Green Travel Policy. Policy revision date: June 2012 Review date: June

Transcription

1 Green Travel Policy Policy revision date: June 2012 Review date: June

2 NORTHUMBERLAND NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY GREEN TRAVEL POLICY CONTENTS Section Page Pool Cars 2 Air Travel 3 Rail Travel 3 Tele- and Video-Conferencing 4 Page:

3 Pool Cars Staff are required to use pool cars in preference to their own cars for business mileage, where practicable. The Authority has increased the number of pool cars to make them available to more staff and at different locations. These are low- or no-emission vehicles. This larger fleet enables the Authority to be seen to take a lead in carbon reduction by trialling electric vehicles and/or community shared vehicles. Booking of pool cars is via Reception staff at Eastburn and via the online system at Rothbury. Staff are required to check the availability of pool cars before making journeys. Journeys should be planned and an availability check made in advance in order to reserve a pool car for your journey. Where there is a prior reservation it might be possible, with the original booker s agreement, to over-ride this if your journey is longer or you are carrying more passengers. Staff should consider car-sharing where they are planning to visit the same locations within a similar timescale. Where pool cars are not available or, for good reason, were not used then use of staff s own vehicles will be reimbursed at the published mileage rates. Administrative systems are used to monitor pool car usage, which indicates whether we are under- or over-provided with vehicles and highlights where the needs are, by reference to staff travel claims. The reduction in carbon emissions over time is also monitored and reported on to ensure emission reduction targets are met. While the switch to no- or low-emission pool cars will make a difference, there are other ways of reducing the Authority s carbon footprint: Use public transport Is the journey necessary? Public transport should always be used where available and practical. Consider whether the journey is even necessary. Can the objectives be achieved by , telephone, teleconferencing or video-conferencing? Remember, every journey avoided helps the Authority to reduce its carbon footprint. Page:

4 Air Travel Air travel is discouraged because of its disproportionate effect on the Authority s carbon footprint. Air travel will only be permitted where the comparable train journey time, including connections, is in excess of four hours (or eight hours return). The only exception to this policy which will be considered is where air travel is less than half the cost of rail travel. In these circumstances, a case may be presented to the Chief Executive for decision. It should be noted that travelling to London by air emits 84kg of CO 2 per passenger compared to 21kg by rail (source: The use of air travel, at (in this example) 4 times the emissions of rail, sets a poor example to colleagues when the Authority s aim is to reduce its carbon footprint. Any necessary air travel should be booked by Corporate Support staff at Eastburn. Rail Travel Rail journeys are more carbon-efficient than travelling by car* and should always be considered for destinations which are served by train. Longer journeys by rail also provide the opportunity to use paid time effectively by working on Authority business something that cannot be achieved while driving. Rail journeys should be planned as far in advance as possible in order to obtain advantageous ticket prices. Open return tickets will not normally be booked because of extra cost. All journeys should be booked by Corporate Support staff at Eastburn and should be requested using the travel booking form (in Sharepoint, Forms Templates & Policies). *see calculator: Page:

5 Tele- and Video-Conferencing High-quality video-conferencing facilities have been installed in the offices of all National Park Authorities. These allow us to meet with our colleagues without the need to travel. The savings in carbon emissions, in cost and in time should be selfevident. It is expected that professional officer groups and those organising or participating in other national meetings should plan to use the video-conferencing facilities for at least half of their meetings. While some traditional meetings may be unavoidable, officers are urged to explore the possibilities of using the available technology as often as possible. Those attending professional group meetings may be asked to explain why they chose to travel rather than use the conferencing facilities. Monitoring of the usage of tele- and video-conferencing is used to review its effectiveness in reducing both carbon emissions and cost. If you have not used teleor video-conferencing before, it is not difficult and full training and support is available from the ICT Team. Page: