Luxury Portfolio’s guide to embracing sustainability in a luxurious life

As the leader in global luxury practices, we’ve compiled this list to demonstrate how affluent consumers are taking steps to establish more sustainable living and incorporate favorable environmental habits. Many of these suggestions involve reducing waste and your carbon footprint – and living well while incorporating more efficient use of natural resources.

1. Update your current home with more efficient systems. This can take the form of LED lighting, heating and cooling, and resource-saving appliances and plumbing fixtures. And, you refresh your home as you retrofit with new, stylish and innovative products.

• Install efficient HVAC that will save you energy and increase your comfort.
• Incorporate solar to reduce your energy costs and reliance on the electrical grid.
• Replace plumbing fixtures to add style and provide improved water usage.
• Update with LED lighting to reduce energy usage, providing a design update as well.
• New appliances provide smarter technology features and reduced energy usage.

2. Consider purchasing consignment or from online auctions. Whether you are looking for estate jewelry, vintage couture, midcentury furniture, or simply looking for antique barware with provenance, luxury goods are now readily available in high-quality consignment galleries as well as many online purveyors that curate quality merchandise.

3. Donate or consign your own items. We all have items we no longer need or are ready to change. Why hang on to items that no longer have a useful life in your world? There are many places for you to give your cherished items a new life – so donate or consign, and you can pass on your treasures and their enjoyment to a new owner.

4. Revisit your landscaping and outdoor maintenance routines. Considerable research has gone into creating beautiful plantings and outdoor living spaces that don’t require as much upkeep, are drought resistant and require less frequent applications of fertilizers and chemicals. Let a landscape architect refresh your gardens and you’ll enjoy the new look while being kind to the environment.

5. Be efficient in your use of shipping and delivery. While the convenience of online shopping and deliveries is now a mainstay of our culture, think about the energy used for every shipment and bundle your purchases to minimize the logistics required for each individual buy and the waste created from multiple shipping boxes.

6. Recycling is easier than ever to embrace. Nearly every community has recycling centers that make it less of a hassle to give paper, glass and plastic a second life. Many luxury products we consume come in bottles, jars, cans, boxes and tremendous amounts of paper. Enjoy the niceties and then recycle them responsibly.

7. Reduce your dependency on plastics and disposables. While plastics may be easy, it’s now de rigueur to carry water bottles, coffee cups and return to the use of dishes and flatware. The jury is out on the energy used to wash these items, but the experience of eating, drinking and storing food in reusable containers does feel more luxurious.