BT’s Adastral Park research site in Suffolk yesterday celebrated the second full year of its Grass Routes sustainable travel programme.

Local transport companies and organisations, including Ipswich Buses, National Express East Anglia, cycle network organisation Sustrans and several local cycling shops and clubs, attended an event featuring stands and stalls to celebrate achievements and successes, .

More than 3,500 BT staff work on the Martlesham Heath site, near Ipswich, plus around another 500 from other organisations which are based there. BT established the Grass Routes programme two years ago to promote and stimulate more “carbon friendly” sustainable transport to and from the site.

All of the original aims of the programme have been met so far, including increasing the proportion of people who use bicycles, walk or use public transport to come to the site, rather than cars.

Many people also regularly work from home for part of their working weeks, for their own work-life balance and to reduce their energy use.

Andrew Cassy, Grass Routes programme manager, said: “It is really important to us that we encourage the people here on the site to use the most environmentally-friendly form of transport.

“By choosing a more sustainable and healthy way to get to work, together we can make a big difference to our carbon footprint at Adastral Park. BT is very aware of its responsibilities to the community and to the environment and wants to reduce its carbon impact as much as it can.”

Phil Dance, managing director of Adastral Park, added: “We want to make Adastral Park the lowest carbon development centre in the UK, and be at the leading edge for sustainability whilst providing a great working environment.

“We want to encourage and help all the people who work in and around the site to live and work more sustainably. We also hope that this will inspire the local community to follow our example.”