Karshare Blog

Black Friday is a day (sometimes weeks) in November that encourages overconsumption, overproduction and overspending through discounts and sales. And let's be honest.. we’re over it! According to Statista, UK consumers are estimated to spend a total of £8.71 billion over the course of the Black Friday weekend this year. Identified by Which?, only 1 in 7 deals this Black Friday are considered to be genuine discounts, with retailers marking up their prices days before the Black Friday to orchestrate bigger savings. So with billions of pounds being unnecessarily spent this weekend, we’re drawing attention to the reasons why it’s best to avoid the frenzy and make sustainable switches for Green Friday instead.

Karshare’s vision is to create a world where we never have more cars than we need. This is why we’re advocates for Car Free Day, a day on 22nd September that encourages people to go car free and a day that helps raise awareness of the wider importance of reducing car usage. Car sharing can enable you to give up ownership of a car and choose to rent one from your neighbours as and when you need instead. We took some time to chat to people who have decided to either get rid of their car, or have never owned a car themselves and their reasons for this.

As the cost to fill up a tank of petrol has now hit £100, we’ve listed out a few changes you can make to reduce your fuel consumption and drive efficiently. If you’re looking to make back the money spent on fuel, car sharing is a great way to balance out the costs, as renting your car out to others creates additional income that can be kept aside for refill day! For longer term solutions, selling your car or switching to an electric vehicle is much more sustainable as this will remove the need for fuel all together.

It’s one of our core values at Karshare to do more with less, and our #KarshareKudos posts this month featured two groups working to make this possible.

The theme for this year’s Earth Day is to invest in our planet. This might mean making changes as an individual, calling for more action from organisations and governments, or simply raising awareness and educating others in general about the importance of protecting our planet.Investing in our planet isn’t something to do just once a year - it requires change. If you feel overwhelmed by the mission of tackling the climate crisis, we’ve listed out 5 simple changes that you can make today, that'll hopefully last for longer than just a day.

Bank holiday weekend! Four days, a hundred possibilities. The weather is getting warmer, and Spring is here, inspiring many to get back outside. So, we’ve come up with a list of ways you can reconnect with nature this bank holiday weekend.

Here at Karshare we think it's important to showcase inspiring eco initiatives and community champions. Our #KarshareKudos series focuses on individuals and organisations who are helping others make steps towards a more eco-friendly lifestyle. Today we’re bringing you a round up of the people we gave kudos to this March.

Valentine's Day is almost upon us and the celebration of love also marks the start of the half term break. So what better time to rent a Karshare car and head out on a romantic break with your loved one? If you’re feeling more like a getaway with friends, then our suggestions can also be experienced without a partner too! Read on to see our top picks from gazing at the night sky to visiting sustainable wineries!

Karshare's Mobility and Partnerships Director, Graeme Banister, shares his thoughts on the importance of cutting out short car journeys and reducing car usage. He highlights some key transport stats which outline how many cars are not being utilised and could therefore be shared. Will 2022 be the year that decarbonisation is demysitified?

2021 was a year where the conversation around climate change increased amongst many. The record-breaking floods, wildfires and even the sea on fire this year has put climate change at the forefront of many people’s conversations. Nations across the world are starting to take action and with COP26 this year regularly making headline news, the general public awareness of the subject matter has continued to grow. We want to encourage the shift to sharing in 2022, so we'll be breaking down what the sharing economy is and how it can help, while recommending a few companies that are championing the sharing mindset!

Sustainable transport is a mode of travel that has a minimal effect on the environment and the climate. As more sustainable modes of transport are introduced and people's behaviour towards transport is shifting, there's room for the impact of transport on the climate to be greatly reduced. We take a look at sustainable transport - what this actually means, how we can make transport more sustainable and why it's important.

Did you know that the 63 largest cities and towns in the UK generate almost half of the UK’s carbon emissions? London alone makes up 11% of this! Our cities are incredible places, but they also need the right infrastructure in place to make sure they’re as green as they can be. We take a look at how car sharing ultimately reduces the number of cars on roads, creating more space for green areas and better active travel infrastructures.

According to the Climate Change Committee, active travel is an important factor to help reduce the UK’s travel-related carbon emissions and in working towards our bold – but necessary – greenhouse gas emissions reductions targets. If you’re not familiar with the term ‘active travel’, it simply refers to journeys made through physical activity such as walking or cycling, instead of using a car or public transport. We take a look at how sharing cars can ultimately encourage active travel. Read on to find out more.

As part of our COP26 article series, we are focussing on the different environmental benefits of car sharing. To kick this off, we take a look at the various ways that car sharing reduces carbon emissions. From enabling users to 'car shed', to ultimately leading to less cars needing to be manufactured, have a read to find out how car sharing can help reduce carbon emissions.

Each year, World Car Free Day is celebrated globally on the 22nd September, and it’s definitely an event that Karshare is here to support. The day aims to reduce the number of cars on streets, which is exactly what we’re all about, as we aim to create a world where we never have more cars than we need. Read here to find out some of the key benefits of reducing your car usage, as well as ways you can reduce your car usage too.

You may see posts around today about World Ozone Day, so we’ve decided to break down the key things you need to know about today in a quick 3 minute read.‍ We look at what it is, how The Montreal Protocol has made a difference and what this year's theme of 'Keeping us, our food and vaccines cool' means.

The term ‘carbon footprint’ refers to the total amount of greenhouse gasses released into the atmosphere as a result of someone’s actions. Greenhouse gases are those responsible for the greenhouse effect, or warming of the Earth’s surface, including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Carbon footprints are usually measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. There are a lot of actions that can cause greenhouse gases to be released into the atmosphere, including use of fossil fuels, deforestation and inefficient waste management.

Today marks the beginning of Plastic Free July, a global movement that inspires millions of people to be a part of the solution against plastic pollution. Everyone has the power to make small changes in their lives with big impacts, so why not spend some time this month thinking about how you too can make a difference?

If you come here often, you’ll have heard us talk about sustainability on numerous occasions – how it forms a key part of our purpose, how car sharing can be considered sustainable or how we are always looking to support sustainable businesses individuals and businesses across the UK. But what does that word ‘sustainable’ really mean? And how does it differ from ‘renewable’, especially when we are talking about energy?

2020 was a breakout year for electric vehicle uptake, with figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) revealing that one electric vehicle was registered every three minutes. This is fantastic news! Not only can we help our local environment by not polluting the air we breathe, but it can also be good for our wallets. You can fuel an average electric car for approximately 4p per mile, with no road tax to pay and quite a few government incentives. With new affordable models arriving in the UK and a wide variety of second-hand EVs available, switching to an electric vehicle has never been easier and cheaper!

Biodiesel is a type of fuel made from vegetable oil, animal fat or waste cooking oil. The fuel is created by a process called transesterification, where the glycerin is separated from the oil to create methyl ester. Methyl ester is the chemical compound name for biodiesel. The majority of suitable oil for biodiesel comes from rapeseed, palm or soybean crops. Because of its source, biodiesel is considered a renewable fuel alternative.

Spring is well and truly in the air – and there’s nothing that says “new year new me” quite like a good old spring clean. And what better way to prepare for the end of lockdown than by giving your car a once-over? Get ready for those road trips and staycations pencilled in your diary – or present your car beautifully for the renters taking it for a spin. After exploring environmentally friendly ways of driving your car, we have now put together 7 car cleaning solutions that keep the planet in mind – and are bound to leave your vehicle sparkling!

Think back to the last time you wanted to buy something. The journey you followed probably looked a little like this: You Googled it, you ordered it, you clicked next day delivery – or better yet – same-day delivery, and then you eagerly awaited it. We’re wired to expect things now. Our expectation for instant gratification is the norm, rather than the exception. In fact, if we’re asked to wait 3-5 business days for something to arrive, we’re mildly outraged.

In a previous blog post, we covered how car sharing has been highlighted by the World Economic Forum as a way of life the world must embrace to help tackle climate change. In the UK, transport is the highest contributor to CO2 emissions – car sharing, and making do with fewer vehicles, is not a silver bullet but an important part of the solution to creating a more sustainable future.Alongside the growth in sharing, the move away from petrol and diesel vehicles to electric power is accelerating. In the UK, the announcement last year that the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned by 2030 was a truly significant moment.

A hybrid vehicle combines two energy components: petrol and electricity. It can switch between both engines or combine them depending on the situation. Instead of plugging in the battery to charge like you would with a pure electric car, a hybrid vehicle recharges itself as you drive. The electricity makes the car produce very low greenhouse emissions and makes it cheap to run, especially in cities when you’re moving slower and able to drive on the battery alone. A hybrid is not only good for the planet, but for your pocket too!

2020 forced us to look at our income with a fresh pair of eyes – from furlough schemes to redundancies, it has not been easy navigating the new and uncertain world of work we find ourselves in. Luckily, the sharing economy is here to help. By utilising the assets and skills you already possess, you can create additional income streams in 2021 thanks to some very handy apps.

Protecting the environment is at the heart of what we do here at Karshare. Now that 2020 is finally behind us, we have taken a look at some of the ways in which everyone can live a little more sustainably and make a positive difference in the pursuit of net zero emissions and combating climate change.

On 18 November 2020, Boris Johnson announced his “green recovery” plans for the UK in a Financial Times opinion piece. He plans to mobilise £12bn of government investment to create and support up to 250,000 green jobs as part of his 10-point plan. Number 4 of this plan centres on electric mobility, with £2.8bn of investment going into electric vehicles, charging points and long-lasting batteries. The aim of this? To end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in 2030, a full decade earlier than initially planned in the government’s ‘Road to Zero’ plans, published in 2018.

Throughout the Covid-19 crisis and the ongoing restrictions, changes and worries it has brought, it has sometimes been forgotten that we were already living through a climate emergency. For a brief moment at the height of lockdown the environment enjoyed a little respite, as cars came off the roads in huge numbers and people stopped flying all over the globe. Unfortunately, road traffic is now back to ‘business as usual’ levels, and emissions are creeping up once more. While the pandemic continues to attract the lion’s share of attention, the climate situation remains as urgent as ever.

Karshare takes a look at autos that made history - though not in the way you might think. It’s been nearly 130 years since the invention of the automobile and, it’s fair to say, vehicular innovation has fundamentally changed society several times over. So, we thought we’d take a look at some of the most iconic cars in history and consider their impact on the world.