My mum has this saying she always says whenever I’m vague about something: “what’s not measured is not managed”. I used to roll my eyes at it. Then I sat down to plan my exchange to Bristol and realised she had a point.
I’m Norwegian, currently studying in Denmark, and this Autumn I’m heading to the University of Bristol, a city that happens to have been the UK’s first European Green Capital, back in 2015. I’m flying from Oslo, not taking the train. Between the time and the cost, it wasn’t a trade-off I could make this time, and I’d rather admit than pretend otherwise. I know that one flight, roughly 122 kg of CO2, more than double the train, probably outweighs most of the smaller choices I’ll make for the rest of the semester, so I don’t want to ignore it. I’m using Giki Zero to track my footprint, flight included, instead of just feeling bad about it and moving on. Getting around the UK, once I’m there, is different. I’m planning to use Trainline and EcoPassenger to actually see the numbers before I book anything.
Bristol also has a serious cycling culture, which suits me fine. I’m bringing the habit from Copenhagen, where the bike is just how you get around, not a statement about anything. That’s Sustainable Development Goal 11 in practice. I think sustainable cities are not built on good intentions, they’re built on infrastructure people actually use.
I already buy most of my clothes second-hand, mainly through Vinted, and I knit some of the rest myself. Right now, I’m working on a jumper that’s taking a lot longer than buying one would, but it’s one I’ll still have in ten years. Research from Berlin’s Hot or Cool Institute found that reducing new clothing purchases is the single most effective thing UK consumers can do, more than anything else, if we want to stay within planetary boundaries rather than just feel better about our choices (https://hotorcool.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Hot_or_Cool_1_5_fashion_report_.pdf). So that’s the actual shift for me this semester, not just buying differently, but buying less altogether. That’s Sustainable Development Goal 12, responsible consumption, not really as a slogan but as something I intend to hold myself to.
Food is probably the habit I’ll have to work the hardest on abroad. I’m planning to eat less meat, partly for the climate, partly for the student budget, and to use Too Good To Go to catch food that otherwise would be thrown out.
I don’t think I’ll be a perfect example of sustainable travel, and I’m not sure that’s possible for anyone flying to another country for a semester. But my mum’s saying has stuck with me because good intentions are easy and mostly don’t mean much unless you’re willing to check whether they held up. So that’s the plan for Bristol. Not a promise to “be sustainable”, but a few numbers I can be held to, and the honesty to look back at the end and see if they did.
