The Wartburg Trabant IFA Club UK is excited to announce a unique carbon offsetting scheme making it the UK’s first classic car club to commit to a long-term project to plant trees in Britain to offset its carbon emissions.
The Club started 2022 with an investment of £250 to establish a ‘grove’ of trees, which it is calling Wartburg Woods, plus a commitment to plant 20 trees this and every year to offset carbon emissions resulting from Club events.
The Club is also encouraging members and supporters to match the number of trees planted each year to thereby increase the size of Wartburg Woods by 40 trees a year. This is calculated to equal the Club’s entire ‘Iron Curtain classics’ carbon footprint. Supporters may also plant further trees to offset the carbon footprint from use of their classic or ‘daily’ vehicles.
“We cannot ignore climate change and have set ourselves an objective to reduce our carbon footprint and become a carbon neutral operation” says Club chairman Mel Holley. “Classic cars are great fun – especially our quirky rides – but two-strokes in particular have a poor reputation. We aim to change that and ensure that our enjoyable Club events are carbon neutral.”
To offset the carbon generated by a Trabant driving 1,000 miles, the Club needs to plant 1.1 trees a year, or 1.3 trees a year for a Wartburg. “To calculate the carbon footprint for cars it’s not about tailpipe emissions, but the total amount of fuel used. In simple terms, that is one tree for every 100 litres of fuel used” explains Mel Holley.
Each tree planted in Wartburg Wood costs just £6 – these can be bought online as a one-off, or with a monthly direct debit, at: https://treesforlife.org.uk/groves/373342/
The trees are a mixture of native species and are planted as part of a re-wilding scheme to restore natural habitats. Unlike other schemes, these trees are guaranteed never to be felled for commercial purposes.
For more details contact Mel Holley: chair@ifaclub.co.uk .
Technical info: Calculations use official figures: One gallon of fuel produces 10.9kg of carbon dioxide. To offset 1 metric tonne of carbon, 4.19 trees need to be planted. In simple terms, that is one tree for every 100 litres of fuel used.
Real-life mixed driving in the UK of a Trabant 601 over 11,822 miles delivered 41.49mpg*. A Wartburg 353 saloon over 7,369 miles delivered 33.88mpg* (*including the two-stroke oil).
The club typically runs three main events a year. Data from 2021’s events has been used to calculate the amount of fuel used.
