With just a few little changes, it's easy to celebrate a Christmas that's kinder to the planet and your wallet!
Shop local
Still got presents to buy? Us too! Shop local and help keep your money in your local economies. If you live in Bristol, why not look at the Bristol Pound map of local shops that accept the city’s own currency. And if you switch your gas and electricity using the code: BPOUND001 we’ll send you £B20 to spend – just in time for Christmas!
Sparkly lights
We’re all partial to festive flashing lights to go with our tinsel, but you can reduce your spending without being too Bah Humbug.
So without going all Scrooge on you, we’ll just say:
- Replace any strands of lights that are older than 10 years with newer, LED bulbs. These can save up to 90% on power costs and will last longer than traditional bulbs.
- Replace burnt out bulbs: Find the culprit and replace it, before throwing your lights away.
- Use timers: all your Christmas lights can be on timers – including those adorning your trees outside.
And if you want to be really green, check out an alternative way to light your tree - using sprouts!
Making the most of your leftovers
The festive season means plenty of eating. It’s one of the many reasons we love it! And we all have a relative that buys 200 mince pies when 10 would do.
But did you know we throw away 4.2 million Christmas dinners each year? This equates to 263,000 turkeys, 740,000 Christmas puddings and 17.2 million Brussels sprouts across the UK. (Study by Unilever in 2015).
So make the most of those left overs. The charity StepChange has put together some great ideas.
And use your microwave! If you’re partial to a Christmas pudding, try popping it in the microwave this year instead of steaming it. It will take just 3 minutes instead of 2 hours on the hob. Your bills will thank you for it!
Also don’t forget, homeless charities like Caring in Bristol are especially grateful for donations of food over the festive period.
Or for a £30 monetary donation, you can buy Christmas dinner for 9 homeless people. That’s how much we’ll donate to the charity for every customer switching their gas and electricity to us using our Caring at Christmas switching code.
Can you lower your thermostat?
When you’ve got all the relatives round, the turkey has been cooking for hours, and everyone’s wearing their favourite Christmas jumpers, you might be able to turn your thermostat down.
And don’t forget to block the drafts. Once Santa is safely down the chimney, you could install a chimney balloon to prevent heat escaping... just don’t forget to let him back in next year.
Watching TV
Does your family huddle round the Queens’s speech or their Christmas day festive favourites? Don’t forget to switch the TV off when you’ve moved onto board games. More than half of us (53 per cent) leave the TV on as background noise. And collectively we spend £1 million on Christmas day to watch the box - which is enough to power 21,000-33,000 televisions for a whole year. (Energy Saving Trust)
Want to be even greener in 2017?
Switch to Bristol Energy’s My Green Plus tariff. You get 100% green electricity, we reinvest our profits in Bristol communities. Meaning you can be kinder the planet, and the world around us.
Switch in minutes online or call 0808 281 2222.