Whether you are jetting off to the sunshine, catching a bus or ferry, taking the train or driving to your holiday destination, there is an unavoidable carbon impact of your travel this summer.

So, we have launched a new campaign to raise awareness of how you can compensate for your travel plans, and make a donation towards a range of creative carbon reduction projects across the region.

Our Clean Getaway Campaign - which aims to raise £25k by the end of September - includes information on how to calculate your summer holiday carbon contribution and make a quick and simple donation.

As flying is one of the biggest sources of carbon emissions the campaign is primarily based around air travel, so for example if you are going on a return flight to Paris the donation guideline is £2.50 per person, for a flight to Italy £5 per person, or for a more adventurous trip to South America, £15 per person.

Foundation’s Chief Officer Mark Turner comments: “Flying is part of life at the moment and we are not calling for that not to happen – although we would like people to think responsibly about how often they fly. We have huge UK carbon reduction targets to hit by 2050.”

Matt Kershaw from South Manchester saw the campaign and made a retrospective donation of £15 this week. “I flew to a friend’s wedding in South Africa in February and felt I should do my bit. It’s good to know the money is staying in the region.”

Foundation has already funded a range of projects across the Northwest, including the Carbon Co-op in Hulme, where Matt lives, which used a £3,000 grant from Foundation to develop and set up climate change discussion workshops, and provide members of the community with the ideas and tools needed to cut their carbon footprint and reduce their household bills.

Click here to visit our campaign page to find our more and to donate!