iblog

Stanfords is the UK’s leading specialist retailer of maps and travel books. Founded in 1853 by Edward Stanford there is, however, nothing old-fashioned about the comapny’s approach to environmental policy. Stanfords has recently announced that it will be recycling all materials from its stores in London and Bristol. In addition, company staff are entitled to an extra day of annual leave is they are taking a trip to Europe and opt to travel in a sustainable way. The policy is designed to encourage Stanfords workers to take the train or the bus, rather than relying on air travel.

Stanfords’ flagship store in Covent Garden is a delightful place to while away an afternoon, and claims to offer the world’s largest stock of maps and travel books under one roof. Natural, then, that staff should catch the travel bug and want to indulge their Wanderlust by taking foreign trips. It’s a simple idea to reward workers who make that journey in a sustainable way by providing additional annual leave, but one which is effective.

Justin Francis, co-founder of www.responsibletravel.com, spells out the stark realities of our penchant for jet-setting:

The simple fact is that aviation is the fastest growing cause of global warming. The amount of carbon dioxide emitted by air travel doubled between 1990 and 2004. That is totally incompatible with the need to reduce carbon emissions by 60% by 2050.

Yet with falling air fares, and even recent deals which saw budget operators paying taxes on behalf of customers, it has never been easier or more tempting to jet off to Europe for a short break. Sir Michael Bishop, Chairman of airline BMI, said:

“Today, air travel is a natural part of the daily lives of millions of people,” adding that “in 1986, only 75 million people travelled through Britain’s airports. Last year, more than three times that number did so. It is a simple example of the benefits of choice and competition.

And while cost is no longer a real constraint on short-haul, instead it is time which is at a premium, which further discourages the public from taking greener, but slower forms of transport to reach their destination. This is what makes the Stanfords initiative so clever. Rather than jumping on the carbon-offsetting bandwagon, Stanfords are encouraging employees to think about their impact on the environment. The company is also, crucially, stumping up the cash to pay for the extra annual leave entitlement, thus facilitating and rewarding the eco-credentials of its staff.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 14th, 2007 at 6:03 pm and is filed under Business, Environment, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.