Book a carbon Neutral Holiday with Naturetrek now!
Clearly our most recent Naturetrek Christmas card (a Polar Bear image with text drawing attention to the threat of extinction being brought to the species by global warming) made an impression on President Bush. Almost immediately he announced, out of the blue and contrary to his earlier thoughts on the matter, that the Arctic icecap was indeed melting and that the Polar Bear was threatened. Since then, global warming has been in everyone’s thoughts, even if we are individually dragging our feet, reluctant to cramp the affluent lifestyles to which we have become accustomed. At Naturetrek, however, we have taken the decision to ‘carbon neutralise’ all of your bookings on 2007 Naturetrek holidays received from now until the end of the year. To do this we will be paying approximately £15 on behalf of those of you booking longhaul holidays with us, and £5 on behalf of our short-haul travellers. We will absorb this extra cost, passing the sum raised to Climate Care or the World Land Trust (the choice is yours) who will invest the money either into rainforest projects or into suitable carbon reduction and sustainable energy schemes. The excellent websites (www.climatecare.org and www.worldlandtrust.org) of both Climate Care and World Land Trust (a highly respected charity which will invest your money in the purchase of rainforest for the benefit not just of the climate, but also for wildlife and the environment) calculate the carbon emissions created by your share of your holiday flights and the cost of off setting them in order to render your journey ‘carbon neutral’ – the amount that Naturetrek will pay on your behalf. However, whilst we will pay to off-set the carbon emissions from your flights, we invite you to match our payment to Climate Care or the World Land Trust and, by so doing, not only cover emissions resulting from all other aspects of your holiday (airport transfers, coach/minibus travel, lighting, heating, etc),but also ensure that your holiday will become not just ‘carbon neutral’, but ‘carbon negative’.
As you may be aware, we were one of the very first British tour operators to encourage our clients to off-set their carbon emissions through Climate Care, having been doing so since 2000. However, we believe this to be the first time that a wildlife tour operator has offered to absorb the cost of off-setting all the cost of a customer’s flight emissions, in addition to off-setting all emissions from both our office operation (electricity, heating, staff journeys, etc) and the flights of our staff.
Make Travel Count!
So, just what is ‘responsible travel’? The term itself is surely anything but responsible, for all travel is fundamentally irresponsible. We travel because we are greedy, whether greedy to do business overseas, or greedy for experiences that may not be available on our doorstep. A ‘responsible holiday’, by contrast, is a fortnight off work tending the vegetable garden (but not mowing the lawn!) or, at a stretch, a local beach or camping holiday. Flying to Portugal to play golf, when there’s a golf course on your doorstep, or flying to Cyprus for some August sun when there’s every chance of sun back home, are probably not at the environmentally responsible end of the spectrum!
Smugly, but, we would argue, justifiably, ‘wildlife travel’ has its benefits, and there is a strong case for wildlife enthusiasts to continue travelling. After all, if we are not bringing our custom to the national parks, wildlife reserves and the wilderness regions of the world, many of these areas, especially in Third World and developing countries, will simply disappear…and with them their wildlife. Not only does wildlife tourism support rural communities in impoverished nations, but it supports them in the ability to preserve their natural and wildlife heritage for their future generations who, hopefully, may have the wealth and leisure opportunities that we have today to enjoy their natural heritage. Staying at home may slow the rise in the world’s temperatures and sea levels, but it will have little value if we loose the best of the world’s national parks and their wildlife in the process!
Further, it is the climatologists, conservationists and other scientists on whom we are reliant in putting pressure on governments to act. Yet from where do these guys draw their facts and inspiration?
From travelling! It is through travelling that we learn about, and learn to love our environment. Cap it, and just who is going to care? Whilst global warming does threaten us and the world’s wildlife, there may also be bonuses. Global warming gives the world an incentive and an urgency to plant trees and, above all, to save our rainforests from the logging and the fires that ravage (and, especially in the case of the latter, add hugely to carbon emissions) – moves that can only benefit our wildlife and their habitats. So, we would argue, if you are having to travel, ‘make travel count’, and make sure that you, or your travel company, are off-setting all emissions that relate to your journey. Better still, if you off-set over and above your current journey’s emissions, you’ll be contributing to the off-setting of emissions resulting from previous journeys you have made!
So what can we do in our Office?
In organising your holiday for you, further carbon emissions are generated in the day-today running of our office. Having a rural office, our staff have to drive to work… to a heated (in winter) and well-lit office that runs all the necessary office machinery to operate your holiday. To minimise our emissions, those who are able to work at home (in so far as it does not undermine the service provided to you!) are encouraged to do so. Currently25% of our work is done by staff who are not driving into work, and we plan to increase this. Low-energy light bulbs are used throughout our premises. All non personal/non-confidential waste paper is recycled locally; so too are all out-dated computers and all other office machinery. Above all, all carbon emissions caused through the day-to-day running of our office and by staff journeys to and from work (and for work) are off-set through Climate Care and the World Land Trust. Emissions from all flights used by Naturetrek staff and tour leaders are similarly off-set.
Your views
We would love to hear your views on this initiative so why not click on the comments link below and let us (and everyone else) know what you think.