How to reduce your carbon footprint when you travel.

From mountain treks to lazing in the sun, many of us can’t wait to be taking some time off. Of course, there’s also commuting to contend with. Not all travel can be fun. With that in mind, here are a few tips and tricks to help reduce your carbon footprint when you travel.

Use public transport.

Put down the car keys, step away from the motorbike. Using public transport to get to work can help reduce your emissions and might even reduce the stress of your commute. A small car emits five times more CO2 than taking the bus, with the average petrol car on the road in the UK producing the equivalent of 180g of CO2 every kilometre(1). Start easy, focus on the short trips. In England, around 60% of one to two mile trips are made by car(2). Why not get the headphones out and go for a stroll instead?

Pack light.

Bringing everything you own with you on holiday can be a right pain. No one likes lugging a huge suitcase everywhere. Plus the heavier the luggage, the more fuel it uses during transport. To make sure you only take what you need, we recommend:

• Bring reusable containers with you to reduce single-use plastics.

• Plan for a laundry day – see what facilities are available and for how much.

• Remove the packaging from items before you pack them.

• See if you can rent items at your location rather than bringing them with you.

Stay in a green hotel.

What’s a green hotel you ask? Well it’s a hotel that’s trying to be more eco-friendly. The industry standard for hotel emissions is 68.6lbs of carbon per room per night, whereas green hotels average just 13lbs(3). To help you find a green hotel, look for ones that use renewable energy, have a lot of recycling and promote the use of eco-friendly products. If you’re not sure whether a hotel has these things, get in touch and ask them.

Fly non-stop.

Whilst having a stop-over on your flight might save you some pounds, it will also increase your carbon footprint. Try and find non-stop flights if you can as these will help reduce the carbon emissions.

Don’t forget to turn off stuff whilst you’re away.

Before you head out the door, it’s always worth checking to make sure you’ve switched off the household items that can use electricity when they don’t need to, or even pose a fire risk. Here are a few that can be turned off whether you’re popping to work, or away for a fortnight:

• Turn your entertainment appliances off rather than leaving them on stand-by.

• Set your heating to only come on when you need it, for example just before you get in from work or when it’s really cold, to stop your pipes freezing.

• Unplug your chargers.

• Turn off your lights. If you’re away for a while, invest in some smart plugs so that you can turn the lights on occasionally to make it look as if you’re at home.

Offset your carbon footprint.

It’s even easier these days to offset your carbon use through various projects. From planting trees to rolling out clean energy sources, you can find the right carbon offsetting organisation for you. Plus by using a carbon calculator you can see how much you need to offset.

Take a step in the right direction, by reducing your fossil fuel use. You can help support the UK transition to renewable energy by switching to 100% renewable electricity*. Check out our range of fixed tariffs for more information.