Today, April 22nd 2022, is the 52nd annual Earth Day - a global day used to demonstrate the importance of saving our planet, something we are very passionate about here at Timberbush Tours.
What better day to remind you all of just some of the things we do here at Timberbush that makes more than just our branding green!
Ben Ledi reflected in one of our coaches.
With a country as beautiful as Scotland as our office, we are conscious of the importance of preserving and maintaining its natural beauty to ensure we, and the generations to follow us, can continue to appreciate it.
Protecting the environment as much as we can is something that is at the forefront of our operations, and we have taken and continue to take multiple steps to make sure that in the office, and out on tour, we are doing as much as we can to be environmentally friendly.
Thanks to our environmental efforts, we are over the moon to say that we achieved a Gold Award in the Green Tourism Business Scheme. This award recognise the commitment of tourism businesses which are actively working to become more sustainable. Just because we have achieved the gold award, doesn't mean we are going to stop constantly looking for ways to reduce our environmental impact.
We are also particularly proud that our vehicles adhere to a very high environmental standard, this has led to us being awarded a 5 star rating by Eco Stars. Their fleet recognition scheme rates each vehicle individually, as well as the fleet as a whole based on their operational and environmental performance. This scheme aims to assist fleet operators with reducing their emissions, fuel consumption and their overall carbon footprint.
Eco Stars Fleet Recognition Scheme 5 Star Award
Green Tourism Business Scheme Gold Award
It's not just on tour that we aim to be as green as possible however, we do this in the office and with our printed materials too.
Our tour brochures are printed on FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) paper, which means that the paper used for printing is from responsible sources. We work and donate regularly to charities such as Trees for Life and our tours have frequently been offered as prizes at fundraising events.
When everyone books a tour through our website as well, there is an option to donate £1 to Trees for Life, who have a vision of a revitalised wild forest in the Highlands, providing space for wildlife to flourish and communities to thrive. We are particularly passionate about the protection of forests in Scotland, as one tree can absorb as much as 48lbs of carbon dioxide per year, which over the course of 40 years is equivalent to almost 1 tonne.
Not only is this important to protect the air we breathe, but it also to protect the homes of hundreds of species of Scottish wildlife, many of which you will spot on tour with us. We wouldn't want to lose any of them.
In the office, 100% recycled paper is used, as well as recycling being encouraged. Rainwater is also collected at our base in Edinburgh, meaning we can collect it to clean our coaches with and save money in the process.
When possible, we also like to help with local green projects. In the past, this has included beach cleans at Silverknowes, just up from our offices, and planting trees at Kinclaven. Now that the pandemic restrictions have lifted and events like that are happening more often, our team are keen to get back into taking part in these things.
If you have an event like this coming up, or know of any, please let us know by getting in touch through social media, our email tours@timberbushtours.com, or by calling 0131 226 6066, as we would love to do our bit.
Going forward, we are committed to continuing to adapt our business when and where we can to be more environmentally friendly, as we believe it is a shared responsibility of all of ours to protect not just Scotland, but our world as a whole.
