Ci-dessous, la dernière contribution de "plus verte que toi" au magazine STIRRED UP.
We all love to travel, but how can we travel green? How can you avoid leaving an indecent carbon footprint traveling to your destination, where you will surely relax in the shadow of some newly planted, carbon-absorbing trees?
Every travel company has now entered the green race, and marketeers everywhere have launched the green offensive. Some companies have started bombarding us with guerrilla campaigns and competitions in order to involve and educate us the consumers. The whole thing is being done via online advertising, showing the companies’ commitment to using less paper. Virgin Trains, for instance, is offering Plane Relief Plus, a “powerful dual action with added environmental relief”. The ad is a response to Easyjet’s claims that Virgin’s earlier “Go Greener, Go Cheaper” campaign is misleading about carbon emissions. Not one to let that lie, Virgin rebuts: “Our Pendolino trains really do emit 76% less CO2 than cars or domestic flights, so like their planes, Easyjet were just emitting a lot of hot air”. Touché!
Of course, there’s more that can be done. Eurostar promises us “a new approach to European travel” by making “a commitment to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by a further 25% per traveller journey by 2012”. Some companies have partnered with various green programmes, promoting anything from scientific research (Alitalia) to sustainable tourism (Iberia). In 2001 Iberia “acquired a compromise to collaborate in the Programme for the return of turtles of the Testudo graeca species to Morocco.” That’s right, when you travel with Iberia, you save turtles.
We love low cost flights and have to also take responsibily. Luck for us that British Airways is now inviting customers to offset their portion of their flight’s carbon emissions. Now we can be green with the swipe of our credit cards. We are now charged for overweight luggage. Sooner or later we’ll all be asked how much we weigh and be taxed according to our personal carbon footprint. That’s taking individual responsibility!
Not all travel companies are so forward thinking. While they claim to support the idea in principle, Air France isn’t wild about the EU’s plans to reduce airline carbon emissions. Of course, Air France is nothing compared to Ryanair, recently been labeled the “irresponsible face of capitalism”. Budget airlines are being told to clean up their act or air passenger duties will be raised to do it for them. They should take a page from Virgin Atlantic, who will be testing a biofuel 747 next year. Talk about sustainable travel!
If the green travel boom shows us anything, it is that we can have our cake and eat it too. We can all contribute by paying carbon offsets and taking green planes and trains. Serious change be damned, there’s nothing a little money can’t buy!
Virgin Trains, “Plane Relief Plus”, 2007
