Know your Impact.
Our outdoor, local and often human-powered adventures are always going to have a low carbon footprint. This is something worth shouting about and we believe it is the future of travel. If 2020 has taught us anything it is that we need to rebuild better. For travel, that means redesigning our trips to have a more positive impact on us and the world. Taking fewer flights is a must and if we’re serious about reducing the impact of our lifestyle on the climate, we must change our habits.
Aiming for Zero
It is not enough just to pat ourselves on the back for our low footprint, the aim is to reach zero. That is why we are working with our suppliers and ecollective to measure and reduce our footprint. By making small but effective changes we believe that we can reduce the carbon emitted per customer year on year.
It’s also why we’ve signed up to Tourism Declares, an initiative that supports tourism organizations, businesses and individuals in declaring the climate emergency and in taking purposeful action to reduce carbon emissions as per the advice of The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) to cut global carbon emissions to 55% below 2017 levels by 2030.
How we Compare
We wanted to bring to life how our adventures compare. Our adventures average at 16.7kg CO2e per person per day. You’d be hard pressed to find lower carbon emissions on a holiday, anywhere in the world!
An average person in the UK generates 10-30 CO2e per day so you might find you have a lower daily carbon footprint whilst on holiday with us in Cuba than if you stay at home.
Here are some things that you can compare that to:
A banana: 0.08kg CO2e
A Pint of Tap Water: 0.2g CO2e
An average Bottle of Mineral water 400g CO2e
A beer: 0.5kg CO2e
A mojito in Cuba: 0.15kg
A mojito in the UK: 0.4kg
A Margherita Pizza: 1.4kg
Driving 20 miles in the car: 5.6kg CO2e
Cycling 20 miles on a bike: 0kg CO2e
A typical European hotel with no eco credentials for the night 75kg CO2e
A typical Dubai hotel room for the night: 99kg CO2e
A typical Cuba Bed and Breakfast room for the night: 5kg CO2e
An economy ticket from London to Ibiza: 206kg CO2e
An economy ticket from London to Havana:1099kg CO2e
A business ticket from London to Havana: 3187kg CO2e
Accountability
The first step was partnering with ecollective to help us measure and improve our carbon footprint. Calculating your own carbon footprint can be a little complex as almost everything in our day to day lives has some sort of footprint. Our calculation system is not perfect, but it is highly accurate and allows us to see what we can improve.
For this project, we followed the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) and applied emission factors provided by DEFRA. To keep ourselves accountable and open to criticism, we are happy to share our workings. Just email us or ecollective to find out more.
We then joined the Tourism Declares movement and have committed to the following five actions:
- We will develop a Climate Emergency Plan setting out how we aim to play our part in reducing carbon emissions over the next decade.
- We will share our initial Climate Emergency Plan publicly and updating the plan yearly.
- We accept current IPCC advice which states the need to cut global emissions by 55% of 2017 levels by 2030 in order to keep global warming within the maximum recommended of 1.5 Celsius. We’ll ensure our ‘Climate Emergency Plan’ represents actions designed to achieve this as a minimum, through delivering transparent, measurable and increasing reductions in the total carbon emissions per customer.
- We will encourage our suppliers and partners to make the same declaration and take on board the recommendations and best practices outlined by Tourism Declares and actively participate in the Tourism Declares community.
- We’ll continue to advocate for changes in the tourism industry so that we can help the transition towards carbon-free tourism.
The Future of Travel
We have a vision for the future, it is about getting outside, getting fresh mountain air, exploring wild spots and having an adventure whilst travelling responsibly. A future of travel that is more meaningful, healthier for us along with a greater positive impact. If you would like to know more about how we ensure that our tours are responsibly run please check out our Responsible Travel Policy.
