This document summarizes the experiences of six Scottish families who participated in a campaign to make small lifestyle changes to reduce their environmental impact over the summer. It describes how each family implemented changes like improving home insulation, reducing food waste through better meal planning, switching to more sustainable transportation, and increasing recycling efforts. While they were able to achieve reductions, the minister notes that continued efforts will be needed to meet Scotland's climate change targets.

1. 19 September 2015
T
hey have ditched the car
for bikes, whipped up
stir fries from leftover
vegetables and even
insulated their walls.
When six Scots were asked to see
if they could make small tweaks to
their lifestyle and ‘Go Greener’ for
the summer, every little bit helped.
The challenge was part of a
Scottish Government nationwide
campaign aimed at encouraging us
all to rethink our habits and become
that little bit more environmentally
aware.
For inspiration, comic Phil Kay led
a series of quirky and memorable
videos which hammered home the
‘Stupidly Simple’ green message
across five key areas: home energy,
food waste, travel, reducing what we
consume and reusing and recycling
what we have.
Behind it was a serious warning:
Scotland has to meet targets aimed
at reducing greenhouse gases
emissions by 42 per cent by 2020,
and 80 per cent by 2050.
And with 77 per cent of those
emissions currently accounted for
by individuals and households, we
all need to do our bit or risk leaving
generations to come with a massive
environmental headache.
Today we revisit our ‘Go Greener’
families to see what changes,
­however big or small,­they have
made.
And while they do their bit, a new
plea has gone out to the rest of us
Warmfeelings
to rethink what we could do too,
however small, from remembering
to switch off lights to rethinking the
school run, using up leftover food
and recycling old clothes.
To help, the Scottish Government
has just announced a major new
Warmer Homes Scotland initiative,
which offers householders financial
support to help make their
properties more energy efficient.
At the same time, government-
funded Home Energy Scotland
advisors are gearing up to offer
tips on how to ensure your winter
heating doesn’t cost the earth.
And experts from Zero Waste
Scotland – which aims to encourage
us to cut food waste, recycle and
reuse more – have unveiled new
ideas to help.
Minister for Environment, Climate
change and Land Reform, Aileen
McLeod says Scots need to pull
together to help hit climate change
targets. “Climate change affects
us all, and the science tells us that
greenhouse gas emissions from
humankind are extremely likely to
be the dominant cause.
“It’s something the Scottish
Government takes extremely
seriously, which is why Scotland
has legally­-binding climate change
targets that are amongst the most
ambitious in the world,” she adds.
Scotland recently failed to meet
climate change emissions targets for
the fourth year in a row. However
she insists the battle is far from lost:
greenhouse gas emissions still fell
by 3.6 per cent between 2012 to
2013, representing a 34.3 per cent
reduction in emissions since 1990.
When six families agreed to reveal
their energy use and recycling habits
this summer, we sent in the experts
to see how they could help. Sandra
Dick revisits our Greener Scotland case
studies to see how they have got on
PHotographs:JaneBarlow;philwilkinson;neilhanna
There’s
stillmuch
moretobe
done
Case study revisited
Make Scotland Greener is
a partnership between The
Scotsman and the Scottish
Government which provides
practical ways for families to be
more environmentally friendly
56
“We’re on track to meet our 42 per
cent target ahead of schedule with
the latest figures showing we are
more than three quarters of the way
there with seven years still to go,”
the minister says.
“But there’s still much more to be
done – and everyone has a part to
play.”
As winter approaches, that could
be something as simple as tweaking
the central heating or ensuring our
homes are properly insulated, which
could save over 715,000 tonnes of
CO2 emissions each year.
“A big priority is to make homes
and other buildings more energy
efficient and Scottish Government
support is available for those
who need it through schemes like
Warmer Homes Scotland,” she
continues.
“Making small changes ­such as
turning down the thermostat by one
degree, unplugging phone chargers
when they’re not being used, and
reducing food waste can all make a
difference.”
To find out just how easy it can
be to make little changes, our six
readers received expert guidance on
how to make changes. Here we find
out just what they’ve managed and
how ‘stupidly simple’ it was to make
a change.
Davie Dickson, 65, is retired and
lives with wife Mhairi, 57, in a three
bedroom terraced house in Annfield
Court, Macmerry, East Lothian.
D
avie Dickson must be one
of the few Scots looking
forward to the colder nights
ahead.
For it will give him and wife
Mhairi the chance to gauge how
much warmer their home is on the
inside, thanks to their new external
wall insulation.
It was fitted virtually free of charge
thanks to Scottish Government help
at the start of summer. Now as the
autumn chill makes its presence
felt, the couple are really feeling the
difference.
“We’ve noticed a difference
already,” says Davie, a retired
butcher. “Plus, it makes the house
look brand new.”
The couple had been encouraged
to consider ways to ‘shop smarter’,
cutting down on their small amount
of food waste by only buying what
they need and turning leftovers into
fresh meals.
While Davie has tried, he admits
it’s not always something he

2. 19 September 2015
Jayne Wright, 38, lives in Eddleston in the Borders, with
husband Chris, 33, and children Emilia, who is two-and-a-
half, and six month old Lewes.
M
um of two Jayne Wright’s major concern was
keeping her draughty home warm and energy
efficient over the winter.
Her all-electric heating wasn’t up to scratch, even
though she had wall and loft insulation and double
glazing.
Now, though, she’s hoping work done over the
summer will make her home ‘winter ready’ at last.
Home Energy Scotland’s Laura McGadie had urged
Jayne to check out special offers on energy efficiency
measures that could make her Borders home that bit
cosier.
It led to Jayne and husband Chris discovering the wall
insulation they had was past its best. And they qualified
for new insulation to be installed free of charge.
Jayne has also arranged for her home to be given a
‘green’ assessment by an expert who can help pinpoint
other energy saving measures and special offers.
While that should help keep her home warmer
and save her money, Jayne is doing even more for
the environment, by swapping shop bought soaps,
shampoos and detergents and all their packaging for her
own ‘home made’ versions.
“Emilia has eczema and I spent a lot on products
which I felt had a lot of chemicals in them. Now I use a
plant based soap as a base and add natural ingredients
like essential oils. It’s cheaper and it’s more natural.
“The Go Greener campaign made me feel a little bit
guilty,” she adds. “I’d let things slip a little – probably
because the children have kept me so busy.
“I’m more conscious of what I’m doing now.”
Ijustthrow
allkindsof
fruitinthe
blender
Case study revisited
57
Leeanne Walker, 30, lives in a council
flat at Muirhouse Court, Muirhouse,
Edinburgh, with daughters Teigan, 11
and Kiara, eight and their pet pug,
Prince.
W
ith two daughters to
cater for and an eye for
a ‘multibuy’ bargain,
Leeanne Walker knew she was
wasting more food than was
necessary.
Unappealing leftovers usually
ended up in the bin along with
uneaten fruit and vegetables.
But now Leeanne has rethought
her approach to tackling food waste,
thanks to a new love for stir fries,
smoothies and homemade soups.
“I was throwing food away,” she
concedes. “But now I put anything
that goes together either into a stir
fry or a smoothie.
“I’ve got a blender, and just throw
in all kinds of fruit and mix it up. The
girls really enjoy it.
“It’s healthier for us too.”
Leeanne had been concerned that
the rented council flat in Muirhouse
she’d just moved into might cost her
more to heat.
But the double glazing and loft
insulation appears to be doing the
trick – so far she seems to have
saved money on her old £530 a year
bill, with a summer gas tally of just
£34.
“I’ve been keeping a watch on
what we use, and so far I’m really
pleased. I’ll definitely be keeping on
top of it over winter.”
Double glazing and loft insulation
help keep the heat in and stop waste
– every year, every home in Scotland
pumps out enough CO2 to match
the weight of a family car.
Leeanne admits giving up her
car even for short journeys has
proved too much of a struggle. And
despite suggestions that she try
charity shops for cheap clothes and
household items, she feels it’s not
for her.
But the campaign has persuaded
her to put even more effort into
recycling.
“There were times when I would
just chuck things away. Now I make
a point of separating them and
putting them in the right bin.
“The girls are more aware too –
they’ll remind each other to unplug
gadgets and not waste energy.”
manages to do: “It’s not easy when
there’s just the two of you though,
and there’s only so much cabbage a
person can eat,” he explains.
Instead he’s looking forward to
the opening of an Aldi supermarket
just ten minutes away in Tranent,
which will cut down on the trip to
Haddington or Musselburgh for the
supermarket shopping.
But it’s the wall insulation which
he’s most pleased with, and he’s
keeping an eye out for new Scottish
Government initiatives which can
make his home warmer for less
money.
“The insulation we got should
have cost £11,000 but we got it for
only £500. It was a ‘no-brainer’,” he
adds.
“Hopefully it will pay for itself in
savings in no time.”
Case study revisited