Thursday, December 8, 2022

How to Be a Sustainable Traveler

 

Travel season will soon be in full swing. Whether you're backpacking for months on end or taking a quick weekend trip, it's all too easy to get caught up in the excitement of a new place and being environmentally friendly may be the last thing on your mind. We’re big believers that traveling is essential to expand your global perspective, to expose you to new experiences, new cultures, and even to make new friends. But for all its benefits, traveling can be a massive strain on our planet. 

 

Let’s get this clear: the greenest way to travel is not to. From plane fuel, rental cars to plastic waste—your wanderlust can leave a large environmental footprint and create a heckton of waste. According to a new study published in the scientific journal Nature Climate Change International, tourism accounts for 8 percent of all carbon emissions worldwide, and contributes to the depletion of natural resources, the degradation of ecosystems, and the proliferation of the waste found from shorelines to trekking trails. Should we just stay at home and recycle? Clearly that’s not going to happen—nor should it. In fact, the trillion-value travel industry is also crucial for economic stability, development, and the conservation of natural and cultural heritage. The answer is to travel responsibly. 

 

It’s all about making simple choices that help to mitigate the negative impacts we create when we travel. Ensure a more mindful and sustainable trip by implementing these low-effort, simple switches so that all of our favorite destinations remain beautiful for years to come. Individually, each one of these choices makes only a small difference in the big picture. But collectively, becoming more conscious about these little things can have a huge cumulative impact.

 

1. Destination matters

Before you book a flight to Japan for a long weekend getaway, check to see if something will satisfy your wanderlust that’s a little closer to home. If you’re flying, you’re adding a significant amount of global warming gases to the atmosphere. Take one round-trip flight between New York and California—with a distance at around 3941 km—and you’ve generated about 20 percent of the greenhouse gases that your car emits over an entire year. A staycation or visiting a nearby location has a smaller transportation-based environmental footprint. Traveling to an area with a massive water shortage may put unnecessary strain or already limit resources, but traveling to an area recently hit by a natural disaster could infuse the local community with needed income and support.

 

2. Purchase carbon offsets

Sometimes flights are just unavoidable, and you can compensate for the heavy carbon footprint caused by purchasing carbon offsets equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide you were responsible for. When you buy offsets, you’re funding an emission-reducing effort elsewhere. Groups such as Carbonfund, Green Mountain Energy and TerraPass use carbon-offsets money to fund clean-energy initiatives, such as wind-power projects and capturing landfill gases.

 

3. Fly direct routes

Another thing that you can do with unavoidable flights is to book a direct route without layovers or flight changes. Studies have found that stops can increase emissions by 35 percent per person, as planes produce their largest emissions and use the most fuel during take off and landing.

 

4. Check the airline’s sustainability

Some airlines are more carbon efficient and have better sustainability practices. These sustainability practices include: carbon offsetting, recycling, and investment into alternative types of fuel. For an in depth information on which flights are the most sustainable, check this post by Soul Travel.

 

5. Pack light

This may sound like one of the more surprising tips, but it’s true that every kilo of your luggage makes a difference. The more a plane weighs, the more carbon emissions it produces. Pack light and only what you need because it saves a lot of effort carrying all that luggage around too.

 

6. Take the train

It might take more time to travel by train, but you’ll see more of the countryside, and feel good about contributing fewer greenhouse-gas emissions. It’s been said that railways are 30% more efficient than driving and 8% more efficient than flying. One study showed that passengers who fly to London to Paris to Brussels generate 10 times more carbon dioxide than travelers who go by rail. Electric trains can also use renewable energy, instead of diesel, to operate. Train companies are also making changes to reduce the environmental impact of trains. LED lighting and improved traction, ventilation and braking systems all push towards transforming trains into a greener method of transport.

 

7. Take public transport or walk

The best way to discover a new place is usually by foot, and it’s obviously the most sustainable. If you’re in an area with public transportation, always take the bus, train, or subway in lieu of a taxi. Metros and subways produce 76 percent lower emissions than single-occupancy vehicles. They also help reduce roadway congestion, which help prevent cars idling and giving off unnecessary gases.

 

8. Driving lightly

Sometimes public transport doesn’t take you where you want to go and road trips are in order. When renting a car for travel, consider a hybrid or an electric car. They use less fuel and produce less carbon emissions than conventional cars.

 

9. Find a green hotel

Another way to make your vacation greener is to choose a hotel that’s committed to bettering its environmental footprint. Eco resorts are available in most tourist destinations, and even major hotel chains are doing green makeovers. Look for hotels that have certifications, such as LEED, to back up their claims. Bonus points for staying in a walkable area.

 

10. During your stay

Reuse towels and sheets for multiple days and let housekeeping know by putting the “do not disturb” sign on your door. According to Travel + Leisure, a “300-room hotel can save around 52,000 gallons of water per year” if they reinforce the reuse of towels. Some guests ditch the everyday rulebook so they can get their every penny’s worth at a hotel, yet it’s the environment that ends up footing the bill. Treat the hotel as you would your home—turn off cooling/heating systems when you leave, unplug appliances when not in use, and don’t take the hotel’s complimentary bottled water.

 

11. Beware of complimentary toiletries

When you’re traveling, remember to bring your own safe soaps, shampoos, toothbrush, shower cap, shaving blade, and other toiletries. Those cute but highly packaged convenience bottles at your hotel are not only contributing to landfills, but may contain harmful, unwanted ingredients. Check the ingredient list, and if there isn’t a list of ingredients, beware.

 

12. Say no to single-use plastics

Take a reusable shopping bag with you when you go to the local markets. Some countries charge plastic bags too so you can save a few pennies when you decline the use of plastic bags. In general, avoid single-use items such as paper cups, maps, brochures, take-away containers, straws, coffee stirrers, etc.

 

13. Avoid bottled water

Plastic bottles account for a lot of waste. Carry a reusable water bottle and fill the bottle with tap water when safe. Nowadays, a lot of airports, accommodations, and cities offer drinking fountains or water tanks that are great for refilling your bottle to stay hydrated throughout your trip. When drinking tap water isn’t recommended, use a Steripen or a similar portable water purifying device to treat tap water or buy large jugs of water to refill your bottle multiple times.

 

14. Recycle

When you’re done with an item, recycle it if possible. Many hotels and cities have prevalent recycling bins and some hotels even recycle unused soap and toiletries. If your hotel or the city you’re in doesn't recycle, consider taking your empty bottles or other items home and recycle them there.

 

15. Respect the local environment

When enjoying the great outdoors, follow the Leave No Trace principles. Don’t veer off marked trails, maintain a safe distance and do not feed animals, leave everything you find including flowers, rocks and leaves and do not ever litter. When diving or swimming, don’t touch or step on coral and check whether your sunscreen might affect the local ecosystem.

 

16. Be wary of animal tourism

Although there are some high quality and ethically operated animal tours, such as Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, FL and Elephant Nature Park in Thailand, it can be difficult to evaluate individual facilities while traveling. In general, don’t visit or support facilities that allow such as walking walking with tigers, riding elephants and holding animals like tigers or sloths. Avoid these activities since they often feature drugged, cruelly trained and/or overly stressed captive animals. Tours and attractions that allow or involve feeding of wildlife should also generally be avoided, as this can alter the animal’s natural diet as well as the surrounding ecosystem.

 

17. Support local

Choosing to support local chefs, farmers, brewers and crafters, you’re supporting the local economy and it decreases energy consumption otherwise used for importing foreign products. The fact that supporting local is eco-friendly is a plus too—who doesn't want to eat delicious local food anyways?

 

18. Choose your souvenir wisely 

While it is important to support the local community, travelers should also be conscious of the souvenirs they buy because not all of them are environmentally friendly. Think twice before you buy any products made from any endangered species, including animal hides and body parts, tortoise-shell, ivory, or coral. They could be illegal and customs may give you a hard time with that.