Our advice on the climate crisis
Our recommendations on: how to reduce carbon; carbon pledges, carbon offsets and carbon neutral holidays; carbon labelling and customer communication
1. LOW CARBON TOURISM
To stave off the worst impacts of the climate crisis, we need to stop all carbon emissions. In the words of Greta Thunberg:
"We are not telling you to keep talking about reaching “net zero emissions” or “carbon neutrality” by cheating and fiddling around with numbers. We are not telling you to “offset your emissions” by just paying someone else to plant trees in places like Africa...
Any plan or policy of yours that doesn’t include radical emission cuts at the source, starting today, is completely insufficient for meeting the 1.5-degree or well-below-2-degrees commitments of the Paris Agreement."
So our first step is to significantly reduce the carbon emissions of our holidays.
2. REDUCING YOUR CARBON EMISSIONS
The three biggest sources of the carbon emissions of your holidays are:
Our new research reveals the relative scale of CO2 emissions from these three sources for four holiday providers. Transport, especially flying, is of course very significant, but you might be surprised how significant a contribution food makes.
2.1. Transport
You should know that since 2009 we’ve advised customers to fly less; to take fewer but longer holidays by air (reducing the number of flights) and to take short breaks by train. When they do fly, we advise them to ‘make it count’ with a responsible holiday like one of yours that delivers real benefits locally.
We need a smaller international tourism industry until 2050, when we may have electric planes for short haul. The market share of more sustainable holidays should grow at the expense of less sustainable holidays, which is why we continue to market your holidays hard. We want to grow our market share in a declining industry.
As you may be aware we have clear policy recommendation for governments and legislators on how we might 1) reduce the demand for aviation and 2) massively increase research and development investment into lower carbon transport – The Green Flying Duty. We continue to engage with regulators, Government and the media around this proposal.
Tips for reducing transport emissions
2.2 Energy use - tips for reducing emissions at the accommodation
2.3 Food - tips
2.4 You should also think about the other areas you can make a difference too such as:
3. MAKING YOUR CARBON PLEDGE
We are founding signatories of www.tourismdeclares.com which – launched in January 2020 – is a network of organisations, companies and individuals working in tourism who have come together to join other industries and regions in declaring a climate emergency.
Together we aim to accelerate our own emission reductions in line with the advice from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which calls for a 55% cut in global carbon emissions below 2017 levels by 2030.
Please consider joining us and you can read more about our actions on this front.
4. CARBON OFFSETS AND CARBON NEUTRAL HOLIDAYS
We know that some of you find these terms useful in terms of communication and marketing but we don’t support either, and think there is a credibility risk for those of you that do. We do support funding of natural carbon solutions.
Carbon offsets and carbon neutral tours are presented as squaring the circle on the problem of aviation and the climate crisis. The attempt at justification lies in the controversial and grey market for carbon offsets. The idea being that by planting trees or, for example, funding more efficient and cleaner wood burning stoves we ‘compensate’ for the emissions from our flights.
One of the many problems with this is that the carbon that we have put into the atmosphere from our flight stays there. This is why climate scientists tell us that we must reduce the amount of CO2 that we are putting into the atmosphere in the first place.
The voluntary market for carbon offsets – does not require the business offering them to make any reductions in the carbon they emit. In fact, they often serve as a fig leaf to cover up holidays with massive carbon emissions or companies whose carbon emissions are growing.
But if I’ve reduced my carbon then surely it makes sense to offer offsets?
Many businesses making this argument are trying to shift attention away from tough decisions about reducing carbon - which means flying less, staying in renewable powered accommodation, eating more locally sourced plant based menus.
Carbon offsets are a misnomer, false advertising. They do not absolve you from reducing your emissions. They do not remove any of the carbon you have put in the atmosphere. They probably do not compensate for it elsewhere either.
We do not want to associate with, or lend support to the ideas associated with offsets. More here
5. FUNDING OF CARBON REDUCTION PROJECTS
We do encourage funding of carefully chosen natural carbon solutions, including tree planting. However, we advise you – for the reasons above – not to market these as carbon neutral tours or call these schemes carbon offsets.
6. CARBON LABELLING
Carbon labelling will become best practice across all sectors of industry over the next few years. They enable customers to make informed decisions about the products they buy.
Based on our initial pilot we have called for carbon labelling of holidays. We are at the very early stages of discussing how a tool might be made available for you to use to calculate the CO2 impact of your holidays, and will keep you informed with progress.
Other customer tips
We now give customers tips on how to reduce the CO2 of their holidays in the Making A Difference (MAD) sections at the bottom of every holiday page. Read your pages on the site to see how.
7. LOW CARBON SECTION OF RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL
We are building a low carbon holiday section of Responsible Travel.
This is a section for trips which are going that extra length to reduce the carbon footprint of travel. We tend to look for at least two aspects of each trip.
8. FLIGHT FREE SECTION OF RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL *NEW*
We are building a flight free section of Responsible Travel.
This is a section for trips which can be reached from the UK by means other than flying. If you have trip(s) that qualify, please get in touch with your Account Manager detailing how for example a customer would arrive by train. UK based operators who book flights for customers must book train travel for customers to appear in this section.
1. LOW CARBON TOURISM
To stave off the worst impacts of the climate crisis, we need to stop all carbon emissions. In the words of Greta Thunberg:
"We are not telling you to keep talking about reaching “net zero emissions” or “carbon neutrality” by cheating and fiddling around with numbers. We are not telling you to “offset your emissions” by just paying someone else to plant trees in places like Africa...
Any plan or policy of yours that doesn’t include radical emission cuts at the source, starting today, is completely insufficient for meeting the 1.5-degree or well-below-2-degrees commitments of the Paris Agreement."
So our first step is to significantly reduce the carbon emissions of our holidays.
2. REDUCING YOUR CARBON EMISSIONS
The three biggest sources of the carbon emissions of your holidays are:
- Transport
- Energy use in accommodations
- Food
Our new research reveals the relative scale of CO2 emissions from these three sources for four holiday providers. Transport, especially flying, is of course very significant, but you might be surprised how significant a contribution food makes.
2.1. Transport
You should know that since 2009 we’ve advised customers to fly less; to take fewer but longer holidays by air (reducing the number of flights) and to take short breaks by train. When they do fly, we advise them to ‘make it count’ with a responsible holiday like one of yours that delivers real benefits locally.
We need a smaller international tourism industry until 2050, when we may have electric planes for short haul. The market share of more sustainable holidays should grow at the expense of less sustainable holidays, which is why we continue to market your holidays hard. We want to grow our market share in a declining industry.
As you may be aware we have clear policy recommendation for governments and legislators on how we might 1) reduce the demand for aviation and 2) massively increase research and development investment into lower carbon transport – The Green Flying Duty. We continue to engage with regulators, Government and the media around this proposal.
Tips for reducing transport emissions
- Offer customers useful advice where possible on booking train travel to the starting point of your holiday.
- Think about incentivising customers to choose lower carbon alternative transport methods such as train travel.
- Use lower carbon transport for transfers and during your tours wherever possible. Local buses and trains, cycling, kayaking, swimming or walking are always a more enjoyable and eventful way to see a place.
- Use electric vehicles or taxis if this is an option in the destination.
- Work with local guides rather than guides flown in especially.
- Avoid domestic flights within your itineraries and use overland alternatives.
- Think about trips that stay for longer and reduce the push on short breaks that involve a flight.
- If customers are flying, encourage them to fly with airlines that use newer planes that are more fuel efficient. Skyscanner can help with that.
- Encourage customers to fly direct – most emissions are burnt at take off and landing so avoiding stop overs can reduce emissions.
- Encourage customers to pack light, again reducing the amount of fuel required if flying.
- As a business, consider writing to your MP or representative calling for a Green Flying Duty / greater and fairer taxation for aviation, as well as an end to airport expansion.
- Wherever possible spread the word throughout your supply chain and suppliers: talking about these issues will help raise awareness and drive change.
2.2 Energy use - tips for reducing emissions at the accommodation
- Work with hotels and guesthouses that use renewable energy whenever possible.
- If you are centre-based, you might consider switching to renewable energy.
- Use low energy appliances.
- Encourage staff and guests to turn off lights and appliances when not in use, as well as air conditioning and heating.
- Be mindful of hot water use – encourage shorter showers instead of baths.
- The age-old tip of reusing towels does still stand so as to avoid energy use for laundry, although that alone is not going to be enough!
2.3 Food - tips
- Be sure to offer a wide range of appealing plant based dishes that avoid meat and dairy. The meat industry requires a great deal of energy for production and this can also result in deforestation.
- Use locally owned restaurants wherever possible, serving local, seasonal produce that avoids food miles.
- Avoid all you can eat buffets which result in a huge amount of food waste.
- Shop locally and at local markets for food rather than international supermarkets.
- As well as following these tips when constructing itineraries etc. also encourage your guests to during their free time.
2.4 You should also think about the other areas you can make a difference too such as:
- Reducing waste – work to eliminate single use plastics such as straws, cutlery, drinks stirrers, water bottles, plastic toiletries and plastic bags. Consider providing guests with a reusable water bottle and tote bag.
- Be sure to ask your suppliers what their waste policies are.
- Buy other items such as equipment, furniture, linen etc from local suppliers rather than overseas brands.
3. MAKING YOUR CARBON PLEDGE
We are founding signatories of www.tourismdeclares.com which – launched in January 2020 – is a network of organisations, companies and individuals working in tourism who have come together to join other industries and regions in declaring a climate emergency.
Together we aim to accelerate our own emission reductions in line with the advice from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which calls for a 55% cut in global carbon emissions below 2017 levels by 2030.
Please consider joining us and you can read more about our actions on this front.
4. CARBON OFFSETS AND CARBON NEUTRAL HOLIDAYS
We know that some of you find these terms useful in terms of communication and marketing but we don’t support either, and think there is a credibility risk for those of you that do. We do support funding of natural carbon solutions.
Carbon offsets and carbon neutral tours are presented as squaring the circle on the problem of aviation and the climate crisis. The attempt at justification lies in the controversial and grey market for carbon offsets. The idea being that by planting trees or, for example, funding more efficient and cleaner wood burning stoves we ‘compensate’ for the emissions from our flights.
One of the many problems with this is that the carbon that we have put into the atmosphere from our flight stays there. This is why climate scientists tell us that we must reduce the amount of CO2 that we are putting into the atmosphere in the first place.
The voluntary market for carbon offsets – does not require the business offering them to make any reductions in the carbon they emit. In fact, they often serve as a fig leaf to cover up holidays with massive carbon emissions or companies whose carbon emissions are growing.
But if I’ve reduced my carbon then surely it makes sense to offer offsets?
Many businesses making this argument are trying to shift attention away from tough decisions about reducing carbon - which means flying less, staying in renewable powered accommodation, eating more locally sourced plant based menus.
Carbon offsets are a misnomer, false advertising. They do not absolve you from reducing your emissions. They do not remove any of the carbon you have put in the atmosphere. They probably do not compensate for it elsewhere either.
We do not want to associate with, or lend support to the ideas associated with offsets. More here
5. FUNDING OF CARBON REDUCTION PROJECTS
We do encourage funding of carefully chosen natural carbon solutions, including tree planting. However, we advise you – for the reasons above – not to market these as carbon neutral tours or call these schemes carbon offsets.
6. CARBON LABELLING
Carbon labelling will become best practice across all sectors of industry over the next few years. They enable customers to make informed decisions about the products they buy.
Based on our initial pilot we have called for carbon labelling of holidays. We are at the very early stages of discussing how a tool might be made available for you to use to calculate the CO2 impact of your holidays, and will keep you informed with progress.
Other customer tips
We now give customers tips on how to reduce the CO2 of their holidays in the Making A Difference (MAD) sections at the bottom of every holiday page. Read your pages on the site to see how.
7. LOW CARBON SECTION OF RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL
We are building a low carbon holiday section of Responsible Travel.
This is a section for trips which are going that extra length to reduce the carbon footprint of travel. We tend to look for at least two aspects of each trip.
- Every trip featured in this section has to have a documented alternative travel means to flying in order to reach the destination. Operators must be able to provide detailed advice on how someone travelling by train from the UK for example could reach them.
- In addition to travel, we are looking for at least one strong example about how the overall holiday reduces its carbon. Do travellers eat/drink locally grown and seasonally produced food and beverages during the trip in the restaurants and hotels/b&bs? How do travellers get around in the destination while they are there – e.g. do you encourage or incorporate into itineraries the use of electric vehicles/bikes/ kayaking/ wind sailing or walking as a large part of holiday? Do accommodations use renewable energy and/or have stand out waste schemes in place?
8. FLIGHT FREE SECTION OF RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL *NEW*
We are building a flight free section of Responsible Travel.
This is a section for trips which can be reached from the UK by means other than flying. If you have trip(s) that qualify, please get in touch with your Account Manager detailing how for example a customer would arrive by train. UK based operators who book flights for customers must book train travel for customers to appear in this section.
