Driving Home for Christmas? Planet Mark says try the train

As people across the UK travel to see family over the Christmas period, national transport emissions are due to jump dramatically. With COP28 underway, climate conscious Brits might want to consider alternative forms of travel instead of “Driving Home for Christmas” this year.

Planet Mark is an internationally recognised sustainability certification which recognises continuous progress, encourages action, and builds an empowered community of like-minded individuals. It is awarded to businesses, properties, new developments and projects that are committed to reducing their carbon emissions. Companies are certified immediately when they sign up based on their commitment to sustainability progress. To remain Planet Mark certified, an organisation must reduce their carbon the footprint every year, commit to engage their staff and commit to communicate externally.  

Planet Mark’s Head of Measurement Dr Rima Trofimovaite has crunched the numbers and found that an estimated 20 million car journeys due to be made on the week leading up to Christmas Eve will generate a whopping 163,503 tonnes of carbon emissions. However, if these journeys were made by train instead, only 34,753 tonnes of carbon emissions would be a generated – nearly five times less! This represents a carbon saving equivalent to the emissions produced by 113,662 flights from London to New York or 15,636,631 smart phone charges.

Commenting on her findings, Dr Rima said: “Seeing family over the holidays is hugely important and travel will always be increased during this time. While travelling by train might not be an option for everyone, it’s clear that lower carbon forms of transport are the answer if we are going to tackle the climate crisis. We call on everyone this December to reconsider “Driving Home for Christmas”, and maybe take the train instead!”

Planet Mark also works with a range of other organisations, including BSI, ISO and UKGBC, and is a founding member of the UN Race to Zero. The Eden Project has been a close partner of Planet Mark since its launch and the relationship is fundamental, as it helps build connections with each other and the living world, exploring how they can work towards a better future. Planet Mark’s donations support new projects, education programmes and industry-specific training run by the charity.