Green Travel Strategies

Green Travel Strategies

PC: Bill Conn- Healthytravelblog.com

Sustainable travel is not always first on everyone’s priority list when booking their flight and hotel room. We still have to recognize that our carbon footprints are huge, and there are small ways to minimize them all around us. Helping the planet is everyone’s problem, so here’s a few ways you can do your part in guilt-free travel. 

Sustainable travel, also known as “ecotourism,” is essentially about making simple choices to lessen your negative impact on your travel destination. It’s about small changes that make you part of the solution instead of the problem. 

PC: Corinne Wan

While it may take longer, buses, trains, and ships generally have less of a negative impact on the environment than planes. But if you must fly, there are ways to do it. While you can’t control the amount of carbon emissions in any plane you take, booking nonstop flights helps to save the increased emissions that are released during take off and landing. You have plenty of choices in who to fly with, so choose one of the 30+ IATA (International Air Transport Association) member airlines who offer carbon offset programs to contribute to carbon reduction efforts.

When choosing a hotel, make sure to look for the LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council that signifies the hotel’s sustainable development and design, water and energy efficiency, and indoor air quality. 

PC: Amazon.com

To conserve water and plastic usage on your own, bring a refillable BPA-free water bottle on your travels. Also bring reusable and recyclable bags when shopping to avoid plastic ones. To save energy always turn off lights and unplug outlets when not in use. Use public or active transportation, like biking or walking, whenever possible.

These are all small things to look out for and add to your thought process when figuring out travel plans. We only have one planet, and it is our responsibility to do our part to ensure that we leave it better than we found it.

Post a Comment