Dia Mirza outlines five, simple new year resolutions for sustainable living

In 2020, UNEP Goodwill Ambassador & UN Secretary-General’s Advocate for SDG suggests greener choices that can collectively lead to a healthier planet

Dia Mirza has been consistently at the forefront of conversations about climate change. At national and international fora, she has repeatedly discussed the urgent need to cut carbon emissions, consume natural resources mindfully and find solutions at micro and macro level to preserve the environment.
In her own life and home, Dia diligently follows a greener, earth-centric lifestyle that includes segregating and composting waste, making the kitchen plastic free, upcycling old furniture, carrying a metal water bottle to shoots, using biodegradable toiletries and hygiene products and creating green pockets wherever possible..
According to her, the COVID-19 pandemic is a wake-up call and a distress signal we must heed to acknowledge the imbalance between the human race and the environment. She says, “The last few years have clearly signaled that actions have consequences. And if the spate of natural disasters and the pandemic itself has taught us anything, it is that we need to reconsider the way we treat nature and the way we live.”
As the new year arrives, Dia says, “Just one positive resolution can have a far-reaching impact on the well-being of mother earth but five can be potentially transformative. “
The five easy resolutions she suggests for sustainable living in 2021 are as follows:
a) Take showers that last less than five minutes. This reduces wastage of water and reminds us that it is not an inexhaustible resource.
b) Refuse all single use plastics. Carry your own cutlery, coffee cup, metal straw and water bottles when you step out.
c) Segregate and compost waste at home. This not only makes the job of sanitation workers easy, it makes you aware of how much waste is being generated in a household, how much can be recycled, composted, is bio-degradable and how much is headed towards a landfill. And if we can do more to consume less.
d) Use biodegradable/natural cleaning agents and personal hygiene products that do not harm the environment. Just a little bit of research online can show us where we can buy bamboo toothbrushes, organic cleaning and washing liquids and more.
e) Reduce consumption. Whatever that item may be, clothes/food/gadgets, ask yourself “do I really need this?” Watch ‘The Story of Stuff’, a short animated documentary about the lifecycle of material goods and it will show you how much waste is generated because we do not think long and hard about our choices.
Dia concludes, “In 2021, let us resolve to become better citizens of our planet with our choices. We all have a part to play in helping the earth heal. And it is not very difficult to make a small change today that will collectively and positively impact our future in the only home that we have ever known.”