If you think it’s time to remodel your kitchen and bring it into the 21st century, of course, you’ll want updated appliances and the like. However, one of the most important things you’ll need to think about is your ability to make environmentally friendly decisions throughout the remodel. With a “green” approach, instead of using traditional building materials in your remodel, you’ll use environmentally friendly materials so that you reduce the impact your kitchen remodel has on the environment, and reduce your home’s “carbon footprint” at the same time. Doing so can reduce the amount of electricity and other energy your kitchen uses by replacing old appliances with more energy-efficient ones, and can also use “green” materials like bamboo and other building materials that are actually environmentally friendly.

Here are some ways you can further make your kitchen remodel even more environmentally friendly:

Make sure appliances are EnergyStar rated
Kitchen Appliances that have been EnergyStar rated consume significantly less energy than standard models, up to 10 to 50% less. Not only will the environment thank you, but so will your wallet.

Use home flooring materials that are “quick renewing” and/or recycled
Bamboo and cork are two great choices for flooring materials in your kitchen. And because they “resupply” themselves so quickly, using them is beneficial to the environment. Recycled materials, such as glass or ceramic tiles made of recycled matter, further helps the environment and offer a whole new level of design options.

Use house paint that has low VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions
You know that sharp, heavy smell that many freshly painted rooms give off? They not only give you a headache, but it’s bad for the environment as well. Most especially, they pollute indoor air and make it unhealthy. Because of that, more and more paint manufacturers are coming out with low VOC paints that don’t smell and yet do just as good a job as traditional paints do.

Home Insulation
If you can, add more wall & roof insulation while you are doing your kitchen renovation. You can use recycled materials or eco-friendly materials like soy-based insulation to beef up your home’s energy efficiency.

Change your lights, too
Although it’s quite possible you’ll also be changing fixtures when you do your kitchen remodel, you can swap out incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs for every light fixture in your home regardless. With a complete remodel, consider using LEDs, or light emitting diodes, to replace traditional lights.