Let Us Invest In Our Planet This World Earth Day!

Reducing Our Carbon Footprint

This EarthDay, why not leave your car at home and help reduce carbon emissions? According to the World Health Organisation Worldwide, transport accounts for about a quarter of carbon dioxide emissions with cars emitting the highest volume of CO2 per kilometre, per passenger.

“When Henry Ford founded the company bearing his name in 1903, he saw the car as a means of providing freedom of mobility to people around the world’, and this couldn’t be more true. Cars have revolutionised the world we live in, but we have reached a point where our dependence on them has caused some serious environmental issues.

What makes travelling by car especially damaging is the fact on average there are only 1.5 passengers per car. Driving alone is by far the most inefficient and environmentally damaging way to get around. What’s the answer? Fewer cars on the road.

We want to get people talking about reducing car journeys. Fewer cars on the road will not only have a direct impact on emissions, but it will also reduce traffic and congestion problems, and the need for road maintenance.

How Zeelo is delivering more sustainable transportation

At Zeelo, being environmentally friendly is at the heart of what we do – we are proud to have been a carbon-neutral company since 2021. What does this exactly mean? Being carbon-neutral means as a company we release net-zero emissions into the atmosphere which we achieve through our fully electric vehicles and offsetting partnership with ClimatePartner.

In 2021 we saved our clients 12,847 tonnes in CO2 emissions. That’s the equivalent of planting 583,954 trees! To read how we achieved this and our plans for the future have a read of our “Zeelo’s Road to Carbon Neutrality” blog.

Zeelo’s Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ECG) policies were created to guide company decisions and show all stakeholders that we are committed to making a difference.

Environmental

Is it not about time that everyone has the option to commute emissions-free? Well, we believe it is! Zeelo is already the first global bus platform to offer 100% carbon neutral services.

But we know that just off-setting is not enough and that is why we are committed to having a fully Net Zero-emission fleet in the UK and developed markets by 2030 and in emerging markets by 2035. We are on the road to making buses as green as riding a bike!

This may seem like a big ask but as new petrol & diesel vehicles will be banned from production in 2030 electric cars/coaches will become more mainstream.

Social

Zeelo is helping to reduce our reliance on cars and tackle the single occupancy problem in the UK. 68% of the UK workforce still travel to work by car and as discussed earlier the major problem with this is of those, 89% commute alone. Offering a shared mobility transport solution is the best way to tackle this problem.

To put it into numbers, every 22 kilograms of CO2 not emitted into the atmosphere is the equivalent of planting one tree. Offering a shared commuting service to 100 students or employees helps to save 403 kilograms of carbon dioxide every day – the equivalent of 91 tons a year or planting 600 trees.

Shared mobility is also tackling another major problem in the UK – Transport poverty. With our HQ being based in London it is easy to forget that not everywhere in the UK is lucky enough to have such an expansive public transport infrastructure. Not having access to transportation can be a major barrier to employment opportunities and being able to provide it can be a great asset to any company. It has been stated having efficient and reliable transport can improve employment opportunities by up to 13.5 times.

Governance

Ensuring we are an ethical company governs every decision we make and we are proud of that. The best interest of all stakeholders is always at the forefront of every employee’s mind and that is why we have designed and instilled a number of policies that are now an essential part of the company culture.

The best part is taking social and environmental matters seriously can hugely benefit a company. Having transparent and public goals allows your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to be visible to everyone, creating an image of being trustworthy. This can help build trust with all stakeholders and customers, showing you care about both the environment and society.

Reaching Your Environmental Social Goals – ESG

Over the past few years, the government has been introducing a number of emissions goals and targets (Paris agreement and Agenda 30) – and this is great. These projects work hand in hand with EarthDay to raise awareness about the huge environmental issues we face.

Though the only way the UK will hit emission goals is with fewer cars on the road.

One Zeelo bus helps remove 30 cars from the road, which means 30 fewer cars in the car park and 30 fewer cars emitting harmful CO2 into the atmosphere! Using a Zeelo service is the perfect tool for business and education institutes to meet their mandatory environmental goals.

Every day should be Earth Day!

Use this EarthDay to make a small change to your lifestyle. This could be anything; switch to reusable cups & bags, buy from sustainable brands, ditch the car and make use of a more sustainable mode of transport.

A shift to shared transport options in greener vehicles is the only way as a society we are really going to make a difference. The future is green and we are excited about that!