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Eco Hero: Kate Andrews

Esther Freeman | 04.03.11

Kate Andrews, and her brother Jamie, are travel enthusiasts who are keen to encourage others to explore the world more sustainably. Set to transform European travel with their train-booking website Loco2, the pair want to show that itchy feet doesn’t have to mean a huge carbon footprint.

How would you describe yourself?
Loco2 is a European rail booking version 2.0, and with a green twist! We want to bring sustainable alternatives to air travel to a wider market and make it easier to book trains across the continent.

What is your mission?
Our goal is to make low carbon travel easier and cheaper, so that more people can make the choice to explore the world in a more sustainable way.

What challenges do you face?
Creating sophisticated rail booking software is a major challenge - we are constantly faced with technical hurdles.

We also face the much more complicated challenge of trying to change behaviours. Reliance on air-travel is endemic in our society. Many people feel that their freedoms are under attack when environmentalists talk about cutting carbon.

What is your biggest achievement?
Personally, my biggest achievement was crossing the Pacific in a 47ft yacht, having had no experience sailing before. And for Loco2, it is being nominated for the Virgin Responsible Tourism Awards 2010. It's good to know that even our modest efforts got a little recognition.

  What green principles do you live by?
I love the Kenyan proverb - The world was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. It’s about recognising the incredible gift we have and looking after it. It's not ours to trash.

Is organic important to you?
Given the choice, everything that passes my lips is organic, local, water responsible, sustainable and unpackaged. 

What one thing do you wish everyone would do?
Fly less of course! 

What would you like to pass on to your children?
Less than 300 parts CO2 per million in the earth's atmosphere. That would be an amazing thing to give to my children though ... and my sunny disposition - which I'm sure is genetic! 

How can we spread the green message?
With quiet persuasion, and superbly presented sustainable alternatives.  

What cheers you up?
Cheesy jokes.  

Who is your Eco Hero and why?
David Attenborough. He has inspired a generation of people - biologists, palaeontologists, ornithologists, conservationists (and numerous other long-wordists) to research, document, celebrate and ultimately conserve the people, places and the environment.