Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Credit Suisse Recommends Trains Rather Than Short Haul Flights

We always love a bit of good old hypocrisy and double standards falling from the mouths of big business, and you can always guarantee it is at its best when big bucks are in the vision of the fat cats.

In this example it is Credit Suisse - a major shareholder in London City Airport. They recommend in their own 'emagazine' that trains should be used in preference to short haul flights. We don't need to remind you that the vast majority of routes out of LCA are mostly accessible by train, and hooray...we see Credit Suisse encouraging the use of audio and video conferencing! Now they are 'forgotten concepts' for the 'fat cat plane and profit pushers'!

We suspect that Credit Suisse may suddenly have a change of heart about promoting train use and reducing CO2 emissions when applying it to their business interests at London City Airport.

Here's part of the article of their committment to encouraging the use of trains...over planes:

Air Travel: Second Largest Emission SourceBusiness air travel causes a fifth of the bank’s CO2 emissions. To neutralize these emissions, all plane tickets for flights originating in Switzerland and booked through the bank’s travel services are currently issued as carbon neutral tickets. Train travel is also recommended as an alternative to short-haul flights, and the use of audio and video-conferencing encouraged. In 2006, the use of videoconferencing for instance rose by 30 percent worldwide compared with a year earlier. Paper, waste and water use, combined contribute to an additional 3 percent of the bank’s CO2 emissions.

If you would like to ask Credit Suisse about their double standards and how they are quite happy to ask for 100,000 extra jets over the heads of the most densely populated residential areas in the country why not write to them? Here's their address:

Credit Suisse
One Cabot Square
London
E14 4QJ

Phone +44 20 7888 8888
Fax +44 20 7888 1600