Network Rail has launched sustainability seal of approval stickers for greener stores.
The “We don’t use plastic cups and cutlery” and “We recycle our coffee grounds” designs are being rolled out across the company’s managed stations this week.
Each sticker is accompanied by a badge with the wording “This seal of approval means we’re working with Network Rail to make stations greener”.
Aimed at helping passengers shop more sustainably, the move builds on a number of eco-friendly pledges announced by the business last year.
These included banning retailers from supplying plastic cutlery and cups, implementing a coffee cup recycling scheme and expanding the rollout of coffee ground recycling across its managed stations by 2020.
Since 2018, half of all managed station retailers have stopped supplying plastic cups and cutlery and 74% now recycle coffee grounds, the company said.
“We have put passengers and their values at the heart of this new scheme and hope that the seal of approval will go some way to making it easier for them to shop sustainably in our stations,” said Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines.
David Biggs, managing director, Network Rail Property, added that passengers were increasingly environmentally conscious. “We will continue to work with retailers to make further progress on our commitments. Many retailers are already on track to meet our commitments ahead of the 2020 deadline, so passengers should start to see a real reduction in the amount of single-use plastic in their stations over the coming months.”
The news comes in the same week Network Rail reported a 4.4% rise in retail sales in the 2018 financial year across 18 stations.
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