Home | Blog | Drivers acknowledging their carbon footprint impact

By Craig Perry, 22nd February 2024

Category: Environment

We are all now only too aware of the impact of climate change on weather patterns across the world, which can have a devastating impact on people and their livelihoods.

When we asked a sample of UK adults whether they were worried about global warming, a resounding 85% said they were either slightly or very concerned.

That concern has turned into positive action. Only 22% of adults said they taken no measures at all in the previous year to reduce their carbon footprint.

Meanwhile, one third (32%) have reduced the number of miles they drive annually in the past 12 months. Cutting mileage is the third most popular measure taken by UK adults to reduce carbon emissions, following a reduction in the amount of time heating is switched on (cited by 51%) and taking measures to reduce electricity and gas consumption (43%).

Other common actions taken include reducing air travel (18%), making changes to a house by fitting #insulation or double glazing (16%), switching to sustainable electricity or gas (11%) and installing solar panels (8%).

Looking to the future, 28% of adults will continue to reduce the amount they drive in the year ahead, while 43% will reduce the time their heating is switched on, 38% will take other measures to reduce the amount of electricity and gas they use, and 25% will make changes to their houses by fitting insulation or double glazing.

When the small proportion of people who had not taken any measures to reduce carbon emissions were asked what had stopped them from doing so, the highest response (44%) was that they didn’t think it necessary, followed by 35% who thought it was too expensive to take action, and 22% who thought they couldn’t make a difference.

Others felt that they didn’t know how to take action to reduce their carbon emissions (11%), while 7% said that they needed help from companies to reduce their emissions.

It’s encouraging that so many people are taking measures to reduce their carbon footprints in response to concerns about climate change. It’s also noticeable that some of those who have not yet taken action don’t feel fully informed about how to cut their emissions, or would like more help from companies about how to do so.

We aim to provide a way through those obstacles by giving customers the option to easily buy genuinely green car insurance, which is the first in the UK to offset all carbon emissions while also helping drivers to cut the costs of driving and insurance.

Driving habits are changing across the UK, along with all the other measures people are taking to reduce power consumption and heat loss from their homes.

We have designed our insurance policies to reward people for how they have changed their driving behaviour for good, and our aim is to make it easier for motorists to find ways to reduce their carbon footprints while cutting the cost of their premiums.