Put a lid on it

Put a lid on it

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Put a lid on it

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Put a lid on it

Use a saucepan lid

Whether you’re a master chef in training or more of a pasta-and-pesto kind of cook, a simple pan lid can save you time, money and energy in the kitchen.

When it comes to cooking on the hob, it can take twice as long to heat a pan of water with the lid off instead of on.1 Other than steaming up the windows, the rest of the heat goes to waste.

Why

Here are a few reasons to take action.

Click for more info or scroll to read them all.

Time

When hunger strikes, waiting around for water to boil is the worst. If you’re heating up a pan of water for cooking pasta, potatoes, rice, eggs or… anything else really, putting a lid on it will shave minutes off your wait. Using an electric kettle to boil your cooking water is even faster!

Money

By speeding up your cooking, you’ll be saving money as well as energy. It might not be completely bank-altering, but as someone once said: every little helps. Especially when it becomes a life-long habit.

Climate Change

You don’t have to be a scientist to figure out that putting a lid on your cooking saves energy. And the less energy you use, the smaller your carbon footprint.

If we all become more aware of how much energy we’re using, and make small daily changes in our behaviour to reduce our impact, it’ll add up to a significant difference.

4x

more energy to boil water in a pan than in the kettle.2

Global Goals

In September 2017, an historic agreement was signed by UN member nations agreeing to work towards 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development by 2030, otherwise known as the SDGs.

Achieving these ambitious goals will require action from governments, businesses, NGOs, and individuals alike. We can - and must - all play our part.

By making the 'Put a lid on it' pledge, you are contributing in your own small way to the following SDG targets:

12.8: By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature

13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning

How

We’re pretty sure you don’t need a step-by-step guide to using a saucepan lid – although it’s worth saying the better fitting the lid, the more time, money and energy you’ll save.

Instead, here are a few more tips to get you a Michelin star in eco-friendly cooking.

  • The microwave is the most efficient way to cook practically anything in the kitchen. Use it to heat your soup and parboil your potatoes for baking or roasting.
  • It’s better to boil water in your kettle first and then put it in the pan.
  • Only use as much water as you need – boiling extra takes more time and energy.
  • Use the right sized pan for the job, and put it in the hob ring that most closely fits its circumference.
  • Don’t have lids for your pans? Get yourself a set of multi-purpose silicone suction lids, they fit on all size pans.

If you want to read more about saving time and energy while you cook, check out these tips from uSwtich and OVO Energy.

Success Stories

832

Pledges
in total

1,432kg

CO2
pledged

References

  1. Time 2 Change
  2. Treehugger
  3. YouGen