From now on, before buying a bus ticket, Lux Express passengers can see a calculation of how big a carbon footprint they create with their trip and how much less economical it is to travel the same route by car or diesel train.
Lux Express started cooperation with the new Estonian start-up Grenpay already in June, whose unique algorithm helps, among other things, to calculate the CO2 footprint of different modes of transport per passenger kilometer. For example, when buying a bus ticket on the company's website, you can find out that the carbon footprint of one passenger traveling 100 kilometers on a Lux Express bus is 22 grams per passenger kilometer, or 2.2 kilograms over the entire distance. It is 1.5 times more environmentally friendly than traveling the same distance with a diesel train and more than 6 times more economical than traveling the same distance by car alone.
Ingmar Roos, Estonian business manager of Lux Express: "Since climate warming threatens to irreversibly change the planet's current environment by 2050, strong green goals have been set. If the transport sector currently generates 25% of the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU, then in the next 12 years it must be reduced by 3 times. Both Estonian and EU development documents emphasize that one lifeline is to motivate people to prefer modes of movement with a smaller carbon footprint. In order for people to have this motivation, it is necessary to give them information about how much different types of transport pollute the environment. Now we can offer this information to our passengers thanks to Grenpay."
As customer feedback already shows the importance of green calculations, Lux Express submitted an appeal to the Ministry of Economy and Communications and the Ministry of the Environment this week, proposing to make the collection and publication of carbon footprint data per passenger kilometer mandatory for the entire public transport sector.
Raivo Videvik, founder and CEO of Grenpay: "Today, any progressive company must talk with its consumers about conscious consumption and conscious decisions that help reduce the impact on the environment. The consumer expects a more sustainable value proposition for the environment, which would be convenient, accessible and transparent. Traveling by bus is the mode of transport with the smallest carbon footprint compared to a car, plane or ship."
Calculating and comparing the carbon footprint of a bus, train, car and plane is not the only solution for a startup. As a result of the cooperation between Grenpay and the bus company, Lux Express customers can offset the CO2 footprint of their trip by contributing to verified and transparent green projects. For example, it is currently possible to contribute 39 eurocents to a renewable energy project in the Netherlands to compensate for the 3.96 kg of CO2 generated on the Tallinn-Tartu route, which has helped reduce more than 100,000 tons of CO2 emissions over the past 6 years. In the near future, it will be possible to make the same contribution to Estonian green projects.
Without much advertisement, Lux Express has been offering this opportunity to its passengers since July. It is noteworthy that in a very short time, more than 2,400 people have already decided to reduce the carbon footprint created by their driving and to support the green project at the expense of it. Thanks to these 2,400 people, more than 15,000 kg of carbon dioxide emissions have already been compensated.
"LuxExpress has taken a significant step by making a carbon-free purchase a part of making a regular purchase for the first time in Estonia. Such a step has a strong influence on the future development of the field to become carbon neutral, creating a precedent and an example for other market participants," added Raivo Videvik.
At the moment, the carbon footprint of Lux Express lines can be calculated and compensated on the company's website, but in the future this option will be extended to other ticket sales platforms.