7 simple smartphone apps that can save the planet (and some money).
Sustainability Week 2024
This article is part of a series of sustainability-themed articles that we want to observe Earth Day 2024 and promote more sustainable practices. Check out all our Sustainability Week 2024 content.
It’s easy to be a tech geek and reduce your impact on the planet, but luckily our smartphones aren’t just doomscrolling machines: they can also nudge us toward better habits. Apps like the ones below can not only cut the edge on your carbon footprint, they can also save you some money in the process.
Many of the world’s biggest apps now thankfully have an eco-friendly component. For example, Google Maps now chooses the route with the lowest carbon footprint by default, all else being equal, thanks to an update that started rolling out in 2021.
But we also wanted to highlight some of the latest apps for iOS and Android that have sustainability and ethical consumerism built into their identity, or at least a significant part of their offering. Best of all, none of these require much effort other than downloading the app and making it part of your swiping routine.
So whether you want to reduce food waste, buy clothes responsibly, plant trees with your phone or just know the most eco-friendly time to plug in your gadgets, here are some of the best apps that could change your life improve. a little greener…
The food waste reducer: Too Good To Go
Launched in 2016, this brilliant app does double duty: helping you save the planet and a little money by connecting you with local cafes and restaurants that have unsold food going to waste.
You will be given a time window to pick up your meal and, after paying a small fee within the app, you will receive a tasty goody bag with fresh offerings from, for example, your local Starbucks. It’s a win-win situation, because the point of sale where you pick up the food won’t be able to sell the food for much longer – and you get a great value lunch or dinner.
The app recently added an ‘ask a friend’ option that lets you nominate someone to pick up your collection if you can’t go, and Too Good To Go recently reached the milestone of saving 200 million meals worldwide from the waste. Bravo.
The place for second-hand clothing: Vinted
Okay, companies like Vinted and its old rival Depop aren’t a completely guilt-free way to buy clothes, as they still rely heavily on home delivery. But the marketplace for buying and selling second clothes is a lot better than buying new clothes, and it’s also a lot smoother than eBay.
Buying ‘used’ clothes is easy by sifting through the listings, while selling is relatively painless thanks to the app’s ability to generate shipping labels (plus the absence of sales fees).
The experience of digital saving is of course also part of the fun, and Vinted’s own research suggests that 39% of transactions prevent the purchase of a new garment. Now that it’s making its way into video games and consoles, it could get us tech fans hooked too.
The one for carbon capture: Treeapp
There’s no easy way to fight climate change, but reforestation is one of our better choices – and with Treeapp (which is only available in the UK for now) you can plant trees for free using just your iOS or Android smartphone. If you live outside the UK, Ecosia is an alternative (see below).
All you have to do is choose a tree planting project in the app, watch three short ads from Treeapp’s partners, and that partner will then donate money to the app to plant one of more than 150 species in many locations to plant worldwide.
It’s only been around for four years, but Treeapp just released it Impact report 2024 showing that it has planted 4.2 million trees in 17 countries, enough to absorb almost 600,000 tons of CO2. These are the types of ads we’d like to watch rather than skip.
Alternatively… Ecosia
If you enjoy surfing the web to facilitate tree planting, check out Ecosia. It is available as an extension for Chrome or Firefox, but also in app form for iOS and Android. It says it donates 80% of its advertising profits to tree planting organizations around the world.
The Climate Educator: NASA Earth Now
If you want to better understand why it’s a good idea to build environmentally conscious habits into your life, this NASA app should do the trick. Earth Now shows the latest global climate data, from carbon dioxide levels to carbon monoxide spikes from forest fires, all displayed on a 3D model of our little blue planet.
If you can avoid getting sidetracked by spinning the globe in the app, there are some impressive climate-related insights in the app’s Vital Signs menu. These give you color-coded overlays that show different data maps, along with some useful descriptions of what each of them is and what they mean for global warming.
The app launched in 2012, so the interface is a little dated now, but it’s still a powerful little educator for old and young alike.
The one for charging technology: WhenToPlugIn
This ‘carbon intensity app’ is unfortunately only intended for people in the UK, as it is made by National Grid. But it’s a great example of how a data-driven app can reduce your carbon footprint and save you a bit of money in the process.
WhenToPlugIn tells you the ‘greenest’ time to use your electricity, based on real-time information about how that power is generated. In other words, it knows when renewable energy sources like wind and solar are most active, so it can tell you when the next ‘clean’ slot will be.
Okay, it’s not the prettiest app in the world and you won’t always be able to follow through on its suggestions. But for your non-urgent energy needs – for example your electric car or dishwasher – it can also save you a few pennies if you have a smart meter tariff.
The restaurant finder: HappyCow
If you’re a vegetarian or vegan and traveling in an unfamiliar city, it can be difficult to know where the best plant-based dining options are. That’s where HappyCow ($3.99 / £4.99) can help – thanks to its combination of regularly updated maps and a strong community, it can guide you to the best spots in most major cities.
HappyCow has been around since 1999 and has therefore had plenty of time to build a solid knowledge base for vegans or vegetarians. And whatever your food tastes, the thousands of listings in 185 countries include restaurant recommendations to help you reduce water consumption and CO2 emissions that are typically the byproduct of meat dishes.
The one for carpooling: BlaBlaCar
Carpooling took a big hit during the pandemic, when no one was traveling or wanted to be cooped up in the back of a car with strangers. But it’s on its way back now and BlaBlaCar is one of the biggest apps for connecting travellers, with Poparide offering a similar service in Canada.
Once you enter your location and destination, BlaBlaCar will connect you with others taking the same trip on the same date, so you can share the cost (and reduce your overall emissions). Alternatively, you can also use the app to book a bus.
BlaBlaCar usage is somewhat inconsistent across countries and regions, so there may not be many ride-sharing options depending on where you live. Carpooling in general has not really taken off in the US yet. But the concept is now logical again BlaBlaCar’s latest impact report revealed that it had 26 million active members by 2022 (and apparently saved 1.5 million tons of CO2 emissions).