10 Easy Ways to Live More Sustainably on the NH Seacoast

Living more sustainably can start with the choices you already make every day. In fact, some of the most meaningful changes start close to home: choosing cleaner electricity, wasting less food, driving a little less, supporting local businesses, or simply learning more about the climate initiatives happening in your community.

Here on the New Hampshire Seacoast, there are plenty of ways to make those changes easier.

Whether you're new to sustainable living or looking for your next step, here are 10 practical ways to reduce your environmental impact and support a more sustainable Seacoast.

1. Choose a Greener Community Power Option

One of the easiest changes Portsmouth residents can make doesn't require changing how they use electricity.

Through Portsmouth Community Power, residents and businesses can choose how much renewable energy they want included in their electricity supply. Nothing changes about the quality or reliability of your electricity, how it is delivered, or how you receive and pay your electric bill. The only difference is a change to the supply portion of your bill, based on the Community Power option you choose.

Portsmouth Community Power currently offers several renewable energy choices, including:

• Granite Plus: 33% renewable energy

• Clean 50: 50% renewable energy

• Clean 100: 100% renewable energy

Customers who haven't selected another option receive the program's default electricity product, aligned with New Hampshire's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), which targets 25.2% renewable energy in 2026. 

Choosing to "opt up" to a higher level of renewable energy helps increase demand for renewable electricity while supporting Portsmouth's broader climate goals. You can also change your Community Power selection later, giving residents flexibility as electricity rates and household circumstances change.

Take action: Learn more about Portsmouth Community Power and compare the current renewable energy options and rates before selecting the level that's right for your household.

2. Give Food Scraps a Second Life

When food scraps are thrown in the trash, they become part of our waste stream. Composting instead gives those scraps another use and helps reduce the amount of material we send for disposal.

And you don't necessarily need a backyard compost pile to participate.

Portsmouth residents can bring food scraps and other accepted compostable materials to the City of Portsmouth Recycling Center. If you're just getting started, keep a small container in your kitchen or freezer and make dropping it off part of your routine.

Take action: Check the City of Portsmouth's current composting guidelines to see what materials are accepted.

3. Walk, Bike, or Take Transit for One More Trip

Transportation is an important part of our local climate footprint, so even replacing some car trips can make a difference.

Fortunately, the Seacoast continues to expand opportunities for walking and biking.

Portsmouth is working toward a more connected bicycle and pedestrian network, while projects such as the NH Seacoast Greenway are creating new ways to travel and explore without getting behind the wheel.

You don't have to give up your car. Start with one trip.

Could you walk downtown instead of driving? Bike to meet a friend? Combine several errands into one trip? Carpool to work or an event?

Small changes become meaningful when they become habits.

Take action: Explore Seacoast NH Climate Action Now's Sustainable Transportation work and learn about local efforts to make walking, biking, and other transportation options safer and more accessible.

4. Make a Few Meals Plant-Based

You don't have to become vegan to make your diet more climate-friendly.

Replacing some meat- and dairy-based meals with plant-based alternatives is one way individuals can reduce the environmental impact associated with their food choices.

It can also be a good excuse to discover something new.

Through Veg'n Out, Seacoast NH Climate Action Now has highlighted Seacoast restaurants offering plant-based dishes, making it easier to explore vegetarian and vegan options at local restaurants.

Try making one dinner each week plant-based, ordering the vegetarian option the next time you go out, or experimenting with a new recipe at home.

Take action: Explore Seacoast NH Climate Action Now's Veg'n Out resources to discover plant-based options around the Seacoast.

5. Reuse Before You Replace

Before buying something new, ask a simple question:

Could I borrow it, repair it, refill it, or find it secondhand instead?

Choosing reuse can help extend the life of products and reduce demand for new materials. It can also save money.

That might mean visiting a thrift store, repairing a favorite pair of shoes, carrying a reusable mug, shopping at a refill store, joining a Buy Nothing group, or choosing a reusable takeout container when one is available.

Seacoast NH Climate Action Now's Reusable Seacoast initiative has also explored how reusable takeout systems can work locally, including New Hampshire's first reusable takeout container pilot.

Take action: Read the Reusable Seacoast pilot case study and look for opportunities to choose reuse in your daily routine.

6. Learn Where to Shop Sustainably on the Seacoast

Where we spend our money can help support the kind of community we want to live in.

The Seacoast is home to businesses and organizations working on everything from reuse and recycling to clean energy, conservation, and sustainable food.

Seacoast NH Climate Action Now maintains a Sustainability Resource Directory to help residents find local organizations, businesses, and resources doing this work.

Instead of trying to research everything yourself, start there the next time you're looking for a product, service, or organization.

Take action: Bookmark Seacoast NH Climate Action Now's Sustainability Resource Directory for your next local purchase or project.

7. Cut Down on Single-Use Items

You don't need a perfectly "zero-waste" kitchen to reduce disposable products.

Start with the things you use most often.

A reusable water bottle, shopping bag, coffee mug, or takeout container can replace hundreds of disposable items over time. When ordering food, skip the utensils and condiments you don't need. When you're hosting an event, look for reusable or lower-waste alternatives.

The goal is to make reusing the convenient default whenever possible.

Take action: Pick one single-use item you regularly use and replace it with a reusable option this month.

8. Make Your Home More Energy Efficient

Using less energy at home can reduce both energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Some improvements are simple: switching to LED bulbs, sealing drafts, or adjusting thermostats. Larger projects might include adding insulation, weatherizing your home, installing a heat pump, or exploring renewable energy.

Portsmouth's climate planning identifies building energy conservation and efficiency as one of the pathways toward reaching the community's climate goals.

If a major home improvement isn't realistic right now, that's okay. Start with the changes that make sense for your home, budget, and circumstances.

Take action: Look for one source of wasted energy in your home and investigate what it would take to improve it.

9. Be Water-Wise at Home

Clean water can feel abundant here on the Seacoast, but using it efficiently is still an important part of sustainable living.

Small habits can add up: turn off the tap while brushing your teeth, run the dishwasher and washing machine only with full loads, fix leaks promptly, and be mindful of outdoor watering during the warmer months.

If you have a yard or garden, consider collecting rainwater where appropriate, choosing native or drought-tolerant plants, and watering in the morning or evening to reduce evaporation.

Being thoughtful about water use helps conserve a valuable local resource while also reducing the energy needed to treat, pump, and heat water.

Take action: Look for one place in your daily routine where you can reduce unnecessary water use.

10. Get Involved in Local Climate Action

Individual choices matter, but some of the biggest changes happen when communities work together.

You don't need to be a climate scientist or sustainability professional to participate.

Learn about Portsmouth's Climate Action Plan. Volunteer for a local project. Ask a business you frequent about reusable options. Talk to your neighbors. Share a local resource. Contact your elected officials about an issue you care about.

Or get involved with Seacoast NH Climate Action Now.

Seacoast NH Climate Action Now is a volunteer-driven nonprofit working on local initiatives, including climate action, sustainable transportation, plant-based eating, waste reduction, and reuse.

The more people who participate, the stronger those efforts become.

Sustainable Living Starts Locally

Climate change is a global challenge, but many of the choices available to us are surprisingly local.

We can choose where our electricity comes from. We can recycle food waste. We can walk or bike when it makes sense. We can support businesses trying something different. And we can help shape what climate action looks like in our own communities.

Start with one change that feels realistic for you, and build from there. You don't have to do everything at once. Small choices can become lasting habits over time.

A more sustainable Seacoast is shaped by the choices we make every day and the work we do together.