Bidwells Town and Gown 10k goes carbon neutral for first time in its history

The Bidwells Town and Gown 10K series will be offsetting all carbon emissions for both mass participation running events including, Oxford on Sunday, 14 May and Cambridge on Sunday, 15 October.

The charity which supports those living with a muscle-wasting condition has already been working towards making the event as sustainable as possible by aiming to removing plastic usage from the event in areas like water stations and goody bags, as well as partnering with local food banks to ensure leftovers are of use to the local community.

MDUK have been partnering with Bidwells to ensure both events have as negligible impact on the environment as possible.

Both runs will each become carbon neutral after Bidwells agreed to meet the full cost of securing enough carbon credits to offset the full impact of the race on the climate, including the total carbon emissions of an estimated 10,000 runners’ who travel to the Oxford and Cambridge events - plus the operations of the events. 

Alistair Blackmore, Head of Sustainability at Bidwells said: "Taking responsibility for our carbon footprint is an essential part of being a sustainable and socially responsible business. That's why we're thrilled to announce our commitment to making the Town and Gown 10K a carbon neutral event.

"By demonstrating our own commitment to environmental sustainability, we hope to encourage others to do the same because we know our actions, however small, can have a profound impact in addressing the climate crisis when combined at scale.

"We chose to offset our carbon using the Gold Standard to ensure the credits we purchase are independently verified assessments, ensuring that we will have a genuine and measurable impact."

There is still time to sign up to Oxford Town and Gown, the oldest run in the series. It is the only closed-road city centre 10k in Oxford with a glorious stretch along the River Cherwell and finishing in the University Parks.

Krishan Solanki, Head of Events and Regional Development said: “Thanks to our title partner Bidwells it’s possible to help make the event carbon neutral – it’s another huge milestone for our historical annual race. We are offsetting all associated emissions to ensure the race has the most negligible possible climate impact.

“As a charity MDUK is dedicated in working towards a more sustainable way of working with our muscle-wasting community by reducing our carbon footprint.

“The race is a great opportunity for the community in Oxford, Cambridge and surrounding areas to come together and show their support for MDUK. So please sign up today and help us make a difference.”

Planet Mark will be carrying out third-party limited verification of Bidwells Oxford Town and Gown 10k carbon footprint methodology to ensure all appropriate emission sources are being captured and calculated correctly so the resulting emissions can be offset.

To learn more about the Bidwells Town and Gown series and sign up for your place today visit townandgown10k.com