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Sustainable travel ideas

How to travel more sustainably

What is sustainable travel?

Sustainable travel is simply offering more choices to help you reduce the impact of travel on the climate. As with a more energy efficient home, you can also save money at the same time as reducing your impact on the planet.

How does travel affect your carbon footprint?

28% of UK emissions are from transport, with passenger cars being the largest single contributor (source: Gov.uk). Add holiday travel to that, and it’s clear that changing how we travel is an important way to reduce our overall carbon footprint. 

Easy ways to travel more sustainably

Try to walk more

According to the UK Government, 60% of journeys in England from 1-2 miles are made by car or van, so if possible, why not try the same journey on foot?  Cut down emissions, save money and keep fit at the same time. 

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Switch to two wheels

Or if you fancy trading up your two feet for two wheels, National Cycle Network has a map of cycle routes that are safe and free of traffic. 

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Use public transport

For longer distances, or when you might need to carry a lot, then taking public transport could be another way to travel more sustainably. 

Although there’s still a financial cost associated, it could be cheaper than driving. And with many more passengers on board, the emissions per person will be lower than if everyone had driven instead.

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How does travel affect your carbon footprint?

28% of UK emissions are from transport, with passenger cars being the largest single contributor (source: Gov.uk). Add holiday travel to that, and it’s clear that changing how we travel is an important way to reduce our overall carbon footprint. 

Easy ways to travel more sustainably

Try to walk more

According to the UK Government, 60% of journeys in England from 1-2 miles are made by car or van, so if possible, why not try the same journey on foot?  Cut down emissions, save money and keep fit at the same time. 

Information Message

Switch to two wheels

Or if you fancy trading up your two feet for two wheels, National Cycle Network has a map of cycle routes that are safe and free of traffic. 

Information Message

Use public transport

For longer distances, or when you might need to carry a lot, then taking public transport could be another way to travel more sustainably. 

Although there’s still a financial cost associated, it could be cheaper than driving. And with many more passengers on board, the emissions per person will be lower than if everyone had driven instead.

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Could an electric car save you money?

Learn more about buying an electric car and how it could save you money and help to reduce your impact on the planet too.

Holiday at home

Although the aviation industry is committing to becoming net zero by 2050, in the meantime there are still ways to make your holidays more sustainable.

If you’ve never had a holiday nearer home, then why not give that a go? COVID-19 has meant more people have chosen to holiday at home and shown that you can relax and have fun without stepping on a plane. 

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Become an infrequent flyer

Reducing how frequently you fly, or flying shorter distances, might feel like an achievable goal. But when you do need to travel further, initiatives like the Skyscanner 'Greener choices' label can help highlight the flights which emit less CO2.

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Looking for ways to live more sustainably?

Take a look at the everyday habits you could adopt to reduce the carbon in your life by reducing, reusing and recycling more. 

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Top tips for reducing, reusing and recycling

While it’s easy to point to our homes or travelling as potentially the largest contributors to our carbon footprints, our smaller everyday choices could also have an impact.