Eurostar wins green transport award
Train company treads lightly to be kind on environment
The inaugural PEA (People & The Environment Achievement) Business Awards 2012 which took place at The Orangery at Kensington Palace has announced its winners. The Tread Lightly Initiative at Eurostar winning the Transport Award and Nigel Keen at The John Lewis Partnership was shortlisted for the Transport Award.
The Transport Award is for an individual or team that has worked to minimise the harmful environmental effects of transport, by such initiatives as fleet management, minimising or changing business travel arrangements.
Eurostar’s ‘Tread Lightly’ initiative aims to reduce the environmental impact of its operations. In 2009 it reduced its carbon emissions per passenger journey by 25 per cent. The judges were impressed that instead of sitting back and thinking ‘box ticked’, the company increased its target to 35 per cent by 2012. The panel loved the impact Eurostar had achieved and were impressed by the totality of its approach to ‘greening’ its operation.
The John Lewis Partnership found that its fleet of commercial vehicles was the company’s second largest source of CO2 emissions. It has since embarked on an impressive programme of change to tackle that problem. Fleet vehicles are becoming more fuel-efficient; alternative fuels are being explored; and an eco-delivery option is being trialled, whereby customers can opt for a vehicle that is already in their area. The judges felt the Partnership had made and continues to make a huge effort in its quest for sustainability.
The judging panel for the awards was chaired by Leo Johnson (Head of Sustainability at PricewaterhouseCoopers) and included Deborah Meaden (entrepreneur and star of BBC2’s Dragons’ Den) Jo Wood (TV personality and organic entrepreneur), Josephine Fairley (co-founder of Green & Black’s), Alex Lambie (founder of Green Helpline) and Tony Juniper (environmental campaigner, author and editor-in-chief of GREEN magazine) who after long discussions, drew up the shortlist from nominations and decided upon winners of each category.
Valere Tjolle
Valere is editor of the Sustainable Tourism Report Suite 2012 Special Offers HERE
Dozens fall ill in P&O Cruises ship outbreak
Turkish Airlines flight in emergency landing after pilot dies
Boy falls to death on cruise ship
Unexpected wave rocks cruise ship
Woman dies after going overboard in English Channel