FIRST CHOICE AND THOMSON LUTON OFFICES ON CARBON CUTTING DIET
First Choice and Thomson are not only cutting their carbon emissions overseas but making a concerted effort in their Luton headquarters to create a “Green Canteenâ€!
Both First Choice and Thomson are committed to environmental initiatives aimed at reducing the impact of their business on the environment. Thomson Airways, set to launch in 2009, will be first in line for the super-efficient Boeing 787 ‘Dreamliner’, which will reduce carbon emissions by 20% compared with jets of the same size flying today.
In the meantime, both First Choice Airways and Thomsonfly have been removing weight from their aircraft and modifying flying patterns to cut down on the amount of fuel they use – and therefore their carbon emissions. Large-scale projects include the ‘World Care Fund’, which has raised over £1 million for sustainable projects overseas, and which will offset around 20% of the carbon from First Choice flights this year.
In a twist to the “every little helps†adage, First Choice and Thomson are working with the caterers in their Luton Headquarters to create a ‘carbon diet master plan’ which will ensure that the staff café is as green as possible.
After a waste audit found that most waste comes from food and packaging, the company have now switched to using recyclable hot beverage cups and napkins, and are actively encouraging all employees to reuse their cups (by offering 5p off all hot beverages served in mugs or old cups), as well as offering fully biodegradable sandwich and takeaway boxes and installing recycling depots in our café so that we can sort out our waste and recycle easily.
The catering team will be pulling out all the stops to create a more eco-friendly kitchen, using environmentally friendly cleaning products and introducing carbon saving gadgets and gizmos like the clever fridge ‘ecocubes’, which will reduce energy consumption by 20%.
Tea, coffee, chocolate and bananas will be sourced from fair trade suppliers and, wherever possible, will only use local, seasonal and organic ingredients. By reducing waste and cutting down on ‘food miles’ whenever possible, First Choice and Thomson will be further strengthening their long term commitment to sustainable initiatives.
Sarah Perry, Sustainable Development manager at TUI Travel PLC, parent company of First Choice and Thomson, said. ‘We’re really pleased to be working with a catering supplier that shares our commitment to protecting the environment. We have a number of projects in place to make sure we make our operations as eco-friendly as we can, including green travel for employees, energy saving initiatives, and cutting down on brochure pages to save trees’
‘I hope that First Choice and Thomson employees will be inspired by their low-carbon lunch to consider shedding a few carbon pounds – permanently.’
Valere Tjolle
Valere
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