TRANSACTION 01: The Atmospheric Debt
• Date: September, 2026
• Location: Taoyuan International Airport to Heathrow Airport
• Item: Intercontinental Flight
• Environmental Cost: Massive carbon emissions from a long-haul flight across hemispheres
• Settlement Action (SDG13, Target13.3): Before arriving, I have to face the heavy environmental cost of my journey. My plan is to use the MyClimate (https://www.myclimate.org/en/) calculator to find the exact carbon footprint of my flight. To balance this debt, I will pay into a certified carbon offset project before boarding, ensuring my journey starts with a clean sheet.
TRANSACTION 02: The Transit Budget
• Date: October, 2026
• Location: King’s Cross Station, London
• Item: Regional Transit
• Environmental Cost: Potential aviation pollution from short-haul budget flights
• Settlement Action (SDG11, Target11.2): Instead of travelling with domestic airplanes during my time in the UK, my travel receipts will be strictly digital rail tickets. By booking through Trainline (https://www.thetrainline.com/about-us/our-purpose) and checking low-emission routes on The Man in Seat 61 (https://www.seat61.com/aboutme.htm), I am choosing the UK’s rail network to explore my host country while keeping my travel footprint as low as possible.
TRANSACTION 03: The Resource Loop
• Date: November, 2026
• Location: Campus Neighborhood
• Item: Daily Food Supply
• Environmental Cost: High-emission retail food waste in a major metropolitan city
• Settlement Action (SDG12, Target12.3): In London, food waste is a hidden ecological problem. I plan to use Too Good To Go (https://www.toogoodtogo.com/en-us/about-us) to buy surplus, unsold food from cafes at the end of the day, keeping good meals out of landfills. Inside my student housing, Olio (https://olioapp.com/en/getting-started-on-olio/what-is-olio/) is an app to share extra groceries with neighbors, turning a simple dinner into a community resource loop.
TRANSACTION 04: The Daily Balance Audit
• Date: December, 2026
• Location: London
• Item: Real-Time Lifestyle Tracking
• Environmental Cost: Unmonitored daily plastic, transit, and energy consumption
• Settlement Action (SDG12, Target12.8): Staying sustainable requires tracking real habits, not just making promises. Every evening, I will log my daily actions into the AWorld (https://actnow.aworld.org/) app. By checking in daily, I can look at a realistic picture of my progress and make sure an international exchange student can fully experience London while respecting the planet.
