Tanya Love lives in Telford, Shropshire. She's been a customer volunteer for two years representing people across Staffordshire and the Marches. She sits on the Locality Influence Network (LIN) which meets bi-monthly to discuss the issues that matter to customers.

Tanya, a big advocate of making the planet a more sustainable place, thinks we can all play our part in tackling climate change together. Over to Tanya...

There is so much I want to say: Climate change is here, it is now! Many scientists are already saying that we may be too late. Of course, it can feel like a daunting topic and daunting words. We cannot control the rest of the world; we can only do our bit. But at a time when the UK feels so divided on so many issues, I believe there really is an urgency to act if we want to leave the planet in a fit state for our children and grandchildren to inherit. 
 
I’ve spent years thinking, planning, trying, learning, reflecting and, when I find something worth doing, repeating. When pondering what kind of legacy we may be leaving for others, I always arrive at two key questions: 

1. How can we all take some personal responsibility for our planet?
2. What are the simple things every single one of us can do right now?

Here are a few suggestions to get us all started:

Our wardrobe 

• Rather than switching up the thermostat or using extra heating sources, put on more clothing. Choose layers, socks, slippers, a dressing gown, use a throw when sitting on the sofa. This gives us more resilience when the weather gets colder, saves on energy, and helps each one of us reduce our carbon footprint
  
• Shop for new outfits at charity shops – it’s amazing what you can find if you invest a bit of time, take your unwanted outfits to charity shops, or engage in a ‘clothes swap’ or even better, start one up yourself 
  
• If clothes have absolutely reached the end of their life, remove and reuse zips, buttons, elastic, or even use them for dusters
  

Our home 

• The more we insulate from draughts around the home, the less energy we need to use to keep our homes warm 
  
• Use a door draught stopper. You don’t have to buy expensive types, instead you can make your own out of old clothing or even use a rolled up towel
  
• Sew thermal lining into your curtains which the National Trust have done a great five-part series on
  
• Attach an internal brush onto the reverse of your letterbox to again add an extra barrier to cold air coming in
  

Starting with these small steps in relation to your wardrobe and your home can make a phenomenal difference and I urge you to do what you can. If you have children, make it fun and an adventure.

Simple things like getting out some old clothes, shoes, and bags, and letting your kids play dress up and have fun certainly kept my generation entertained for hours when we were kids. 

Tasking Bromford to be more green

As customer volunteers, we have started exploring how Bromford are responding to climate change. It has a sustainability forum that's working on many aspects of reducing its carbon footprint, such as;

• raising the energy efficiency of our homes
• using external wall insulation
• replacing old doors and windows
• trialling greener forms of heating supply
• using electric repairs vans

As these discussions progress through our meetings, I am keen to explore whether Bromford is walking the walk as well as talking the talk and I vow to keep you updated. 
 
For me on a practical level, the key is discovering what works and what doesn’t work and then learning from these experiments so that I can have the biggest impact with my limited resources. 
 
I want to leave you with this quote, which I find helpful when making decisions: 

I hope my blog has given some food for thought and I invite you on my journey to secure a better planet for us all.

Fancy helping us shape our strategy around all things sustainability? We’re always looking for new customer volunteers! Email Delphine Guillemoteau, our customer involvement officer, on delphine.guillemoteau@bromford.co.uk for a friendly chat to find out more.