As December flies by and the new year fast approaches, many of us start to look at our goals and resolutions for 2025.
It can be tempting to try to overhaul your life in between Christmas and New Years, but for those looking at building sustainable habits in the new year, it can be overwhelming to try everything at once. Studies show, however, that over 90% of resolutions are abandoned within just a few months, with the second Friday of January even dubbed “Quitters day”.
As such, we here at 100Green have explored the top sustainable New Year’s resolutions Brits are searching for the most - and given our top five tips on how to actually stick to these throughout the year.
Hint: as with everything, starting small is key!
Our top sustainable goals for 2025
Walking more
Great for the environment, and our health, searches around walking have been rocketing - even with the winter weather in full swing. Although, with searches for “walking pads” up 5,000%+ in the last month it’s clear we’re wanting to get our steps in, even if it’s not outside.
A key way of getting more steps in is walking routes you would normally drive or take public transport to, and Brits are already looking to make this lifestyle swap, with searches for “walking to work” receiving 14k searches in the past month - with a 5% increase over the past week alone.
Incorporate more plant-based meals and products into your diet
We’re looking to switch up our diet, with a 23% increase in online searches in the past week alone for “how to be vegan”. While many people believe you have to go cold turkey (pardon the pun!) on eating meat, you can make positive impacts on the environment by simply reducing your meat consumption, but you don't have to stop altogether.
However, it can be overwhelming to look at everything you’d have to swap out - making you more likely to give up at the first hurdle, so if you’re looking to incorporate more plant-based meals into your diet, the key is to start with small changes.
For instance you could eat less meat throughout the week - going completely meat free on certain days, you can also gradually switch in plant-based alternatives for different meals to try and test the products you like.
Driving less
In the same vein of walking to more places, we’re also looking to use our cars less, but we’re looking to strengthen our cycling skills.
Despite the phrase “it’s just like riding a bike”, it appears we may need a reminder as searches for “learning to ride a bike as an adult” have rocketed by 5,000%+ in the past month. Terms such as “how does cycle to work scheme work” and “drive less” have also seen 2k and 1k searches in the past month, respectively.
No buy challenges
A “No Buy Challenge” is a new social media trend that essentially encourages people to buy less, where people opt out of buying “non-essentials” such as new clothes, or makeup, or home decor, for a set period of time. Some people even challenge themselves to do a no buy year, swearing off unnecessary shopping for an entire 365 days.
And with 6k searches in the last month, we appear to be setting ourselves the potentially challenging task of a “no buy year”. But for some who feel they may struggle with this resolution, try it out for a month to make it one of the more sustainable goals - and see how you get on.
Reducing our single-use plastic
It’s well known that we love going out for a cup of coffee as a treat, as it’s estimated that the UK drinks 95 million cups of coffee a day! But that also means millions of cups going to landfill everyday as well. Our previous research actually found that by opting for a reusable coffee cup, you could save 10.3kg of CO2 over the lifetime of the mug.
And luckily, investing in reusable items is on Brits agenda for the new year, as searches for both “eco-friendly coffee cups” and “bamboo cutlery” sets have soared by 5,000%+ in the last month.
Second hand shopping
With the growth of second hand shopping, not only on the high street but also via our phones, buying preloved items has never been easier. Buying from charity shops or from other people in your community, instead of always buying new, is a great sustainable resolution to have - it saves items from landfill and gives them a new home.
And this appears to be an avenue we’re looking to prioritise with our shopping going forward as online searches for “online charity shops” were up by 5,000% in the past month, and searches for “second hand shops” reached 9k in the past month.
Saving water
Using less water can be a very doable new years resolution around the house, and it’s one plenty of us are looking at. Searches for “how to save water at home” have increased by 5,000%+ over the last 30 days, as Brits across the country look to save on water.
A goal that not only will save on your bills but also help the planet, choosing to save water could look different for everyone, from having shorter showers, opting for showers instead of baths, and even how you wash your clothes and cutlery!
Reducing food waste
The UK throws away 9.5 million tonnes of food waste every year, so what can we do to avoid filling our food waste bin too frequently? When it comes to how to reduce food waste, there are plenty of small habits we can make towards our resolution for 2025.
This can be:
Planning out your meals to ensure you’re not buying too much that’ll end up in the bin,
Making sure you use your leftovers rather than getting that cheeky takeover,
Freezing items if you’re not going to use them before their best,
Ensuring you’re storing your food correctly after buying it.
If you are throwing away food, join the 24k people that have searched for a “food recycling bin” in the past month (which is up 15% from the week before!). Collecting your food waste separately means it can be processed and turned into energy and fertiliser. If you have your own garden, you can also compost your food waste yourself, and ensure your plants are being fed, which reduces your carbon footprint and helps your plants.
Moving to electric vehicles
A bigger move to make towards a sustainable goal is swapping to an EV (electric vehicle) for your next car. As a larger purchase, this isn’t an everyday habit to engage in, but it definitely ties into living a more sustainable lifestyle - and with EV targets growing each year, this will become a more common swap for UK drivers.
In fact, according to the Global EV Alliance, once someone buys an electric vehicle, they tend to stick with it, so converting to an EV is a huge step forward.
And we’re already looking to make this switch ahead of the new year, as Brits have been looking for sales and costs. Over the last month, there have been 8k Brits asking “how much does an electric car cost?”, and an 80% rise in people looking for “used electric vehicles”.
Switching to green energy suppliers
And of course, making the switch to sustainable energy is an easy lifestyle swap to make - and one that you don’t have to make a habit of, as it’s a larger decision that doesn’t require upkeep.
With searches for “sustainable energy” increasing by 5% in the past week (with a huge 25k searches each month), it’s clear that this is an area of our lives that we may be considering changing for 2025.
How to make sure your resolutions are actually sustainable for the year
It’s amazing to see that we’re looking to set some sustainable goals, but how can we actually stick to them?
The team at 100Green have put together their top 5 tips for keeping up a sustainable resolution in 2025.
1. Be specific
It can be great to want to try each and every resolution that appeals to you - but it’s key not to overwhelm yourself! Choose 2-3 that you really want to build into your habits during the year ahead and focus on those instead of spreading yourself too thin.
2. Start small
You’re never going to 100% transform your life by January 2nd, so the key is to start small with your tasks and build them up into your routine.
Say your goal in 2025 is to drive less, if you completely swear off your car for every journey, you’ll probably find this very hard to stick to and end up giving up completely by the end of January! So perhaps think about the journeys that would be easier to switch - maybe you could walk the kids to school instead of driving, or perhaps visit family via the train instead of your car.
Starting small means you’ll be much more likely to keep up with your resolutions, and have a more positive experience with them!
3. Track your progress
It can be very easy to lose track of what you’ve done in a year, and so to keep yourself motivated, consider tracking your progress in a diary or notebook.
This will let you see all the steps you’ve made towards your goals and also helps you see when you could potentially add more challenges into your resolution.
4. Don’t feel disheartened
Sticking to new habits can be tough so if you find yourself neglecting your resolution, don’t let this bring you down. Sometimes having a short break can be all we need to reset our drive for our goals, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself to get right back to it if you’re struggling. Allow yourself a few days off, and then resolve to get back on track after you feel better.
5. Think about your “why”
If you feel like giving up on your resolution, which - let’s face it - we’ve all been there, remember your “why”. Think about why you set this resolution for yourself in the first place, and how it fits into your life and personal goals.
If you’re a very visual person, setting up a vision board of your 2025 resolutions can be a great way to keep you motivated, and help you remember why you set out to do this sustainable resolution.