EUROSTAR AND SUSTAINABILITY
At Eurostar, it’s in our nature to care for the environment. We’ve been the greener alternative to flying since 1994. And we’re still just as passionate about looking after the planet.
From reducing paper ticketing to cutting down on single-use plastic, we’re serious about sustainability in everything we do. Take a look at a few of the ways we’re making a difference.
For COP26, we are calling on world leaders and governments to give rail a more central role in tackling climate change as rail is the most sustainable mode of motorised transport today, already avoiding million of tons of CO2. Find out more here.
The greener way to go
7 ways we’re putting the planet first
We’re committed to switching entirely to renewable energy to run our trains by 2030. Today, we already use 100% wind energy to power our trains in the Netherlands.
We’ve joined the UN’s Race to Zero, which means we’re committed to setting targets to reduce our emissions in line with climate science. All of our work on sustainability will be influenced by these targets.
In the UK, we turn our Business Premier food waste into fertiliser for local farmland. This process also creates a gas that’s then converted into electricity.
Every dish on our Business Premier and Standard Premier menu is made with sustainability in mind, earning us the highest 3-star rating from the Sustainable Restaurant Association.
We’re trialling a new piece of onboard technology that tells our drivers how they can be more energy efficient. Our goal is to reduce energy usage by 5% on every journey.
For the 2021 UN Climate Summit, we joined forces with other rail companies to take delegates from Belgium and the Netherlands to Glasgow. En route, campaigners, NGOs and MEPs discussed the role of rail in tackling climate change and how we can encourage more people to travel by train instead of plane or car.
Our staff lovingly care for nine beehives, which produce honey exclusively for our onboard menu and Business Premier lounges.
A spotlight on plastic
In 2018, we set out to halve the amount of plastic we use on board. By the end of the first year, we’d already reduced it by 36%. Here are some of the changes we’ve made:
- 800,000 water bottles per year have been removed from our Business Premier lounges
- 3.5 tonnes of plastic cutlery have been replaced with a biodegradable wooden alternative
- 1.5 million plastic cups have been replaced with compostable plant-based cups
- 80% of plastic has been removed from our catering service on board our trains to Disneyland® Paris
Related information
Our work in the community
Find out about our work to give something back to the communities we’re based in.
*The analysis of Eurostar versus air emissions has been based on an independent analysis by Paul Watkiss Associates Ltd in 2020, based on 2019 CO2e emissions.
The comparison between Eurostar and aviation is made based on the kg of greenhouse gas emissions [CO2(e)] per train journey per passenger on the same one-way journey. This allows a direct, accurate and fair analysis as it takes account of the fact that rail journeys are typically longer (in km) than equivalent air journeys. The average value is based on the overall Eurostar route mix, and comparative data for the same destinations for aviation, but using a weighted average that reflects annual train trips to each individual destination.
Methodology to calculate Eurostar CO2e emissions: Energy use data (electricity consumption) from Eurostar trains has been measured using on-board meters: meter data for Paris and Brussels e300 routes and e320 meter data for the Paris route (only). The electricity use on other routes has been extrapolated based on distance. The emissions per passenger are derived from using recorded annual train load factors for each individual route. The proportion of e320 and e300 are also assessed. The analysis of emissions for Eurostar electricity consumption uses the Defra UK greenhouse gas reporting guidelines (available here) and uses the 2019 published factors. For the analysis of average electricity emissions in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, the analysis uses the 2019 IEA emissions from the Fuel Combustion online data service of the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Methodology to calculate air emissions: Emissions per journey were estimated using fuel consumption from comparative trips by air for the same routes, and the aviation industry carbon emission calculator available online from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Emissions (Kg CO2e) per passenger journey (single trip):
|
Route |
Kg CO2e Rail Eurostar |
Kg CO2e Air |
% Eurostar below Air |
|
London to Paris |
4.0 |
57.8 |
93% |
|
London to Brussels |
4.3 |
51.7 |
92% |
|
London to Amsterdam |
8.4 |
60.7 |
86% |
|
London to Rotterdam |
7.0 |
71.5 |
90% |