The homes we live in and the ways we use them affect the global environment. Our homes are responsible for 27% of Scotland's carbon dioxide emissions and we urgently need to reduce that amount.

Energy use and CO2 emissions aren't the only sustainability issue. We need to limit our demands for new building materials, so it's important to make good use of existing buildings. And we need our homes and gardens to keep us healthy without harming the planet.

This guide is aimed at people who are thinking of making some changes to their home, but want to reduce their impact on the environment — and save money on running costs.

Whenever you do work to your home, there's an opportunity to make it perform better and last longer. There are often choices to make in selecting equipment and materials that won't waste the earth's resources. And with larger projects you can also make your home easier to use and ready to adapt to changes in the way you live.

There are a lot of good ideas around for new buildings, but making existing buildings more sustainable isn't always easy. This guide sets simple basic goals that we should all be able to achieve, gives some principles for work around the home, suggests some extra projects and gives examples of changes to different types of homes.

This guide should give you enough information to decide what needs to be done and what you can do yourself. It can also help you to talk about sustainability issues with professional designers and tradesmen.

We all need to act quickly to tackle climate change and stop wasting the earth's resources — our homes are a good place to start.