Virgin Atlantic teams up with green charity for book launch

Virgin Atlantic is attempting to ramp up its green credentials by teaming up with environmental charity We Are What We Do to launch a book encouraging consumers to change their behaviour to save the world. It will even ask readers to question whether their flight is necessary.

The book is called Change the World from 30,000ft. It is the third in a series published by the charity, which has been devised with integrated agency Antidote to highlight the idea that “small actions can equal big changes”. Virgin will give away 500,000 copies of the book to passengers next month.

It will be the first book to carry advertising and it has already signed up Shell, Honda, Nokia and Puma.

We Are What We Do launched the first book in the series “Change the World For A Fiver” in 2004. It was such a success the charity followed it up with “Change the World 9 to 5” last September.

Antidote was also behind Sainsbury’s designer alternative to plastic bags featuring the strapline “I am not a plastic bag”. It was designed by luxury fashion designer Anya Hindmarch and sold on a limited basis to Sainsbury’s consumers to encourage recycling. It is understood that Virgin chief executive Sir Richard Branson was so impressed with “Change the World 9 to 5” he approached We Are What We Do and Antidote with a view to producing something similar relating to the aviation industry and the environment.