[Indyk_EONNext]

Hey Community!


The Great Big Green Week is the UK's largest celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature. The 2026 festival runs from June 6th to 14th June with the theme Together for Good, bringing over a million people together to host local eco-friendly activities!





Every June, thousands of events take place in towns, cities and villages across the country. From repair cafés and nature walks to community clean-ups, making sure our environment is a clean and safe place to be. In 2025, more than a million people took part. In 2026, we want even more. Whether you organise something big, join something local or simply encourage a friend to get involved, every action counts. Find out more via Together for good during Great Big Green Week

As always here on the Community, we love getting stuck in with things that we know are going to help our environment! So we will be bringing you 7 days of knowledge and activities we've all been getting involved in that can really help you go that extra mile, whether you're making your own cleaning products and finding out How can we live more frugally in a cost of living crisis? or trying to Choose the best solar panel system for your home! it all makes a difference. 😁

So let's all get stuck in and give it a Go!

Feel free to share your own tips along side ours! We're in this together! 🌍

[Poppy_EONNext]

I can't wait to see everyone's ideas this week! Great Big Green Week is always such an inspiring time. 🌿
I always try to do my bit on the daily, whether it’s obsessively turning off switches or remembering my reusable bags, it's the little things that count.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what everyone else gets up to. What are your go to everyday green habits? ♻

[HelenaP_EONNext]

Love this! 😊

I like to join in by creating a nature enriched space that helps the environment right in my own garden! 🌸

I love planting flowers that offer both food and shelter for bees, butterflies, and hoverflies to help promote pollination. Some fantastic choices for a pollinator friendly garden include:

• Bluebells
• Lungwort
• Lavender
• Herbs such as thyme, oregano, and chives

Recently, I also built a small pond using plants as a natural filter. This should really boost biodiversity by attracting frogs, newts, and various birds.

I'd love to hear if you use your garden to encourage nature as well? If so, what do you do? 😁

[Nigel_EONNext]

Connected assets, future energy - big title right…

Ok, so today I really want to focus on future energy and how that connects in our home.

How we all take steps (big or small) that have an impact.

If we all make our pixel a little more green, soon the full picture will be green.

• Shifting your usage, or powerswitch events - find out what the community is saying here 👉 powerswitching

• Home battery charging, often grouped in with Solar - but an amazing powerswitch tool in the winter - read more 👉 Just here

• Next Optimise - a forward thinking tariff for battery and powerswitch optimisation - the full thread is here 👉 Next Optimise

3 different levels of powerswitching using different connected home assets.
From thinking about our daily usage times to full AI integration.

I’d love to know your thoughts around these, if you take part in the powerswitch events and what future energy looks like for you?

[Tommysgirl]

@Indyk_EONNext @Poppy_EONNext @HelenaP_EONNext

I try to do my bit too by switching lights etc off when not needed, not overfilling the kettle or pans, batch baking and freezing pies etc to use the oven a bit less.

I've planted some surplus potatoes which were sprouting into growing bags and they're growing well. I've also got lots of bee and 'pollinator' friendly plants in my garden including a line of wild foxgloves which have germinated by surprise along an old stone wall which borders the garden 🌼🐝. A new neighbour whose garden borders mine had two large cypress trees which garden birds including blackbirds and robins sheltered in chopped down last winter which was a shame, so I planted a couple of cypresses which are thriving and will hopefully make a new place for the birds to shelter. I also have two small blueberry bushes and a dwarf apple tree which are developing their fruits, so the birds will be snaffling them fairly soon 🐦🍒🍏😂

[Courtney_EONNext]

Myths vs Facts - Green Energy

There's a lot of information about green energy 🍃. Let's bust some common myths together 💪.

❌ MYTH: 'Going green means expensive home upgrades.'

✅ FACT: Small changes count too! Switching off standby appliances, draught-proofing, LED bulbs and smart thermostats can all make a difference 😁.

❌ MYTH: 'Insulation is only useful in winter.'

✅ FACT: Good insulation helps keep homes warm in the winter ❄ and cooler in the summer 🌞.

❌ MYTH: 'Bigger TVs and appliances always use more electricity.'

✅ FACT: Energy efficiency ratings matter, some larger modern appliances use less energy than older models 📺.

❌ MYTH: 'Green energy and saving energy are the same thing.'

✅ FACT: Green energy is about cleaner energy sources, while energy saving is about using less energy more efficiently, both do help! 💚

❌ MYTH: 'One person can't make a difference.'

✅ FACT: Community action adds up! Small household changes across a neighbourhood can reduce costs, cut waste and lower emissions together 🤩.

Which one surprised you the most? Let us know or share a green energy myth you've heard 😊.

[geoffers]

@Courtney_EONNext - whilst agreeing with the principle of cutting unnecessary waste, one does start wondering is it really worth the effort when you see the energy requirements for AI data-centers; bitcoin mining etc

[DebF_EONNext]

Living greener and more sustainably doesn't always mean making big changes. Sometimes the small everyday choices we make have the biggest impact. A sustainable lifestyle could mean saving money, reducing waste, cutting down on landfill and making the most of what we already have.

For some this could mean growing herbs on the windowsill or keeping a full blown allotment, for others it could be finding a secondhand bargain, sharing money saving tips or simply educating yourself to learn more!

If you're looking for a bit of inspiration here's some great community threads for you to explore...

♻ Thrifty Finds
🥕 Allotment & Grow Your Own Chat
💰 How Can We Live More Frugally In A Cost Of Living Crisis
📚 Do you have any recommended reads?

A sustainable lifestyle can be good for both a greener planet and our pockets! There's no right or wrong way to make changes and get involved but sometimes it's our smallest actions that add up overtime!

I'd love to hear about the small changes you've made over the years that have had the biggest impact for you or what's one change that you wish you'd implemented sooner?

[DebF_EONNext]

@geoffers that's very true. There is a campaign at the moment to stop a £2bn data center being opened in the Scottish Borders near me. It's in a rural location but I can imagine the impact that it'll have not only on the landscape but also the wildlife, also the environmental impact from the energy that it will consume will be huge!

Now I'm all for change don't get me wrong but it just doesn't sit right with me that as technology advances our British landscapes feel the brunt of it and it's eating up our green spaces. I can imagine projects like this will cause a lot of eco anxiety for many, especially the younger generations.

[Connor_EONNext]

What can we do to reduce our carbon footprint and go green?

We all know that we could be doing more to reduce our carbon footprint and be more sustainable, but sometimes it's not as easy as it seems. Lets take a look at some ways we can all do our part:


🚗Use our cars less - Although it's not always as simple as it sounds, for someone living in a more rural area - a car is much more of a necessity than it is for someone like me for example who lives in a busy city where idle times are much higher. So how can we get around this? Well - we could look into using public transport, cycling - or even look into a hybrid/EV that give off less emissions.

🛒Shop local - it means that we reduce the emissions used to transport our food. We can also eat seasonally - this reduces the amount of food that is shipped when it's not in season. The food system generates 30% of our carbon emissions - earthday.org

🚮Recycle - The way we get rid of our waste can be really impactful on our carbon footprint. This reduces the amount of things that are sent to landfill and gives our plastics a second lease of life!

♻Reuse - Fixing our clothes/items instead of disposing them, buying clothes second hand can have a really big impact on the emissions needed. Even re-using shopping bags can help, the production of just 1 shopping bag creates 1.58kg of carbon dioxide

🥦Grow our own food - Growing our own fruit and veg can be really beneficial to both ourselves and the environment. Even if you just grow one type of fruit or veg - it all adds up!

🐛Compost waste food - Composting our waste food products not only give us a resource to use in the garden, it reduces our landfill space and even supports our Biodiversity

⏹Turning off appliances that are on standby or not in use - We're all guilty of doing this, whether it be a light bulb left on in a room we're not using, a tv on standby, it all adds up to wasted electricity



Try out the WWF Carbon Footprint calculator and let us know your results!