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Sustainable travel is on the rise as people are becoming increasingly more conscious of the environment and the impact our travelling has on it. A recent study concluded Edinburgh as the most sustainable destination in Europe, taking into account a variety of factors which come into environmentally friendly travel.
Discover Cars looked into a range of factors, including hotels with EV charging stations, as well as the number of nature spots and restaurants with vegan options. The company also analyzed the distance to the airport, the climate impact (“kg of CO2 of a round-trip flight from London Heathrow”) and the pollution level in each city.
Edinburgh is officially the most sustainable destination in Europe, topping the list of 20 cities. Scoring 89 points out of 100, the Scottish capital has a low pollution level, 42 nature spots like Holyrood Park, seven hotels with EV charging spots and a whopping 647 restaurants with vegan options. Plus, when travelling within the UK, or even from Paris, travellers can take the train to decrease the impact on the environment.
Zurich took second place on the list, followed by Paris coming third. Barcelona is the fourth most sustainable destination in Europe, while Rotterdam came in fifth.
Aleksandrs Buraks, Head of Growth at DiscoverCars.com, said: “It’s a really interesting range of places around Europe that are reflected in our top 20 list. While many of the destinations on the list are capital cities – many of which have taken on impressive regeneration projects aimed at becoming greener – others are not the biggest city in their country. For instance, we have Hamburg, Ghent and Turin in our top 20, fantastic cities which should never be overlooked.
We enjoyed learning about all the different sustainability initiatives countries are introducing, like Denmark’s ‘reverse vending machine’ recycling scheme, in which you can return empty cans and either receive a small payment or make a payment to charity in your name. It’s great to see all the bright ideas people are coming up with to protect the environment and keep their cities green!”