Eurostar and sustainability
Sustainability Report 2024 (opens a PDF)Go greener with Eurostar
For more than 30 years, we’ve been connecting friends, family and colleagues across Europe’s most exciting destinations. And as our network continues to grow and we begin to welcome a new generation of travellers on board, it’s our goal to make train travel an even better way to explore more.
Sustainability sits at the heart of everything we do, and our strategy focuses on three key areas: lowering carbon emissions, increasing circularity, and growing connections.
We’re lowering carbon emissions
Improving our energy efficiency is a key factor in our efforts to reduce our impact on the environment. We’re installing new software on our trains to help our drivers use the least amount of energy possible. And we’ve set ourselves the ambitious target of purchasing enough 100% renewable energy to power our trains by 2030.
We’re increasing circularity
From recycling, upcycling, and using more sustainable materials to create our uniforms to sourcing responsible produce for our onboard menus, we’re focusing on using resources efficiently and reducing the waste we create. And we’re measuring our circularity index, a way of keeping track of everything we buy and how much of it we throw away.
We’re growing connections
We believe that sustainable travel should be easily accessible to everyone. That’s why we’ve partnered with KLM to make it simple for travellers to connect from long haul flights to their final destination by rail. And we’re teaming up with a growing number of rail partners to offer more connections to give you even more flexibility when planning your trip.
Our sustainability strategy embedded in our customer experience
Journeys through flavour
Our Eurostar Premier and Plus menus have been designed with the planet in mind. Our chefs strive to use seasonal, organic and locally-sourced ingredients in their recipes. And by allowing travellers with special dietary needs to pre-order a meal before their trip, we’re reducing the amount of food we waste by offering an appropriate meal to everyone.
We’re also minimising our environmental impact by ditching single-use plastic water bottles in Eurostar Plus and Premier on trains to and from London.
All this is why we were the first railway transport provider to receive the FOOD MADE GOOD Standard from the Sustainable Restaurant Association, with a three-star rating.
Naturally good food at Eurostar Café
We take our food as seriously as we take sustainability. That’s why our menus are packed with quality, seasonal ingredients. We always do our best to ensure our food is locally-sourced from our destination countries. The organic wines and biodynamic champagnes we serve on board are carefully selected by our Head Sommelier, Honey Spencer.
We try our best to select Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, Organic, B-Corp and Great Taste Award certified products.
Our coffee pods are also repurposed after use – any leftover coffee is turned into compost and the pods themselves are incinerated for energy*. And if you bring a reusable cup to Eurostar Café, we’ll knock 50p off the cost of your hot drink.**
* On trains between France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany only.
**On trains to and from London only.
Our carbon footprint: results for our key routes
Emissions in kgCO₂ per passenger for specific journeys.
Our carbon emissions in numbers
See how much CO₂ is saved on average when you travel by train* compared with other modes of transport. Below is the amount of CO₂ in kg emitted per person per journey.
| Train | Plane | % lower emissions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| London <> Paris | 2.0 kg | 61.5 kg | 97% |
| London <> Amsterdam | 3.9 kg | 70.9 kg | 95% |
| London <> Brussels | 2.6 kg | 68.1 kg | 96% |
*Calculations taken from an independent study carried out by EcoRes SCRL in November 2024. For full details, see here (opens in a new tab) (opens a PDF)
Our carbon emissions - in numbers
See how much CO₂ is saved when you travel by train* compared with other modes of transport. Below is the amount of CO₂ in kg emitted per person per journey.
| Train | Car | % lower emissions | Coach | % lower emissions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paris <> Brussels | 1.6 kg | 23.8 kg | 93% | 7.7 kg | 79% |
| Paris <> Amsterdam** | 3.0 kg | 39.0 kg | 92% | 12.5 kg | 76% |
| Paris <> Cologne | 5.5 kg | 37.8 kg | 85% | 12.1 kg | 55% |
| Brussels <> Cologne | 3.8 kg | 17.4 kg | 85% | 5.4 kg | 30% |
| Brussels <> Amsterdam | 1.3 kg | 15.5 kg | 92% | 5.1 kg | 75% |
*Calculations taken from an independent study carried out by EcoRes SCRL in November 2024. For full details, see here (opens in a new tab) (opens a PDF)
**CO₂ emissions by train are 95% lower than by plane on this route
Waste reduction
At Eurostar, we believe that no crumb should go to waste. That’s why we’re doing our best to reduce food waste and support our local communities.
Composting food waste
In the UK, organic leftovers from Eurostar Plus and Eurostar Premier are turned into fertiliser to be used on local farmland. Meanwhile, in France, we work with Les Alchimistes to transform our food waste into compost.
Redistributing unsold food
Unsold food from Eurostar Café is redistributed through our partnership with Olio where we donate surplus food to local communities in London. Over in Paris, our unsold items are donated to charities which support those in need.
Every Minuit counts
We’ve partnered with a Parisian brewery to turn any bread not served on board into beer. You can enjoy a can of Pain de Minuit on board our trains between France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
Going for gold
We’ve been awarded a gold medal by EcoVadis, an international company that helps manage, measure, and improve sustainability performances across our entire value chain. It has recognised our continuing commitment to acting responsibly by integrating social and environmental concerns into our business operations. The Gold Medal makes us one of the top travel companies assessed by EcoVadis over the past 12 months.
Our UK operations have been certified to ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 50001:2018 since 2017, demonstrating our commitment to continually reducing our environmental impact and energy use across the business.
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