PURPOSE

How sustainable is my home? What are some things I can do to make it more sustainable? Can I improve the sustainability of my home without spending a lot of money? The Leonardo Academy home sustainability checklists are designed to help you answer these questions. The checklists will help you evaluate how sustainable your home is, as well as provide ideas for increasing home sustainability that include many no or low cost actions.

HOW TO USE THE CHECKLISTS

The most important action is to START. Begin with one checklist or all four. Print a copy of each checklist and date it. Go through each list, recording the actions you are doing and how consistently you do them. Add up your points. This score is the baseline for gauging your progress. Look over the list to find additional actions you could take and make plans to take them. Periodically, fill out the checklists again to see if the sustainability score of your home has improved. The path to sustainability is a process that occurs over time. Continuing to add more actions to your “I do it” list is the path to home sustainability.

EMPLOYERS, ENCOURAGE EMPLOYEES TO BECOME MORE SUSTAINABLE

Employers can support sustainability beyond the company or organization by encouraging employees to use these checklists to improve their home sustainability.

THE CHECKLISTS

 Checklists for four areas of sustainability are provided:

• Energy
• Purchasing
• Waste
• Water

Each checklist includes a section on Easy No-Cost or Low-Cost actions that can be taken to increase the sustainability of your home. Other sections include actions that may have a cost, such as purchasing new appliances and equipment. You may decide to implement these actions when present appliances or equipment need to be replaced. The most important action is to START increasing your home’s sustainability.

 The checklists assign points to each possible action to allow you to keep track of your progress along the sustainability pathway.