Carbon Free Commute 2019
By: Pure Planet Blog
Tags: Carbon Emissions, Cycling, Renewable Energy, Environment, Air Pollution

Carbon Free Commute 2019

Happy Clean Air Day!

Our mission: to get as many Pure Planet people as possible to get to work without burning any carbon.

This isn’t our first go at this, we did the same thing last year. We managed to cover 186 miles carbon free last time out, and are aiming for 250 this year.

We also challenged our neighbouring businesses here in Bath to do the same. Bath — despite being a beautiful UNESCO world heritage site — has a bad problem with air pollution. Several, we are delighted to report, decided to ditch their engines for a day too.

So how did we get on?

The Canoeists

Three of team Pure Planet made the Kennet and Avon canal their route into work this morning when they paddled to the office in a canoe.

Congratulations to Tom, Al and Dom for braving the ten mile paddle from Bradford on Avon to the centre of Bath.

On top of that, Tom and Dom cycled four miles from Trowbridge to meet Al at his house by the water, before they all set off at 6.30am. Three gruelling hours later, they arrived on time at 9:30am.

Three men in a boat taking climate action.

They were all smiles at the start of the trip. And a few aches by the end.

We’ve not had the heart to tell them that they need to canoe back home tonight too.

An opportunity like this was too good not to share on our social channels too…

The Cyclists

We’re a bit of a hub for cyclists here — we have a cycle to work scheme — and there are some good cycle paths around Bath, despite the hills..

Today was the chance for some of us, who don’t cycle as much as we should, to use our wheels to contribute to our carbon free commute.

Between our cyclists, we got through well over 250 miles. Now’s your chance to meet some of our brilliant bikers.

Tyler; covering over 34 miles on his all round trip.

Vic; getting through 24 miles for her commute.

In order for Sam to finish his 32 mile commute, he had to find his bike first.

Hayley, ahead of her 30 mile all round commute.

Fran getting stuck in to her 30 mile commute

Steven enjoying his 12 mile ride on a Brompton Electric

A special mention also goes out to Laura, Adam and Jo, who covered 40, 32 and 25 miles respectively.

The grand total from our cyclists alone was 257 miles, which already beats our record from last year, but we weren’t done there.

The foot soldiers and drivers.

When we weren’t canoeing and cycling, we were walking and driving.

Driving?? On Clean Air Day?!

Don’t worry. We know that driving in is just about the worst thing you could do on clean air day. That’s why this morning the Pure Planet car park was completely empty. Apart from one space, which was occupied by Marc’s beautiful Nissan Leaf.

No petrol, no pollution, just a silent EV gliding into work. He covered 34 miles on the all round trip.

We also had a few walkers doing their bit. Sam just about managed the one mile trek from his house to the office on foot, here he is looking exhausted.

I would’ve had my Pure Planet tee shirt on display, but it was a bit nippy.

Chev and Toni from our Member Services Team also walk in, between them covering just shy of 10 miles. A fantastic effort!

And there were many others in the team who took the local electrified train service, and local buses in an attempt to reduce their climate impact.

The results are in.

Between the office, we managed to cover a staggering 301 miles, 115 more than last year, and 51 higher than our target of 250 miles.

These are miles that might otherwise have been carbon powered. So we saved 60kgs of CO2 from entering our atmosphere.*

We’re super proud of everyone in the office who took part. It’s great to have raised awareness for such an important topic.

So, what should our target be next year? Can we hit 500 miles?

The real target, of course, is to try to do this every day… Maybe not the canoeing, but we pledge to cycle and walk a lot more.

*Assuming the alternative mode of transport was an average sized petrol car with an average mpg.