GreenhackGBG is the City of Gothenburg's channel for sustainable lifestyles. The name has been taken from what is called "lifehacks", that is, smart and easy ways to tackle and get past everyday challenges. As an arena, you work with many different aspects of sustainability and the basic philosophy is that everyone can start by taking a small step towards increased sustainability, then take another. We asked three questions to Elina Järkil, project manager at GreenhackGBG.
You work for more to embrace sustainable lifestyles in the City of Gothenburg. What is the best thing to do if you want to change your way of living in a more sustainable direction?
Everything counts, every little effort every day. Each one contributes to the change and together we make a difference! The important thing is to find something that you are prepared to change and start there and not feel that you need to do everything at once. GreenhackGBG is a broad arena where many aspects of sustainability are highlighted, where everyone can find areas that feel relevant. If I have to choose a specific area then I would say that you should think about how you travel in everyday life and if, for example, you can choose bicycle or public transport instead of car. Another area is how you can change your clothing consumption to take more account of both man and the environment, for example by borrowing clothes or buying secondhand.
You suggest that "home holiday", that is, vacation in the immediate area. What are the benefits of it?
It is an environmentally friendly, economical and time efficient way to vacation. And then there are opportunities to discover what we have in the immediate area!
Do you have any tips on an extra nice excursion you can get to by bike in Gothenburg?
The sub-lake area is lovely and there is much to see and experience and of course lakes to be able to take a dip. One tip is to download the app Gothenburg by bicycle with Gothenburg Guides - an exciting and easily accessible way to be guided by bicycle around Gothenburg. The app has two round trips so far: Guldkorn in Gothenburg at about 10 kilometers and Alängs Älven at about 14 kilometers. The tours have 12 and 15 goals, respectively, and a clear map and directions that show where you are going. You can start the tour where you are and end at the same place.
Daniel Bergstrand
daniel@swedenbybike.com