at home⠀
The best solution for any building is to have onsite renewable power generation like solar. Since we cannot get it at the moment (in planning🤞) , we recently chose to switch to a Green product of our electricity provider. That means that we as customers can pay a premium for the green part of the electricity mix in the grid and secure a part of it.⠀
⚡️How does it work?⠀
🔌Power grids in any country is a mix from different energy sources like coal, wind , solar, hydro etc. So even though it is a mix of these at your socket, by choosing green products, we can support the availability of more green power in the network.⠀
Companies either make a PPA (power purchase agreement which ensures investment to start new greenfield solar/ wind projects) or secure a guarantee of origin certificate.⠀
We chose a green product that supports 100% Danish renewable electricity.⠀
In DK, check ur providers like @ok_energi or @andelenergi
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2. Car charger near home⠀
We have a plug-in hybrid car that can cover most of our daily trips on electric mode. But since we were living in apartments and did not have our own parking, it was also a struggle to find charging spots ( esp. in office, which is 1st come 1st serve). So when we were looking for our new home, this was high up on our wish list and chose a project with chargers for cars. Though we moved in last summer, it was only a few months back that we got the chargers installed in our common parking - that too right across our house 💃.⠀
So now we can keep our car always charges & run on electricity.⠀
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I know these are not perfect, but sharing to remind that whatever our circumstances are, there is always a Green choice that we can make.💚
#greenbyhabit #gbhwithsru #greenpower🌱
Isn't sustainability a journey? taken in Copenhagen, Denmark by @greenbyhabit

51

8

3 years ago

Just a small random storytime where the reusbles cups brought joy while not creating waste from single use cups. Carrying a reusable cup in the bag comes so handy while on the move and helps us reduce so much waste.⠀
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♥️Had such a lovely time today with dear Astrid @ipamki , talking about everything from life, packaging waste to responsible business practices. We are indeed planning to bring back some of our good old 'Green Talk and Walk' sessions to Copenhagen and do some physical events in summer. Do check out the posts about our older ' Green Talk and walk' sessions' where we combine hands on discussions on sustainable menstrual products with a relaxing walk by Astrid , who knows so many cool spots around the city ⠀
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Thanks to @@shelter_214 for the wonderful hot chocolate and tea in these cold days, but also for willing to serve customers in 'bring your own cup' and support the low waste movement🙌.⠀
Do check out this cafe right in the heart of værløse flyvestation. And remember to pack your reusable cup too😉.⠀
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If you are wondering about the song, it is a new single written, sung and composed by my dearest sister in law @jyotsnaradhakrishnan about longing. Had to use this one, as it has been on loop on my Spotify😍⠀
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#greenbyhabit #refusereducereuse #learningtogether #gbhwithsru #saynotosingleuse taken in Flyvestation Værløse by @greenbyhabit

64

23

3 years ago

🛩Last week I had to fly for a work conference combined with family visit.We have spoken earlier on Green By Habit on the impact of flying and some ways to reduce the emissions if you cannot avoid flying for family or work reasons likeme ( please check the video on my grid. Will also share in stories).⠀
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😔But another challenge while flying is the amount of disposables that we could end up using because of many reasons like airport security, inability to bring in our own liquids, pre packed food on the flight etc.⠀
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➡️Here are 3 things I try to everytime I fly ..⠀
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🌿1. Arriving early so I don't need to grab a drink on the go in a single use cup. But I sit down, relax, and have a coffee or something that is served in a reusable.⠀
Even though I carry my reusable mug, sometimes they refuse to fill it.⠀
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🌿2. Everyone who travels by flight knows those pesky plastic bags handed to you before security for your liquids in the hand baggage. These bags are so flimsy that they can hardly be reused and end up in the bin after the trip. Getting this transparent bag has been a game changer. Even though they are plastic, they have been used by me & my husband for many years now.⠀
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🌿3. And my favourite- always carrying my water bottle to refill after security. They help me not only to avoid buying water bottle at the airport but also to refuse the small water bottles handed out inside the aeroplane.⠀
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⚠️ I am a sustainability professional and am fully aware that these actions is not at all in comparison to the actual impact of flying, but in true @greenbyhabit spirit, I am trying to make the best green choice in my circumstances.
💚And I hope someone out there would benefit from sharing it here 😊
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#imperfectsustainability# lowwasteairport #greenbyhabit #gbhwithsru #learningtogether #smallactions taken in Copenhagen,Demark by @greenbyhabit

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29

3 years ago