The Loewen-Nairs family traded in the suburbs for downtown living to reduce their carbon emissions.
The couple explained that they decided to change their lifestyle by using e-bikes, walking and transit as their main modes of transportation once they moved downtown.
“We really wanted to limit our commuting as much as we could for carbon footprint reasons but also for time reasons and having that time back for our lives and family,” said Vineet Nair, the father of four.
His wife Andrea Loewen said they have also found a benefit in using public transit or riding an e-bike to get to school or when grabbing groceries.
Loewen told CTV News the inspiration came after joining the Live Net Zero national challenge organized by Canadian Geographic.
Loewen and her family won a $50,000 cash prize after scoring with the lowest household carbon emissions compared to five families.
The competition encouraged the five families across Canada to participate in a series of challenges that reduced carbon emissions.
“Commuting was fun as a challenge to not drive for that period — some of the other ones were not as exciting but important like the HVAC and trying to figure out how to heat and cool your home better,” Nair added.
After reading about the competition by Canadian Geographic last summer, Loewen thought their family might be a good fit.
Some of the challenges included cutting their commuting carbon by driving less or not at all, learning how to make their home more energy efficient, which is what the Loewen-Nairs did by not using one of their freezers and trying to seal their home.
According to Canadian Geographic, “More than 25 per cent of the country’s carbon emissions come from household energy use, achieving a national target means Canadians must start making carbon reductions at the household level,”
“Electricity was a tough one for us with kids, trying to make sure to turn off the lights and not waste things being plugged in unnecessarily,” Nair said.
“In this challenge we focused on things that either had a really big impact and were worth the effort, or things that we didn’t really miss, that we could do for us like commuting, walking and being outside was a positive for us and not a sense of loss.”
The family acknowledged that adjusting some of their daily habits was challenging but overtime it made a big difference in reducing their carbon footprint, Loewen explained.
They’ve also decided to use part of their prize money to pay for a heat pump, Loewen said. “It’s super exciting,” she laughed.
