Carbon-neutral actions - Everyone can do their part

Pihla, four, learned to ride a bicycle a few months ago. She learned to ride her bike without training wheels right from the start. Bike-riding skills are valuable in the family, as Pihla’s parents are also enthusiastic cyclists. Every day, the dad takes the children to day-care by bicycle and continues his ride to his workplace in Ylöjärvi.

- With group pressure, you cannot come up with excuses, Jani Lyly laughs. His neighbour is also his colleague. The colleagues have agreed to share their commutes – by bike.
- Once you have children, you start to think more about what kind of world you want to leave them. Your everyday actions matter, Karoline Lyly says.

The Lyly family moved to Tampere 1.5 years ago from Oulu. The baby of the family, Toivo, who will turn one soon, is going to start day-care like his older sisters when his mother returns to work from her parental leave.

- Let's see if I will also be able to ride my bike to work during the summer. Lack of time is often the factor that prevents us from making the most ecological choices, Karoline Lyly points out.

The family has a car, but it is mainly used only for travelling long distances and when buying something so large or heavy that it is difficult to take them home otherwise.

Money matters

Last spring, the City of Tampere asked the residents of three neighbourhoods about how they took a sustainable future into account in their everyday lives. The survey showed that Tampere residents are very positive about ecological and sustainability issues.
 
The most common sustainable everyday choices include walking or cycling short distances, minimising energy consumption and buying things second-hand.

For the Lyly family, recycling is part of everyday life.

- Just today, we put another batch of the children’s things on sale. We also bought two dresses for our daughter, Hilla, and shoes for Toivo. We also buy and sell a lot of things at online marketplaces. If something is left unused, we will put it on sale instead of leaving it lying around. Recycling is a sustainable action that also makes financial sense, the adults in the family say.

Just like many other Tampere residents, they are more likely to consider an environmental perspective the more likely it is to also bring financial benefits.

Scrutinising food choices

The Lylys are a family of five living in a new semi-detached house in the Ikuri neighbourhood consisting of single-family houses. Sensible energy solutions were taken into consideration during construction. According to the survey, many other residents in the area would also be interested in improving the energy efficiency of their homes, but may not be able to afford it at the moment. Many of the most effective changes towards a more sustainable lifestyle require major financial investments.

When it comes to sustainable everyday eating habits, Tampere residents people have a lot of room for improvement.
- For us, too, food is the area with the most left to do. We eat vegetarian food at least twice a week and favour local food, but we could still do more, Karoline Lyly says.

- I often serve as a compost bin and eat whatever is left after the children have had their meals. We have very little food waste, Jani Lyly adds.

Even small actions matter

Tampere aims to be a carbon-neutral city in 2030.

- Emissions from consumption are made up of our everyday choices, so everyone’s actions matter, says Tiina Leinonen, Programme Manager of the Carbon Neutral Actions development programme.

The daily lives of many local residents are filled with work, childcare, hobbies and taking care of necessary matters. The residents say that they often make their choices on autopilot, using the easiest way available. If something requires familiarisation, special attention or effort, they will not choose it. People have the energy to invest in sustainable choices when their life is in order.

- We like to go on nature excursions with the children. We appreciate a city that has so many nice hiking areas around it, Karoline and Jani Lyly say.