Net Zero Portal

Journeying towards a net zero church

Sustainable Travel

Sustainable Travel is all about choosing to go from one place to another with a low environmental impact. You can use the Sustainable Travel Hierarchy to decide which is the best way to travel for any journey.

The hierarchy lists different ways to travel, starting with the most environmentally friendly and working down from there. 

Way of travelling Comments and explanation 
Walking and wheeling Walking and wheeling have the lowest impact of any journey type. They are very suitable for short local journeys, typically of up to a mile. Walking helps us connect with our local communities. 
Cycling For slightly longer or quicker local journeys, cycling is an excellent way to travel. It has a very low impact and has the benefit that no matter what the traffic conditions, journey times are predictable.   Electric bicycles have made cycling easier for people living in hilly places, those who want some assistance or people who wish to extend their range. 
Public and shared transport Public and shared transport includes buses, trains and taxis. Where suitable routes exist, they give excellent green travel options, with buses or trains to be preferred over taxis.  In dense urban areas or for travelling from city to city there are usually good public transport options. Taxis are useful for filling in the gaps in journeys but can become very expensive if used for a longer journey. 
Electric vehicles (EVs) and car sharing Electric vehicles emit less carbon than petrol or diesel vehicles (less than 10%). They are becoming more common; vehicle range is improving and more public recharging stations are becoming available.  If you need to use a car or are hiring a car, consider using an EV if one is available and share lifts with colleagues wherever possible.  Emissions are not significantly increased by sharing a journey in one EV. It makes sense to reduce the numbers of vehicles used where possible by sharing journeys.  Car sharing opportunities include HiyaCar and City Car Clubs. They are an alternative to conventional car hire arrangements, often with better prices and more convenience. 
Diesel and petrol (ICE) vehicles and car sharing Petrol and diesel vehicles are more polluting than most other forms of transport. If you need to use an ICE car consider if you can give a lift to a colleague.  Avoid using cars in urban areas because they cause congestion and degrade the environment through noise, emissions and associated particulates.  Emissions are not significantly increased by sharing a journey in an ICE vehicle. It makes sense to reduce the numbers of vehicles used where possible by sharing journeys. 
Air travel Air travel is a highly polluting form of transport. It places CO2e directly into the high atmosphere and has significantly higher emissions per mile travelled than public transport. It should be avoided if there are other reasonable options.  Where air travel is necessary it is better to take direct flights rather than have connecting flights. This minimises the pollution from a journey due to multiple take-offs and climbs which have the highest rate of fuel consumption during a flight. 

Making sustainable travel choices 

When deciding how to travel remember that there will be occasions when you cannot use a way of travelling which is high up the hierarchy, and that will be OK.

The important point is to look for the most sustainable form of transport for a specific journey given your own needs and what transport options are available. 

If you need to transport something bulky, or have impaired mobility, public transport may not be practical, and you may reasonably choose to use a car.

Similarly, nobody is expected to cycle to Lagos for an international meeting. It is all about making choices that are as high up the hierarchy as will be practical for a specific situation. 

A quick charge and café stop on the way to Moray, Ross and Caithness

Ideas and examples of Sustainable Travel 

Every charge and every member of the church will have different circumstances and constraints. However, if we can encourage everyone to travel a bit more sustainably, together we will make a big impact.

For some charges it may be helping their rector to buy an electric vehicle to travel around a rural charge, for others it might be better signposting of public travel options at the church and for others it could be putting in cycle parking or installing an EV charger by the church that the public can also use.  

Bike racks at St Fillan’s, Buckstone

A list of possible actions to encourage sustainable travel:

  • Install an EV charger and share it using apps like http://www.co-charger.com or http://www.gozerocharge.com (requires their own charger to be installed). 
  • Buy an electric bicycle or a cargo bike 
  • Buy a folding bike for the congregation to borrow 
  • Make links with local community transport 
  • Host a cycle training event to boost confidence for cautious cyclists 
  • Host a sharing and learning session on local opportunities for sustainable travel 
  • Become a walk leader for the local community 
Cycle to Church event at Ps & Gs church, Edinburgh

Support for Sustainable Travel 

Funding 

The Sustainable Travel Grant from the SEC provides up to £1,500 to churches for initiatives that will help people traveling to church or on behalf of the church. 

See the Sustainable Travel section on the Funding page.

Resources – organisations 

  • Walk Wheel Cycle Trust (formerly Sustrans) – the charity making it possible for everyone to walk, wheel and cycle 
  • Walking Scotland Scotland’s national walking and wheeling charity 
  • Cycling Scotland Scotland’s national cycling charity, works with others to get more people cycling more safely and easily in a better environment 
  • Living Streets (was the Pedestrian Association) the charity for everyday walking

Resources – getting around 

  • Travelline Scotland good for planning bus and train journeys within Scotland 
  • GoogleMaps good for navigating urban areas and planning journeys 
  • cycle.travel great for finding quiet and off-road cycle routes avoiding busy roads 
  • Trainline great for planning rail journeys and buying tickets across the UK and Europe. 
  • Organic Map great for conserving phone battery and having detailed mapping without the need for a signal. Good for anything from finding your way around a housing estate to finding your way across the UK or further. 
  • Railplanner (Interrail / Eurail) good for planning longer distance rail journeys into Europe 

Electric Vehicles 

  • Energy Saving Trust good for an introduction into electric vehicles 
  • What Car? Online car magazine with comprehensive information about different makes and models of electric vehicles 
  • Which? (paywall) popular consumer magazine with comprehensive information on electric vehicle options. 

Some inspiration 

There are not enough people writing or posting about sustainable travel, except in the sense of glamorous ethical foreign holidays.

Much less about travelling for everyday journeys. However here are a few websites that are worth taking a closer look at.