Coach holidays that don't cost the earth
Certified 100% Carbon Neutral
We have developed a ‘Climate Action Plan’, which sets out in more detail our intentions to reduce carbon emissions over the next decade.
Toureasy was set up on the basis of immediately becoming the UK’s only carbon neutral coach tour operation. We launched in September 2021, so we are still a very young business. Unless you can holiday exclusively on foot or by bike, there is no more sustainable way to get away than on a comfortable, modern coach because of the number of people they can carry and their increasingly clean and efficient engines. The simple truth is that the more people choose to travel by coach, the better it is for our planet. It would only take a 15% increase in coach travel across the UK to reduce carbon emissions by over a quarter of a million tonnes*. Now that's a lot less carbon in the atmosphere. We aim to take that sustainability one step further. Given the distances that holiday coaches travel, there are currently no commercially viable alternatives to traditional fossil fuels. It is likely that hydrogen powered coaches will start to come into service over the next 5-10 years, but electric power is unlikely to be the solution because of the size and number of batteries required and their recharging speed. The continued lack of charging infrastructure across the UK continues to be a critical barrier to any non-fossil fuel based solutions. Therefore, whilst we wait for the technology to catch up, we have chosen to deliver our net zero commitment through a partnership with Carbon Footprint with whom we have built a comprehensive emission measurement tool for our holidays. We record our emissions on a tour-by-tour basis and these records are externally audited by Carbon Footprint annually. In our first full year of operation (2022), our holidays generated 199.03 tCO2e. We then invest in a wide range of projects across the world to remove all of the carbon emitted through our holidays. Toureasy only invests in high quality, verified, carbon offset projects that are recognised by Carbon Footprint Ltd. They all meet the stringent requirements of the Quality Assurance Standard (QAS) for Carbon Offsetting and also use one or more of the following credit systems to evidence their positive impact on the environment:
As a result, our holidays have been certified 100% carbon neutral by Carbon Footprint and we are in the process of taking steps to ensure that our back-office operation can also meet the same stringent standard. We will update on progress in this regard in our next report.
We have a clear ambition to go beyond carbon neutral and a commitment to become carbon negative by 2025, ensuring that our holidays actually make a positive impact on the planet we love.
As highlighted above, Toureasy measures the Scope 1 emissions associated with our holidays and is subject to annual external audit by Carbon Footprint. We are working with our partners to better understand how best to measure and report on our Scope 2 emissions and will provide an update at this in our next report.
We continue to invest in wide range of global projects. Toureasy only invests in high quality, verified, carbon offset projects that are recognised by Carbon Footprint Ltd. They all meet the stringent requirements of the Quality Assurance Standard (QAS) for Carbon Offsetting and also use one or more of the following credit systems to evidence their positive impact on the environment: Certified Emission Reductions (CER) credits Gold Standard CER credits Gold Standard Verified Emission Reductions (VER) credits Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) certified credits Projects invested in up to 30 June 2023 include: - Tree planting in the UK & Kenya - Various projects focused on reducing deforestation and degradation of the Amazon Rainforest - Generating geothermal energy in Indonesia - Supporting the supply of sustainable wood fuels in Malawi - Projects aimed at boosting hydro and wind power to replace fossil fuel generation Many of these projects also have wider socio-economic benefits. For more information on the projects we invest in, please following this LINK. In addition to these projects, we are also supporting Carbon Footprint’s Freedom Flight Prize The Freedom Flight Prize will be awarded for the first zero carbon emission plane capable of carrying 100+ passengers across the Atlantic. The aim is to generate a multi-million pound prize fund to motivate and accelerate the development of truly sustainable aviation.
5.1 Our Coach Operator Partners Toureasy currently works exclusively with 2 coach operator partners to provide vehicles for our holidays. All vehicles meet Euro 5 emission standards with the majority now meeting Euro 6 emission standards. We work closely with our coach operator partners to continue to increase the proportion of Euro 6 vehicles in our fleet whilst also working to find measures to reduce emissions on tour (reducing idle times etc). In addition, we work with our coach operator partners to monitor the ongoing development of hydrogen powered coaches, with Toureasy aiming to be one of the first UK tour operators to start using them once they become commercially available alongside the necessary national infrastructure. 5.2 Our Hotels and other Supplier Partners Given the young nature of our business, we have not yet had time to fully address further emission reduction measures with our hotel and other supplier partners. We gather information on their emissions but that is all. We intend to be able to give an update on progress in this regard in our next report
As our business matures, we will take action to play an increasing role in the wider sustainability debate within the coach tourism industry. Our founder has previously chaired the Coach Tourism Association and has a wealth of contacts to call on in order to deliver our advocacy agenda. Over time, we will share the action that we have taken to deliver our net zero commitment and provide support to other like-minded coach tour operators who wish to reduce or eliminate their carbon impact in advance of the arrival of non-fossil fuel powered vehicles.
The Group Travel Company Ltd – Trading as Toureasy & Leisuretime by Toureasy 30 June 2023