If you want to make an impact in the world, taking action to fight climate change is one of the things you should consider. You don’t have to be a scientist or influential politician to do something about climate change. Anyone can make an impact by doing something that is within their capacity.
If you are wondering where to start, this article is for you. We will share the top ten mobile apps and websites you can start using today to be part of the people doing something about climate change. These apps are meant to drive causes to reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere.
Most of the apps we are about to share work for iOS and Android, so at least everyone reading this article has a device that supports them. Without wasting any more of your time, here is the list of the top ten apps that you can use to make an impact on climate change.
Ecosia
Ecosia is a search engine that donates over 80% of its revenue to a tree planting project in Burkina Faso. The company will most likely expand its tree planting projects to several other regions in the future. Like any other search engine, most of its revenue comes from ads. Ecosia has a plugin or browser extension that you can install to make it the default search engine for your browser on both your mobile device and desktop computer.
Currently, this app has over 15,000,000 users (according to Wikipedia). So, you can also join these 15m people to ensure more trees are planted by just using this search engine. It also shows all its users the number of trees that have been planted so far. You could also take a step further and buy ads from this platform if you want to make an impact beyond using the app to search for information.
It should also be noted that Ecosia uses 200% renewable energy, so all its data centers and other company operations are powered by green energy that is safe for the climate.
Olio
This is an app built to help people give away excess food instead of throwing it away. The vision of this app is to play a role in reducing the over 1.3 billion tons of food (worth $1 Trillion) that is wasted every year. This app can be used by anyone, including individuals who can give away excess snacks in their fridge or a grocery store owner with foods that are soon hitting their expiry date.
The app is free and is currently being used by over 3.6 million people in 59 countries. You can also download it to your device today and start giving away or searching for excess food within your local area. You are free to be on both sides of the equation when signing up. This app can also be used to give away kitchenware, so it is not just for food. Anything related to cooking and eating food qualifies to be published and given away on this platform.
Too good to go
You can use this platform to give away or find excess foods within your location. Unlike Olio, the food on this app is for purchasing, although the prices are way lower than the standard prices. The excess foods on this platform are mainly listed by restaurants, cafes, supermarkets, and grocery stores that usually have extra food each day or week.
The food is also packed in “magic packages,” so the person buying doesn’t necessarily know what is in that package. This may be a drawback to picky eaters who may find most of the packages less appealing. The app is currently being used by over 5.5 million people, so you can install it on your device to be part of the millions trying to reduce the amount of food wasted in our communities.
Litterati
This app is for capturing data about all the litter in our communities. All you need to do when you install the app is add any litter you find in your neighborhood to the app by taking its photo and choosing the category where it falls. For instance, a can of coke will fall under the aluminum category.
Users can also add the brand responsible for the waste product. The other details you can add include location and the date when the litter was picked up. The vision of this app is to give the concerned stakeholders data about the litter in the different communities so that they can take action. This move will also challenge companies to think about how they package their products.
The company also believes that many people and organizations want to help but don’t know where to start. So, providing this data will give all those concerned about climate change a place to start. According to Litterati, their app already has over 11 million users in several countries around the world.
Grid Carbon
This app measures the total carbon output of your local grid. To accomplish this, it has to be connected to the database of the energy service provider in order to get real-time details of the energy being used in your local area. On the user side, the app’s interface shows them how energy consumption fluctuates throughout the day.
So, you could use this app to schedule power-hungry tasks, such as doing your laundry for off-peak hours. This can reduce your annual carbon footprint if you do it consistently. The app also shows the amount of power generated by each plant and the estimated emissions created. It is free and currently has over 10,000 installations. You can start using this app today to know how much carbon your local grid emits into the atmosphere daily.
CoGo
This app will help you track your spending, shows you where your money went and if you’ve supported eco-friendly and living wage businesses with it. CoGo will also recommend the best shopping options that are more eco-friendly to help you lower your carbon footprint. When you install the app, you find the option to choose the environmental causes you care about.
This helps CoGo to show you projects and charities you can support to help them advance their cause. The main goal of this app is to help individuals support businesses that are doing something about reducing the greenhouse emissions that their operations add to our atmosphere. All the companies that fall under this category have the CoGo badge. You can base on these badges to choose which businesses to support as you make your daily purchases.
SearchScene
Just like Ecosia, SearchScene is another search engine that was created to help the environment. They donate 95% of their profits to charities that are focused on climate change. The apps also allow users to choose the types of climate charities they want to support. At the end of each quarter, the company divides up its donations based on the charities that were chosen by the different users.
Besides fighting climate change, SearchScene is also an extremely private search engine. They don’t save your searches or your user data, making it a good alternative for users who really care a lot about their privacy. If you are using a browser, you can download the SearchScene extension to make it the default search engine for your browser. However, you can also download their free iOS and Android apps to your device for a better user experience.
Regain
This app is meant to help you get discount coupon codes by giving away unwanted clothing. Instead of throwing away your clothes, you can give them to this company and get some discount coupons instead. All you have to do is pack your unwanted clothing and drop them off at their nearby drop points. These clothes will be recycled and put back on the market for other people to wear.
Those who give away their clothes get discount coupons that they can use to get discounts on their next shopping. The company currently has over 25,000 drop-off points in the UK with the hope of expanding to the rest of the world in the future. It also has about 10,000 downloads in the UK. So, if you are within the UK, you can download this app to start getting yourself discount coupon codes to lower your next shopping bill.
Zip Car
One of the easiest ways to reduce pollution generated by the transport sector is by minimizing the number of cars on the road. With Zip Car, you don’t have to own a car because they can rent you one. The environmental benefit of using this platform is that it makes it easy to find electric vehicles available within your local area.
Renting an electric car is a net positive for the environment and will enable you to lower your carbon footprint. Before renting a car on this platform, you must verify your driving license first.
There are two types of vehicle options that you can rent on this platform. These include;
- Standard: This option is ideal for a round-trip ride and could be reserved weeks ahead of time. You pick this up and return it to where it was placed.
- Flex: This is the option to choose whether you just need to make a one-way trip. It should be noted that cars in this category can only be reserved 15 minutes before departure.
Love clean streets
This app enables people to report any environmental issues in their neighborhood. It is currently available only in the UK, so you need to be in this region to use the app. Once you find anything on the street that is worth reporting, you will simply have to open your app, take its photo and publish it. This information is sent over to the responsible parties to take the necessary action.
Users will also be able to follow up on the progress being taken by their city council or anything other authorities that are handling the issue. The app requires users to turn on their location since it helps the people handling the issue know the precise location of the problem you reported. Love Clean Streets is free and currently has over 10,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.
Bonus
This app enables EV owners to find the closest charging points within their neighborhood or the roads they intend to use for their next trip. This app will show you up to 160,000 charging stations in the USA and Canada. In total, it currently shows over 250,000 stations, with most of these located in Europe and North America.
Users can view the status of each station, including its mechanical condition and whether it is being used or not. This app is useful for people owning electric or hybrid vehicles that don’t have a reliable built-in charging stations guide. It is free and currently has over 1 million downloads. If you own an EV, this app is a must-have.
Final thoughts
Those are some of the apps that you can use if you want to make a positive impact on our environment. All the apps we shared are free, so you have no excuse for not downloading and using them. However, some are region locked, so you may not be able to access them if you leave in an unsupported region.
So, join the millions of people that are already using these apps to be part of the people that are doing something positive to save the planet and make it safe for the future.
