Sustainability and eco-friendly approaches are now considered important factors in most aspects of our lives. In particular, commuting and travel are seen as the biggest contributors of carbon emissions which is enough to make any eco-conscious traveller feel a little uneasy. But thankfully it is possible to enjoy the adventure of your travels and getaways while still making a positive contribution to the wellbeing of our beautiful world. In this post I will share with you six easy ways to travel greener that will not only enhance your trips, they’ll make you feel better about yourself too!
How to Adopt more Sustainable Travel
As with other forms of caring for the environment such as recycling our trash and living more sustainably, green travel may take some changes on your part, but it soon becomes second nature. We all know of the carbon footprint caused by a flight from New York to Paris, for example, but there is also lots we can do to mitigate. Best of all, sustainable travelling may even end up allowing you to have more meaningful experiences through deeper interactions with the places you visit. So if you’re wondering whether it’s actually possible to enjoy travelling yet still travel in a more sustainable way, check out the tips below:
Green Travel Tips
Look out for More Ethical Travel Destinations
A good way to make your journeys more sustainable is by choosing to visit or stay at more ethical conscious destinations. There are many countries that are promoting more environmentally friendly policies to protect the wildlife and plants found in popular destinations. In fact there are online resources such as Ethical Traveller that rank destinations according to their eco-credentials. Supporting such countries and resorts helps to protect the environment and goes a long way to show that sustainable practices work.
Be Mindful of how you get there
Getting to your destination is possibly one of the easiest ways through which your carbon footprint could increase. Some ways you can reduce the effects is by booking non-stop flights whenever possible, or sharing a vehicle if other friends or family are driving to the same place. More radical but interestingly different to a flight from San Francisco to Paris is travelling by train or ship. With flying, some airlines also have carbon offset programs, while hiring electric and hybrid vehicles for your trip will also cut down on emissions.
Choose Green Hotels
As the world has become more environmentally conscious, so has the number of eco-friendly hotels and accommodation. Top tips for finding green hotels include finding out if they are certified by organisations such as Green Globe and the Rainforest Alliance, as well as checking the hotel’s recycling policy and sustainability programs. Other important factors include where and how the hotel’s resources are sourced, and whether they offer low impact eco accommodation.
To conclude, we can add other simple but useful habits such as using refillable water bottles, taking shorter showers, and making the most of sharing economy apps. From accommodation to travel and giving back to the places you visit, there are many more ways we can all play our part in addition to the above. These ideas show that with a little change in the way we travel sustainable trips are indeed possible.