Micro-sustainability

The Global Water Footprint, averages of how much water is used around the world

Like the common concept of the carbon footprint, people can also have a water footprint. Water footprint helps with determining how much fresh water is used and polluted by a given person.[14][15] With a typical American single-family home using 70 US gallons (260 L) per person per day indoors, household appliances such as toilets, showers, dishwashers, and washing machines can be upgraded to reduce water usage.[16]

The Energy Star logo can be found on certified energy-efficient appliances.

The residential sector accounts of 21% of total U.S. energy usage, with approximately 40% of the energy used in homes being used for heating. Individuals can reduce their heating loads by improving their building insulation, improving building airtightness and installing smart thermostat.[17] Other measures outside of reducing the heating load include purchasing energy-efficient appliances and recycling energy intensive materials.[10]

As individuals become more aware of environmental problems that exist, their consumption decisions can promote green designs and ultimately affect the types of products on the market.[6][18] In a study that looked at consumer preferences for sustainability with respect to mobile phones, it found that consumers are not only interested in the physical product but also raw material sourcing and end of life product disposal.[18] As a result, the study found that major manufacturers consider sustainability in their marketing and products.[18]

Other studies have looked at consumer preferences regarding sustainably sourced food. Food sustainability can reduce the use of natural resources and limit waste.[19] These improvements in food sustainability can have larger, global benefits such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, and waste.[19] One study found that consumers who spent more time looking at the sustainability labels were individuals who cared more about sustainably sourced food, and who were more likely to select products with this labeling.[20] Another study showed that not only does sustainable labeling cause consumers to look at the product for longer, but that the consumer choices as a result of that labeling is significant and positive.[21] This means that if consumers value sustainable products that are verified through labeling and are more likely to purchase these products, then food producers and marketers can use this information to provide products that consumer is interested in.[20] Additionally, if consumers are buying more of a product, they are also incentivizing and rewarding producers that are willing to responsibly source food.[22]

Although there is no exact population size to define a rural community, they are typically seen as areas with lower population density.[23] Green rural communities are places where people value a supportive social network and a low-impact, ecologically sustainable life.[23] These can be defined as transition towns, Low Carbon Communities, or eco-villages.

Urban communities do not necessarily mean a larger population than rural communities, but that they are more densely populated and more influenced by the effects of urbanization.[23][25]

Especially with transition towns and low carbon communities, the goal is to see if fundamental changes to society in these niches can lead to a wider acceptance of the innovation.[9] This can occur by replicating, scaling, and translating successful practices.[24] Although the goal is to see if changes on micro scale can ultimately lead to a successful macro-level change, 89% of transition towns were created by individual citizens coming together—not governments or larger organizations.[9]

Depending on the size, wealth, and organization of a community, a variety of sustainable actions can be achieved. These can be broken down into following categories:

Sustainable land use can be achieved when communities reduce greenhouse gas emissions by limiting development of roads, parking lots, etc., and focus on promoting green building design technologies and green spaces.[26]

The amount of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere due to the number of cars on the roads can be minimized by increasing the number of safe bike lanes and pedestrian walkways, and making public transportation easily accessible.[26]

High Point Community Garden in Seattle, Washington

Green spaces within a community protect the habitats of the wildlife in the area. These spaces can be gardens, parks, green alleys, green roofs, and green buffer zones.[26] They can exist successfully when a community provides resources such as land, equipment, knowledge and standards regarding care of the green space, and some sort of governance to ensure that the space is well kept.[24]

Renewable energy can include hydropower, biomass energy, geothermal energy, wind power, and solar energy.[26] Additionally, communities can educate and promote individual sustainable practices mentioned in part 2. This can be in the form of providing information such as directions to resources and household energy performance feedback, monitoring performance like annual surveys of energy usage, or initializing community challenges such as a goal to reach carbon neutrality.[24] Communities can practice sustainable waste management such as incineration, biological treatment, zero waste, and recycling.[26]

The following are themes seen across micro-sustainable groups that have resulted in increased success:

Effective sustainable intervention occurs in small communities because these spaces allow for greater learning opportunities.[24] One study showed that socialization encouraged learning and innovation which lead to 20% reduction in energy usage sustained over four years.[24] With community gardening, it was found that it transformed an isolated, private task into one that was social, educational, and had a positive impact on the town.[24] They claim that having a group of people in charge of the garden required social interaction and cooperation, and having many members resulted in a collective responsibility that promoted skill sharing and cohesion.[24]

Another key factor was the community working together around a clear, well defined goal as group members are willing to participate when they know they are contributing to the good of the community.[24] Towns that would offer similar goals such as a community gardens achieved very different levels of success based on the level of structure, goals, and plans that can unite a community and gain interest.[24]

Landfill, where a majority of discarded clothing ends up

The fashion sector is a major contributor to air, land, and water pollution. This industry accounts for 10% of carbon emissions.[32] In textile production, there is a high use of chemicals and water, which then find their way back into waterways.[33] In the US, over 85% of discarded clothes end up in landfills.[34]

The industry's main goal is obsolescence:[35] new trends are constantly being put out to encourage consumption. Fast fashion has become increasingly popular, as it allows consumers to keep up with and then discard these trends at a low cost.[36]

Companies often outsource their manufacturing to less developed countries to further reduce costs for consumers, which has led to the exploitation of workers, a complex supply chain, and pollution due to transportation.[37] Insourcing products to their own facilities that they can maintain a strict standard over would lessen these issues.

Textile waste can be reduced by making higher quality garments that are built to last. A general rule of thumb for fast fashion companies is a "10 wash mark", in which clothes are made to last about ten cycles through a washer and dryer.[38] By extending the practical life of a garment, people can use their clothes for longer periods of time before having to discard them, and thus consume and waste less. Textile waste may also be reduced through recycling and upcycling textile initiatives.[39]

Research and development can also be invested into more eco-friendly dyeing methods. ColorZen, for example, has developed a process of dyeing cotton using 75% less energy and 90% less water.[40]

The agricultural sector is a major source of food waste, and also contributes to air, land, and water pollution. Food waste is a major component of landfills, which are in turn a major source of methane (a major global warming contributor).[41]

Implementing a variety of sustainability measures would allow for the redistribution of edible food that would have otherwise been wasted, the reduction of competition for limited resources, and the reduction of pollution.[42]

Crop diversification and crop rotation are more sustainable farming practices. They allow for healthier soil, which in turn reduces the need for fertilizers, which then reduces the amount of fertilizer runoff. It also helps in reducing the amount of insects and weeds, which would reduce the use of pesticides. Fertilizer runoff and pesticides both have the potential to disrupt and harm ecosystems. Having multiple crops, as opposed to monoculture, reduces the potential of entire crop yields failing- particularly in a time of climate change.[43]

Pesticides being sprayed over crops

Alternative forms of pesticides also contribute to sustainability. Birds, for example, play an important ecological role in the reduction of insect populations; using birds as a natural way of getting rid of insects could decrease the amount of pesticides used.[44]

Water usage in agriculture can also be reduced, which would allow for the resource to be redistributed elsewhere. One method of this is drip irrigation, in which water is delivered directly to the roots of crops. This allows for less water to be used, since less water is lost to evaporation.[45]

Although some food waste is unavoidable, such as bones or peels, there is a large component of avoidable waste. This is due to issues with over purchasing, poor preparation, and inadequate storage.[46] In the US, "10.1 million tons [of food] are left unused on farms and in packing facilities each year."[47] Implementing government tax deductions may provide an incentive for those in the agricultural sector to donate food that would have otherwise been wasted.[48]

• MacRae, Patti; Garringer, Michael; et al. (2007). "Strategies for Finding and Building Local Support for Your Program: Collected Training Supplements and Materials from the MRC Web Seminar on Microsustainability". Mentoring Resource Center. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
• "Carbon Manna Unlimited announces "The Micro Sustainability Prizes" for Innovations in Markets-based "Micro" Paradigms". Skynewswire. January 18, 2010. Retrieved January 12, 2012.