April 11, 2022by Sasha Wood
Adventure specialist Explore has tagged each of its more than 500 trips with individually calculated carbon emissions following customer demand for more information on the environmental impact of their trips.
Explore has declared the carbon impact of its over 500 circuits. (Nick Fewings/Unsplash)
In what the operator claims is the largest tourism carbon measurement project to date, Explore has added carbon ratings for all of its visits to its website, with average trip emissions totaling 632kg.
According to the results, Explore’s greenest trip is Walk the South Downs with 59kg of carbon emitted per person, while the seven-night tours with the lowest footprint are Cycle Canal de Midi and Active Turkey at 79kg per person. nobody.
The effort comes in response to recent research from the tour operator, which suggests that more than three quarters (76%) of people would like to have a clearer picture of the environmental impact of their trips.
Working with ecollective to measure the carbon emissions of each of its 515 tours – including transport, accommodation, activities and tour guides – Explore’s product team added nearly 10,000 rows of data, individually calculating the carbon impact of nearly 2,000 types of accommodation and 24 types of transport worldwide.
The tour operator has pledged to halve emissions from its tours and operations by 2030. It has also launched a Clear on Carbon campaign to educate consumers about the carbon impact of vacations.
It is now asking the travel industry to report the carbon footprint of all tours to help consumers make informed choices and contribute to transparency on the environmental impact of travel.
Explore Managing Director Michael Edwards said, “I am very proud of our team, who have worked tirelessly for months to achieve accurate science-based carbon measurements across our global program.
“And that’s just the beginning. Now, with a clear understanding of the impact our travels have on the planet, the hard work continues as we work alongside our partners and suppliers to begin bringing those totals down. “
Edwards added, “We really need this to be an industry-wide initiative. By working together as an industry, we are stronger and more able to effect change. We know the methodology is there, so there’s really no excuse now for not being completely transparent with our customers.
Measuring carbon emissions is part of Explore’s climate action plan to reduce its carbon footprint, which also includes offsetting all of its travels with ClimateCare and working with Rewilding Britain, Cool Earth and ecologi to protect and restore nature. ‘environment.
To find out more about Explore’s carbon measurement project, visit explore.co.uk/carbon, or for additional training agents can book an appointment with the agency sales team at explore.co.uk/carbon. ‘Explore via its booking tool at: explore.co.uk/travel-agents/bdm.
Along the same lines, TTG Media has partnered with sustainability advisor TerraVerde to measure and report its current carbon footprint, set out a strategy to halve emissions by 2030, and advise on other responsible operations issues. TTG has also signed the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism.