Climate Perks for staff embracing slow travel

While a wet West Country could be forgiven for forgetting it’s holiday season, July and August are traditionally the months to jet off for summer fun.

This year, though, a number of Bristol residents are choosing a different route.

They’re embarking on ‘slow travel’ experiences, avoiding flying in favour of trains and ferries to reduce carbon emissions.

And they’re getting extra days off as a reward.

Henry Logan said his Climate Perks interrailing trip was “the best holiday I’ve ever been on” – photo: Henry Logan

It’s thanks to campaigning charity Possible’s Climate Perks scheme, adopted by local employers including Adfree Cities, Bristol Green Capital Partnership, Green Hat and Thrive Renewables.

“There’s a real hub of Climate Perks employers in Bristol,” says Hannah Bland, Possible’s lead on the project.

She explains that employers are looking for easy ways to demonstrate commitment to climate action where, reportedly, over a third UK workers would consider quitting based on their employers’ climate policy and 93 per cent cite tackling climate change as key to their motivation and wellbeing.

“Increasingly, employers need to show they’re serious,” says Hannah.

“Companies are excited about Climate Perks as it brings employee wellbeing and the climate emergency together. It isn’t expensive – just a couple of extra days off a year for your staff. It’s an easy win on a difficult issue.

“Enabling people not only to travel, but to travel greener, is such a positive thing that employers can do.”

According to Possible, flying is the fastest-growing source of greenhouse gases, yet less than 20 per cent of the world’s population have ever flown .

Train travel reduces emissions but can potentially limit destination options where time is a factor. Extra days of annual leave account for use of slower travel options.

The scheme has been rolled out nationally and recently the Climate Change Committee was the first civil service organisation to come on board.

Rail can take travellers to some unusual and picturesque destinations – photo: Tessa Holmes

Possible appreciate that cost can also be a barrier to alternative travel, where airlines receive tax breaks meaning flight prices are often temptingly low.

“It’s a really tricky issue. The government isn’t helping,” says Hannah. But: “Sometimes flights aren’t as cheap as you might think when factoring in transfers, luggage, money spent at the airport and hidden extras. If you can find a cheap advance ticket, the train can be quite comparable.”

For now, Climate Perks seeks to encourage behaviour change in those that are ‘money rich and time poor’. Possible are campaigning for a frequent flyer levy – as referenced in the Green Party’s recent action plan: “It would work progressively, like income tax,” explains Hannah.

“The first flight in any given year would be a fixed amount, but the next would be a greater amount, and so on.

“We don’t want to price the poorest people out of flying. There’s such a benefit in travel, we don’t want to make it a thing that only a few people can do. A tax wouldn’t be so much of an issue for those that are flying alot.”

Bristol employees have found there are more benefits to slow travel than just reduced emissions. Here’s a taste of what they’ve been up to:

In the Slovakian mountains – photo: Henry Logan

“We went interrailing around central Europe for three weeks. It really was the best holiday I have ever been on.

The railway journeys were as much part of the holiday as the destinations, travelling through the Alps, into forests, around lakes and then arriving in a city centre. Travelling slowly is a joy in itself; explore a city, a short walk to the train station, and a few hours later arrive somewhere new. Climate Perks helped us take our time and relish the journey.”

Henry Logan, head of finance, Great Western Credit Union (GWCU)

“We’ve chosen to be involved in the scheme as a sign of our commitment to reducing impact across the whole credit union, as well as directly supporting colleagues to make conscious choices to use more positive alternatives. Personally, I haven’t flown on holiday for over five years and I’m a real convert to the slow travel approach where the journey is as much a part of the holiday as the destination.

“Climate Perks benefits our team with extra time to unwind and the environment through reduced carbon emissions.”

James Berry, CEO, GWCU

Sarah plans to take advantage of Climate Perks on her next holiday to Spain – photo: Sarah Pugh

“Climate Perks is a brilliant incentive, empowering and rewarding our staff to embrace slow and sustainable travel. By participating, our team at Imagineerium can actively contribute in reducing their carbon footprint whilst savouring the beauty of the world.

“I’m planning to travel to Spain in my campervan for a wedding in September under the scheme. We believe the incentive will drive real positive behavioural change.”

Sarah Pugh, Imagineerium

Tessa enjoyed admiring the view out the window on her slow train journey to Denmark – photo: Tessa Holmes

“As a business, Sawday’s promotes slow and responsible travel. It’s vital we also make this possible for our team. We all need holidays and recognise time is precious, so using holiday days to travel responsibly can be a hard decision for people to make. By removing this barrier, we hope to encourage more rail and ferry trips amongst our team, reducing emissions and changing mindsets.

“We’ve only just launched the scheme, but the team are already planning holidays to Switzerland, Sweden and France, and an adventurous trip to the fjords of northern Norway.

“Last month I travelled from Bristol to Denmark to visit family. Whilst the rest of our family flew, we opted to take two days to travel on four trains. We loved travelling through multiple countries, watching the world go by and pulling up in the centre of cities for a spot of lunch. Having the extra paid leave to make the journey allowed us to spend more time with family without draining all the year’s holiday. We used an Interrail pass to get the cheapest tickets which gave us more flexibility. We’ll absolutely be taking our next trip by train and can’t wait to sample some of the European sleeper trains.”

Tessa Holmes, sustainability & impact manager, Sawday’s

Main photo: Tessa Holmes

This piece of independent journalism is supported by The Extra Mile and the Bristol24/7 public and business membership.

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