Today feels like a big day - I'm giving up my car! For the first time in my adult life I am not a car owner. When I first calculated the carbon footprint of my business in 2019 it was obvious that a significant proportion of my emissions came from driving and I resolved straight away to switch to an electric car when my current contract finished in the summer of 2021.

Then 2020 happened and I realised that I really didn't need a car to run my business. I was driving to see people out of habit, not because I needed to.

Last month I started recording progress towards my emissions reduction goals on my monthly KPI dashboard. That's when it hit me that I could go a step further than saving tailpipe emissions by buying electric and save the huge embodied carbon in a new car by not buying one when my contract finished. Once I had got that far, the decision to give up my car earlier and save the monthly payments was easy.

Does this mean I am now stuck at home? Not at all. I have my bike for getting around town, the railway station is 15 mins walk away and I have discovered that Cheltenham has a car club, allowing me to hire a car or van by the hour when needed.

I realise this decision isn't for everyone, but I'm feeling quite liberated today.

Eoin

Eoin McQuone, PIEMA. Managing Director of Sustainable Business Design Ltd and Founder of Go Climate Positive. Go Climate Positive is a community of businesses determined to change the world and their business for the better by tackling climate change and preparing for the low-carbon economy.