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Pull on a pullover

Wrapping up warm or going indoors when you get chilly is greener than using an outdoor heater. This is because the heaters, which are powered by gas or electricity, use a lot of energy, contributing to climate change. It is estimated that in four hours the average patio heater emits the same amount of carbon dioxide as the average car emits in a day.

Choose your charcoal carefully

When you choose fuel for your barbecue, try buying charcoal that comes from sustainably managed forests.

Look for charcoal with a label proving it is made from sustainable wood. For example, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC) labels can both be found on sustainable charcoal in high street shops.

• Timber product labels

Avoid waste

Things you can do:

• consider using ordinary plates, knives and forks at your barbecues instead of disposables
• consider borrowing or buying a barbecue you can use again rather than a disposable one
• recycle all the bottles, cans and packaging
• ash from lumpwood charcoal is good for neutralising acid soil, so try using yours in the garden instead of throwing it away

• Recycling - find out more (opens new window)

The wider issue

Only a small proportion of the charcoal used on our barbecues is made in the UK. Charcoal may be imported from as far as 12,000 miles away, and transporting it results in considerable carbon emissions. Buying sustainably produced charcoal helps prevent deforestation and illegal logging.

• Nature under threat