App points the way to positive and sustainable living
The EU-funded PSLifestyle project has launched a new app that calculates one’s environmental impact and gives tailored tips on how to live more sustainably. Inspiring you to adopt a more positive, sustainable and healthier lifestyle, the PSLifestyle app is part of the project’s efforts to close the gap between climate awareness and individual action. The information entered when a person takes the lifestyle test is used to create personalised lifestyle suggestions. The option is also given to build an action plan based on the data provided that will have a positive impact on the planet and the person’s life. As reported in ‘Cities Today’, the lifestyle test was co-created with residents in a series of living lab workshops hosted in different cities and regions across eight European countries: Tallinn (Estonia), Tampere, Turku and Lappeenranta (Finland), Wuppertal (Germany), Athens (Greece), Parma and the Tuscany region (Italy), Lisbon (Portugal), Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Izmir (Turkey). Through the workshops, citizens helped to design the test by assessing its features, identifying ways its functions and design could be improved, and making country-specific lifestyle suggestions.
And your carbon footprint is …
A spokesperson from PSLifestyle project partner ICLEI Europe provides more details on the test: “It asks a maximum of 35 quick multiple-choice questions divided into four sections: housing, transport, food and purchases. As you answer the questions, the web app provides a live update of your estimated carbon footprint, and at the end of the test, the user is provided with information about their carbon footprint, including where the emissions come from, how they are doing in comparison to others, and how they could reduce their personal impact. It takes about five minutes to do the test.” Suggestions given at the end of the test include installing water meters and reducing water consumption, drying laundry outdoors, riding an electric bicycle, giving up your car, turning towards a Mediterranean diet and going vegetarian for a year. “At the end of the test, you can also ask for further support to improve the service, such as calendar reminders, success stories, etc,” the spokesperson adds. Users can also indicate the actions they find challenging to implement and would need more support with from their local community or municipality. “We can all find our own way to live a positive and sustainable life,” remarks Markus Terho of PSLifestyle project coordinator Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund. “We are really excited to introduce a new lifestyle test that has been developed together with residents of eight European countries. Mitigating climate change is such a huge global challenge and everyone’s contribution is needed.” The PSLifestyle app has been under development since the project’s launch in October 2021. To further promote the co-creation of positive and sustainable lifestyles, PSLifestyle (Co-Creating Positive and Sustainable Lifestyle Tool with and for European Citizens) will be holding more workshops in the eight countries during the course of 2024. The aim will be to gather local insights and innovative solutions on deploying the lifestyle test across Europe and to further identify local customisation needs. For more information, please see: PSLifestyle project website
Keywords
PSLifestyle, lifestyle, app, environmental impact, carbon footprint