Volvo One Tonne Life Test Family Reduced Emissions by 64% in 3 Months

As part of the “One Tonne Life” project, initiated by Volvo in order to show families how to live climate-smart, the test family has so far reduced their emissions by 64 percent to 2.6 tonnes per person per year, compared to the 7.3 tonnes with which they started when the project got under way in January.

The Lindell family members say that didn’t make any major compromises in their everyday lifestyle. The target is to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions to one tonne per person per year, which represents the level that will likely be necessary if we are to avoid disastrous climate change.

The Lindells have to live in the climate-smart wooden villa built by A-hus and use a battery-powered Volvo C30 Electric for a total of six months. Volvo says that transport and electricity consumption are the two areas in which the family has made the most progress.

"So far we haven't had to make any major compromises in our everyday lifestyle. The advanced technology has made the hunt for a carbon dioxide-leaner lifestyle easy and enjoyable. The difficult sacrifices are probably still to come. The last stretch down to one tonne will be far more difficult," said Alicja Lindell.

Other interesting details in the three-month report:

• Emissions from the food the family buys have been considerably reduced. The family focus enthusiastically on picking food with minimum climate impact. By actively varying their choice of meat and fish and by eating more green vegetables and root vegetables, emissions have dropped a lot.
• Emissions from eating out have dropped somewhat, but here there is more scope. By varying their diet with vegetarian lunches, emissions from restaurant meals can be further decreased.
• Emissions from other shopping and consumption have been halved. However, it is difficult to make further cuts in this category since most of these emissions are planted firmly in the "rucksack".