As someone who cares about sustainability, you may be planning to take more steps to achieve sustainable living in 2025. Here at Sustainable Practice, we’ve developed seven pathways to sustainability. The community pathway plays a central role in this week’s column — our friends, families, and neighbors make our actions meaningful.

We’ll share ideas for goals along the other six pathways to sustainability — energy, food, water, movement, habitat, and goods. Research shows that writing goals, committing to action steps, and developing a support network dramatically increase success in attaining them. Who do you know who shares your love for our environment and could join you in taking action steps to protect our planet?

Energy goals

Thanks to technological progress, we can take steps toward sustainable energy every year. Here are three steps that could yield meaningful goals for you this year:

1. Electrify. Replace at least one fuel-burning appliance, equipment, or vehicle with an all-electric version.

2. Optimize. Implement a system to record how much energy you buy (fuel plus electricity) so you can calculate your annual energy use.

3. Solarize. If you can, switch to a 100% clean and renewable supply. Or install some solar power so you can generate your own. You can start with something as small as a solar charger for your cell phone.

Food goals

The pathway to sustainable food is another one where new opportunities arise yearly. Here are steps you can take this year:

1. Eat it all. Everyone struggles with planning meals and storing food so it is not wasted. Track any purchased food you did not eat, then consider why that happened so you can adjust.

2. Eat more plants. Try meat-free Mondays or explore more adventurous culinary options that involve more plants and less meat.

3. Support organic farmers. Set a goal to regularly visit your local farmers market or increase purchases of organic fruits and vegetables.

Water goals

Fresh water is a precious resource that most of us take for granted. Here are steps to keep this resource available for future generations:

1. Keep it clean. Use 100% biodegradable and non-toxic cleaning and washing products. Make it a goal to put nothing down the drain that your backyard septic or local wastewater treatment plant can’t handle.

2. Optimize efficiency. Maybe it’s time to replace an old toilet that uses more than 1.28 gallons per flush. Check that your fixtures meet the newest EPA WaterSense criteria. Your water bill will tell you how much water you used last year, and you can plan to use less this year, including for your landscape or garden.

3. Refill your bottles. Refill reusable bottles from tap water rather than buying bottled water.

Movement goals

Electric vehicles are becoming mainstream, but we have one or two years before EVs become more affordable than internal combustion engine vehicles. Here are other steps to keep us moving sustainably:

1. Move under your own power. Take more walking or bicycling trips. If public transit is an option, try that this year.

2. Take a friend. Find a way to carpool for shopping trips.

3. Combine trips. Reduce trips this year by combining them so you’re not starting and stopping your engine so often.

Goods goals

The pathway to sustainable goods starts with “reduce, reuse, recycle.” Here are ideas:

1. Reduce. What could you avoid buying this year? Set a goal to reduce the amount of plastic you buy.

2. Reuse. We’re always amazed to learn how an environmental champion has figured out how to reuse a container or material. Make it a goal to discover a new way to reuse items.

3. Recycle. Compost as much as possible. How much of your solid waste could you compost this year?

Habitat goals

Our human habitat is our home, yard, recreational, and agricultural areas. Here are steps to a sustainable habitat:

1. Backyard habitat. Familiarize yourself with the National Wildlife Federation’s certified wildlife habitat program. You can provide habitat for birds, butterflies, and native plants and create a certified wildlife habitat garden.

2. Organic landscaping. Plan to manage your yard and garden using organic practices, avoiding using fossil fuels and chemicals that damage the environment.

3. Maximize occupancy. Find a way to provide more housing to people using your property, such as renting an apartment or building an accessory dwelling unit if local codes allow it.

Community goals

To connect with others to make a sustainable community:

1. Find a friend for sustainability. Reach out to someone who shares your love for our environment to see if they would join you on the sustainability journey.

2. Build a network. Invite your friends to explore pathways to sustainability with you. Schedule time to learn what your friends are doing to protect our environment and discuss your ideas.

3. Write goals, schedule to meet friends, and discuss progress. Once you’ve found a network committed to the idea of taking action to protect our environment, share goals. Support and keep each other on track. We’re all on this journey together!

Sustainable Practice wishes our readers a meaningful new year and promises to fill 2025 with ideas and facts to increase sustainable living on Earth, our shared home.

Peggy Siegle and Fred Horch are principals of Sustainable Practice. To receive expert action guides to help your household and organizations become superbly sustainable, visit SustainablePractice.Life and subscribe for free to One Step This Week.