I’ve only recently bought a smartphone so apps are a new and exciting thing for me right now. I might not fully understand all of them but when I found out that there were lots of eco-friendly apps available to help people lead greener lives I had to check them out. This is the most comprehensive list of eco-friendly apps in the UK to help you live more sustainably.
Starter Apps
If you’re just starting on your sustainable living journey (sorry for using the J word) then these apps are a great place to start.
Joulebug
Earn points based on eco-friendly actions you’ve undertaken related to waste, energy, transport and water use. You receive useful tips and videos to encourage you along the way.
Refresh Go Green
Although this is an Australian app I can’t see how it won’t work for people anywhere on the planet. This is a 52 step programme to encourage you to take small steps towards a more sustainable lifestyle.
Sustainability Aware (for children)
If you have children aged between 8 and 12, this is a series of apps made to educate children about the environment and how our way of life impacts it. It also provides suggestions on how to live more sustainably.
Best Eco-Friendly Apps UK
Apps To Reduce Food Waste
There are quite a few apps to help reduce food waste. With the UK throwing so much food out (an estimated 9.5 million tonnes in 2018), much of it ending up in landfill, these food waste apps certainly help all of us to be less wasteful and to reduce emissions.
NoWaste
This is a great app to keep track of all the food you have in your fridge, freezer and cupboards. Using this helps you avoid buying food you don’t actually need and to keep track of which food is about to go out of date and needs to be eaten first.
Kitche
Another great app to keep track of the food you have at home and to start saving money. You can also get access to thousands of recipes filtered by the food you have.
Olio
If you find yourself with some food you can’t eat, for whatever reason, Olio connects you with your neighbours so that you can share the food with them rather than chucking it in the bin.
Too Good To Go
‘Rescue’ food from bakeries, restaurants and stores that would otherwise be thrown out. Download the app and check what stores are close to you. Once you’ve paid for the food you can go to the store at the designated pick up time to pick up your ‘magic bag’, which will contain food that wasn’t sold that day.
Karma
Karma does almost the same as Too Good To Go, as in you rescue food from restaurants, except you are guaranteed to get your food for half price. Unlike the previous food waste app, you know what you’re getting in your takeaway bag.
Wise Up on Waste
Just for chefs, but I’ve included it as it is a good one for reducing food waste. It helps chefs to track the type of waste generated (spoilage, preparation or customer) per meal session (breakfast, lunch or dinner). Email summaries are sent so that chefs can work on reducing food waste and see the savings for the business over time.
Other Food Related Apps
Good Fish Guide
If you still eat fish then you should make sure its sustainably sourced. The Marine Conservation Society app includes information about which fish to eat or avoid and rates eateries that sell seafood so you know whether you want to book a table or not.
Happy Cow
As most people should be aware by now, eating less meat and dairy is good for the planet. For those looking for a good variety of vegan or vegetarian meals, Happy Cow helps you to find all your local restaurants and cafes that sell meat-free meals.
Farmdrop
A London only app, but a great one for people looking for good quality organic fruit and vegetables. “The convenience of a supermarket, the quality of a farmer’s market.”
HowGood
This one is for food producers and retailers. They call themselves ‘The world’s largest sustainable product database’. Brands and retailers can replace ingredients in their supply chain to better meet the demands of todays greener consumers.
Sustainable Fashion Apps
In the western world we buy far too many clothes. Fast fashion is a huge problem, with massive amounts of clothes being produced very cheaply. The cheap price reflects both the quality, normally the poor working conditions and wages for the workers, and the sometimes very unsustainable manufacturing process. Sustainable fashion apps help us all to make better choices.
Good on You
With ratings of over 2000 fashion brands you can find out the impact of the clothes you’re buying on people, the planet and animals. Each brand is rated as ‘We Avoid’, ‘Not Good Enough’, ’It’s A Start’, ’Good’ and ‘Great.’ There are also sometimes offers from highly rated sustainable brands available through the app.
Swapsy
Find local people who want to swap clothes or accessories and then rate your experience. A great way to refresh your wardrobe without spending money.
reGAIN
They probably explain this better themselves “an easy and affordable way to donate clothing to charity and offering exclusive discount coupons for every charitable donation made.”
Eco-Friendly Apps to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Learn how to reduce your carbon footprint by using one of these eco-friendly apps.
For Good
Check your ecological footprint by tracking all aspects of your day to day life. Find out your CO2 emissions based on the food you eat, your energy consumption and more. You’ll receive tips on ways to improve your carbon footprint.
Oroeco
Another carbon footprint calculator so you can determine your impact on the planet. Find out what you can do to reduce the most pollution and save money. You can also support carbon offset projects that support both people and the planet.
TreeApp
With this app you can plant a tree every day through a few clicks. Download the app, and every day click through 3 screens and by the end you’ve planted a tree somewhere in the world.
Eco-Friendly Apps For Greener Shopping
RSPO
If you’re trying to avoid palm oil then the RSPO app could be for you. The ‘Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil’ app has a list of RSPO certified products that can be found in local supermarkets.
Keep an eye on the Orangutan Foundation website for details of more palm oil apps around the world.
Giki Badges
One of the best eco-friendly apps available as you can scan thousands of UK products to see how ‘good’ they are. Whether you want to check the ingredients for palm oil or toxic chemicals, or ensure the product you buy isn’t detrimental to animal welfare or the climate, this is an easy way to ensure your shopping basket is more ethical.
Good Guide
Over 75000 products have been rated based on which products are ethical, green and safe to use. Use the barcode scanner to check household products, products for babies and kids and personal care items.
CoGo
CoGo stands for Connecting Good. “Whether you want to shop from a Living Wage pub or a fashion brand reducing waste, you can make an impact. Find thousands of businesses across the UK that match your values”. There are currently 15000 accredited businesses on the app.
Sharing Apps
Some eco-friendly apps help you to connect with people who can take things you no longer want off your hands. Or you might be able to find someone to share the commute to work with, saving you money and reducing your emissions.
Freegle
With a tagline of ‘don’t throw it away, give it away’ I think what this app aims to do is quite obvious!
Olio
See food waste apps above.
BlaBlaCar
A carpooling app available in numerous countries. I would say this app is much better for those living in highly populated areas but it’s a great way of saving money and reducing carbon emissions.
Swapabee
As they say themselves “Make your unused things useful again!” If you have unused items post a picture and pickup location and then swap your item with someone who has something you want!
Other Apps for Sustainability
Ecosia
Ecosia is a search engine that plants trees based on how many searches you carry out. I use this on my desktop, it’s time to download it on my phone as well. So far Ecosia have planted over 92 million trees! This is one of the easiest ways to go green.
Refill
We buy far too many bottles of water in the UK. With this app you can find the nearest water refill station so you can fill up your reusable bottle wherever you are.
Litterati
Something everyone should start doing a lot more is to go out litter picking. Take a photo of some litter and upload it, tag litterati, dispose of it properly and then you can invite others to join you and use ‘LitterData’ to inspire companies, organisations and governments to change.
Love Clean Streets
Report graffiti, fly-tipping, potholes, abandoned cars, dog mess, and more in the UK. Supported by Keep Britain Tidy, Keep Scotland Beautiful and Keep Wales Tidy this is a great way to report an environmental issue and for the report to be sent to the right people.
Urban Farming App
Grow your own organic food and receive tips on pests and diseases, recipes and more. The handiest thing with this app for novice gardeners is it gives you reminders for when to water, fertilise and take care of your plants.
Flora
Limit your screen time for a healthier more balanced life, whilst planting trees! 16,000+ real trees have already been planted. Official partner of Trees.org, one of the largest tree-planting non-profits in the world.
Forest
Like Flora above, Forest also plants real trees. If you have some work you need to focus on, plant a virtual tree and it will grow while you work. If you stop halfway your tree will die. You can spend virtual coins earned in Forest on real tree planting schemes with Trees For The Future.
Plugshare
For those who own an Electric Vehicle this is extremely useful. It shows you where the nearest EV charging station is. Never be caught out and plan your journey based on where charging stations are located.
Bikemap
We all need to get out of our cars a bit more often. Bikemap provides numerous cycling routes around the world. Why not plan your next holiday around safe cycling routes, get fit and reduce pollution at the same time!
The next few apps won’t help you and your family to lead a more eco-friendly life, but they will help you to learn more about our impact on the world. Track air pollution, light pollution and the carbon intensity of the electricity grid in Britain. The more you know about our impact on the world, the more you can inform others and together we can all put pressure on those who can enforce change.
SDGs in Action
SDGs in Action or the Sustainable Development Goals app is from the United Nations. The Goals are basically a to-do list to end poverty, reduce inequalities and tackle climate change. Learn what is being done around the world to achieve the 17 goals and find events you can be involved in to help.
Air by Plume
Air Pollution is a massive problem and can reduce your life by 2 years. This app gives you forecasts on the pollution levels in your area giving you the opportunity to change your plans if you can. Extremely helpful to those with asthma.
Light Pollution Map
Being able to see the stars at night is something I’m extremely grateful for. I’m fortunate enough to live somewhere that light pollution is not a huge problem. For those that live in towns and cities it’s far more difficult to see the night sky. If you’re into stargazing download this app to find out where to go to best see constellations, meteor showers, aurora borealis and more.
Gridcarbon
From the University of Oxford comes Gridcarbon a way to track the carbon intensity of the GB electricity grid on your smartphone or tablet.
Check out some more ways technology can help you go green.
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