To cut your carbon footprint in the kitchen, there are some little things you can do to make a difference, and some big things that make a big difference.

Little things

1. Cover your pots while you’re cooking to prevent heat loss.
2. Keep your hob clean and shiny to reflect heat better.
3. Use small burners/plates for small pots.
4. Make one-pot meals like soups, stews and casseroles to conserve energy use.
5. If you’re cooking with electricity, turn the burner off a little while before the end of cooking.  There’ll be enough heat to continue the cooking process.  (Or even better use a hot-box to cook with).
6. Double your recipe and freeze half to eat another day.  Home made ready meals are far healthier than commercial ready meals too.
7. Use a pressure-cooker when cooking pulses, grains and meat.
8. Use the eco-setting on your dishwasher.
9. Always run your dishwasher full.
10. Scrape plates rather than rinse them.
11. Let your dishes air dry by opening the dishwasher door after the final rinse.
12. Regularly defrost your freezer.
13. Cover liquids and wrap foods in the fridge.
14. Vacuum the coils on the back of your fridge every so often to keep them functioning efficiently.
15. Defrost frozen food in the fridge overnight.

Big things

1. Become a vegetarian.
2. Buy A-rated appliances for your kitchen and dispose of your old appliances properly.  Freecycle, eBay and your local boot sale are all good places to encourage them to be reused, or your local authority recycling site will take it and recycle it.
3. Give your kitchen a green revamp.