Saffery Trust staff complete over 200 miles of “better journeys”

By participating in Guernsey’s Better Journeys Project, Saffery Trust staff used green alternative transport methods for their commutes to work, saving 240 miles that would normally have been taken by car.

The initiative, which encourages islanders to change their travel habits to reduce their carbon footprint on the first Friday of every month by choosing active travel options, has seen participation from 40 staff in February and March.

Assistant Manager and Green Team Co-Coordinator, Joe Cardoso-Smale, said the initiative was “immediately popular” amongst the staff.

“The Green Team are always looking for opportunities to improve our carbon footprint. The Better Journeys Day initiative is fantastic not only for the environment, but for the health and wellbeing of our staff,” said Joe.

“More than a third of all staff chose to take part and we had positive responses from the outset. Our car park was noticeably less full on the February and March Better Journey Days, and we are optimistic that participation in the initiative will continue to be popular as it gets warmer.”

As part of its efforts to encourage active travel, Saffery Trust gave staff the opportunity to ‘test drive’ electric bicycles with the support of a local retailer.

“Sam from Adventure Cycles kindly came down to the office during the lunch hour to give demonstrations of two electric bikes, answer questions and allow staff get a feel for each bike,” said Joe.

“It was also an opportunity to consider whether the purchase of electric bikes might be an option for the firm in the future.”

Several staff gave positive feedback, saying not only would they continue to take part in Better Journey Day each month, but that they were encouraged to choose active travel more regularly.

Managing Director, Nick Batiste, said the firm was keen to support the initiative.

“As a responsible business, we included the establishment of a Green Team in our business plan. With a commitment to reducing our carbon emissions, we have engaged with a corporate sustainability provider to monitor our progress and identify areas within our control where improvements can be made.

“Better Journey Day is a great step forward in our collective efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and the uptake from our staff has been fantastic.”

Learn more about what Saffery Trust is doing to be a responsible business