Welsh parents drove an unnecessary 6.5 MILLION miles on the school run this year

• New research from 100Green reveals that more than a third (37%) of school run journeys in Wales that could be walked are unnecessarily driven.

• 100Green estimates Welsh parents drive over 6.5 MILLION unnecessary miles to and from schools every year.

• Over the course of a school year (39 weeks), these drives to school cause an unnecessary 16,107 tonnes of CO2e – the equivalent of 2,341 flights from Cardiff to Australia

• 100Green have also teamed up with counsellor and parenting expert, Georgina Sturmer, to offer 5 tips on how to have a stress-free school run.

New research reveals that two-fifths of British parents who can walk their children to school are driving instead, with an estimated 6.5 MILLION miles driven on unnecessary Welsh school runs.

The research, conducted by the UK’s only 100% green gas and renewable electricity supplier, 100Green, asked parents across the country about their school-run habits and found that over the 39-week school year, an estimated 6.5 million miles are driven in Wales on school runs that could’ve been walked – that’s roughly 168,000 miles every single week.

The research asked parents if they were within walking distance and able to walk their children to and from school, to which nearly 8 in 10 (77%) Welsh parents said they could. However, 100Green’s research found that of the parents who say they’re able to walk their children to and from school, over a third (37%) still choose to take the journey by car.

The study found that these unnecessary drives to school result in 16,107 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year –  the same amount of CO2 that 2,341 return trips from Cardiff to Sydney, Australia would generate.1

This is despite the research finding that 1 in 5 (19%) Welsh parents find the school run stressful, and over half (55%) said they find walking to school beneficial for both their own and their children’s mental health.

With two thirds (65%) of parents in Wales saying they wish they walked their children to school more often, 100Green knows there’s far more to the morning than just wanting to make sustainable lifestyle choices.

As such, 100Green wants to encourage parents to walk their children to school when classes return in August by teaming up with Georgina Sturmer, Counsellor, MBACP to offer parents across the UK 5 tried-and-tested tips on how to keep the school run stress-free, simple and green. See tips here.

Amy Barker, Head of Marketing at 100Green comments: “At 100Green, we have many parents in the team who fully understand the daily school-run struggle, and we often wish we were a little bit calmer and a little bit more organised about it.

“We also recognise that UK parents contribute quite significantly to the rush hour emissions each day – and not all of us necessarily need to. This got us thinking as schools finish up for the summer; what positive environmental impact could we have – if those of us that can – stop driving our kids to school?

“Our research results suggested we could all make a big difference.

“However, as all parents know, it is not easy to find that little bit of extra time each morning to get out of the driving habit. So, inspired by the knowledge we can make a positive difference, we’ve teamed up with parenting expert and Counsellor MBACP, Georgina Sturmer, to share some tried and tested tips on how to keep the school run stress-free, simple, and green.

“Head over to https://www.greenenergyuk.com/blog/learn/school-run-struggles-walk-to-school-week to find out more.”