1st November 2007
by ecofriendlytourist.com
Fast - and green too!
The website www.ecofriendlytourist.com reports on Eurostar’s new high speed service and the firm’s promise to become carbon neutral
The UK’s first dedicated high-speed rail line opens this month. High Speed 1, as it’s called, runs 68 miles between St Pancras International in central London and the Channel Tunnel with Eurostar trains traveling at speeds of up to 185mph. That’s 50% faster than the country’s fastest domestic rail services and a major engineering achievement, considering the route runs through densely populated areas of south east England. It will cut journey times by least 20 minutes bringing them down to 2 hours 15 minutes between London and Paris and 1 hour 51 minutes between London and Brussels.
Yet in this case, it seems, faster travel does not mean bad news for the environment. Eurostar says that from the moment it moves from its old London base at Waterloo Station to St Pancras on 14th November, all journeys will be carbon neutral. It intends to achieve this by reducing carbon dioxide emissions and through a number of carbon offsetting projects, at no extra cost to the traveller. It’s all part of a big plan, code named “Tread Lightly”, which is the firm’s commitment to minimise its impact on the environment, both as a way to travel, and as a company.
The firm calculates that a Eurostar journey is 10 times less polluting than flying. It says it is making changes across all areas of its business, from the big things like energy efficiency, paperless ticketing and waste management, through supply chain selection to smaller cultural changes like recycling in its offices. Any remaining emissions will be offset.
The initiative has received the thumbs up from Tony Juniper of Friends of the Earth who said "Eurostar is leading the way by making a real reduction".
From 14 November services will no longer run from Waterloo International and instead will start from St Pancras International which has been given an impressive facelift complete with the longest champagne bar in Europe.
From 19th November, Ebbsfleet International will open to help Ashford International serve Kent and the South East. Until 8th December there will be a transitional timetable when certain train times could be subject to alterations. The new timetable will become fully operational on 9th December.
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NOTES FOR EDITORS
For further information about the new service visit the Eurostar website
Further information about ecofriendlytourist.com and its guide to eco-friendly places to stay in the UK are available at www.ecofriendlytourist.com
Or contact: webmaster@ecofriendlytourist.com
9th November 2007
by ecofriendlytourist.com
Hire cars take the green road
The website www.ecofriendlytourist.com reports that car rental firm Holiday Autos is to offer hybrid vehicles in four European countries
Leading car rental firm Holiday Autos has launched a new range of hybrid cars which will be available for pick up in the UK, France, Sweden, and Ireland.
The hybrids on offer vary by country and can be bio-ethanol, or combine an electrical motor and a petrol engine. They include the Toyota Prius, Ford Focus, Ford Focus C-Max, Volvo S40, Volvo V50 and Saab 9-5.
Prices for a hybrid car start from £23 per day, based on a seven-day car rental of a Ford Focus in France.
Holiday Autos is also introducing carbonwise, a carbon offsetting scheme, from next month. This is already available with its parent company lastminute.com. While booking customers will have the option to offset their driving emissions with the help of a carbon calculator.
Offsetting costs start from 14p per 100 miles for a hybrid Ford Focus. To offset a petrol hire car it costs 18p per 100 miles, based on the hiring a petrol Ford Focus.
Holiday Autos UK Managing Director Stuart Nassos said: “As the world’s leading car-hire broker, we recognise our responsibility towards the environment. Seven out of ten of the cars we hire are already the most fuel-efficient models, so the launch of hybrid cars and carbonwise are further extensions to our commitment to the environment.”
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NOTES FOR EDITORS
For more information, visit www.holidayautos.co.uk
Further information about ecofriendlytourist.com and its guide to eco-friendly places to stay in the UK are available at www.ecofriendlytourist.com
Or contact: webmaster@ecofriendlytourist.com
14th November 2007
by ecofriendlytourist.com
Award winners
The website www.ecofriendlytourist.com reports on the winners of the prestigious Responsible Tourism Awards 2007
The winners of the prestigious Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards 2007 were announced today at the World Travel Market with gongs going to the New Forest, Eurostar and Apex Hotels.
The overall winner was the New Forest which was also named best destination. The southern England beauty spot destination was unanimously praised by the judges for looking after the environment. Its New Forest Breakfast, based on locally sourced ingredients, was singled out for its contribution to sustainable development. To put icing on the cake, Anthony Climpson, Destination. Manager, New Forest District Council won an award for the greatest personal contribution to responsible tourism.
www.thenewforest.co.uk
The best large hotel award was won by Apex Hotels Ltd for their efforts in urban regeneration, converting office blocks on brown field sites into hotels and ensuring that they are as environmentally friendly as possible. This small chain has three hotels in Edinburgh, one in Dundee and one in the City of London – all listed in the ecofriendlytourist.com guide to places to stay in the UK. The Radisson SAS Hotel, Edinburgh – also listed in the guide – was highly commended.
www.apexhotels.co.uk
Eurostar won the best low carbon transport and technology award for developing its ‘Tread lightly’ programme to reduce its negative environmental impacts across the whole business, on the rails and at the terminals; using biodegradable and recyclable disposables; recycling water; reducing energy consumption and setting a whole business example which airlines could follow.
www.eurostar.com
The best tour operator went to Gecko's Adventures, Australia for maximising the positive economic and social impacts of their tours, through use of locally owned accommodation and employment of local tour leaders who share with travellers their passion for their country’s history, heritage, culture and natural beauty.
www.geckosadventures.com
Azafady, UK/Madagascar was named best volunteering organisation. This is a registered charity and Malagasy NGO working in partnership with disadvantaged communities to improve living standards and quality of life in positive coexistence with the fragile and unique local environment. It was commended for demonstrating real achievements meeting the locally defined needs of communities in Madagascar and for producing detailed reports on impacts and being transparent about where the volunteers’ money goes.
www.azafady.org
For a full list of award winner go to www.responsibletravel.com/Copy/Copy102214.htm
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NOTES FOR EDITORS
Further information about ecofriendlytourist.com and its guide to eco-friendly places to stay in the UK are available at www.ecofriendlytourist.com
Or contact: webmaster@ecofriendlytourist.com
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