The UK’s online rail retailer, TheTrainline, has launched a carbon emissions reporting service to help businesses manage their carbon footprint. The service, available from March following successful trials, has been developed in response to growing demand from Government and industry bodies for companies to reduce and off-set business travel carbon emissions.

TheTrainline’s externally validated mileage database calculates the amount of carbon dioxide generated by employee rail travel using the accredited DEFRA emissions standard. This information may then be requested as an added extra by our corporate clients to be communicated to companies via their monthly management information report.

Nita Patel, Environmental Manager at Barclays Bank Plc, comments TheTrainline has been instrumental in developing their systems to provide what I hope will be an industry-wide standard for collecting point-to-point data and calculating emissions.

As the company claims, the reports will help businesses balance their environmental impact with the benefits of rail travel, which is proven to emit the least amount of carbon in comparison to other forms of transport*.

Adrian Watts, Sales and Distribution Director at TheTrainline, comments: “TheTrainline’s new carbon emission reporting service will provide those customers who request it with the information they need to monitor and reduce their business travel carbon footprint. We believe that this product will become industry standard in the future and TheTrainline is pleased to be leading the way for rail ticket providers.”

* DEFRA Guidelines for Company Reporting and Greenhouse Gas Emissions July 2005 state train travel emits 0.04kg of carbon dioxide per kilometre compared to 0.18kg for the average petrol car.