It’s probably fair to say that most of us are more environmentally aware these days. It doesn’t seem likely that we are about to turn into a nation of eco-warriors overnight, but most people are quite prepared to make a little effort to be greener. It is actually a whole bunch of small changes by a large number of people that tends to make the difference. The good news is that you can be more environmentally friendly whilst saving both time and money.

For example, Carnegie Melon University conducted a study recently and came to the conclusion that shopping online is better for the environment than the traditional method of buying from retail outlets. One example used in the study was the purchase of a flash memory stick, and it was found the environmental impact of the traditional retail method was 35% greater than making an identical purchase using the internet.

A similar study – carried out by CleanTech this time – found that the carbon footprint of a book was 7.5 kg of CO2 over its useful lifespan. However, this figure was increased by a factor of two if the customer got into their car, drove to the store, purchased their book and then drove home again instead of having it delivered in the mail.

Approximately 65% of the emissions generated by traditional shopping methods are a direct result of the customer’s transport to the store and back again.

Not only is shopping online better for the environment – it will save you time and you will often be able to find what you’re after at a better price. You can increase the environmental benefits even more just by selecting the right kind of product.

For example, if you choose to buy electronic books instead of the conventional printed type, you will save on paper, ink and the energy used in the printing and binding process. As a rule, electronic books are cheaper than the printed versions – plus you save on gas. You can even subscribe to get newspapers and magazines delivered to e-book readers like the Amazon Kindle readerevery day.

Likewise, if you opt to download music to your PC or mp3 player, you will save on CDs, packaging and distribution emissions. Downloading movies online, which you can now do from iTunes, Amazon and a number of other sites also has both financial and environmental benefits.

So when it comes to buying online, why not adopt a two pronged attack. Firstly, if you can buy online rather than using your car to visit the local store then that will generally be a good alternative. Secondly, if you can substitute downloadable products for physical ones then not only will you be doing your bit for the environment – but you will save time and money into the bargain.