Carbon Offsets: reducing travel’s enviro impact
British Prime Minister Tony Blair gave a boost to “carbon offsets” with his January 2007 announcement that he would offset the environmental impact of his personal air travel.
There are a growing number of organizations and businesses–in the U.S. and abroad–that provide carbon offsets designed to mitigate the environmental impact of travel, some of which are listed below. In addition, there are some links to additional information about these programs.
The vagabond found a number of these links thanks to ClimateBiz, which bills itself as “the business resource for carbon management,” and Jeff Greenwald, whose article “How to Fly the Guilt-Free Skies,” appeared in the Winter 2005 issue of the National Resouces Defense Council’s OnEarth Magazine. Greenwald is a travel writer and executive director of The Ethical Traveler.
U.S.-BASED PROGRAMS
MyClimate, sponsored by Sustainable Travel International, air and auto travel
Drive Neutral, sponsored by the Presidio School of Management, auto travel
CarbonFund.org, a Washington DC-area nonprofit
Oregon Climate Trust, initially funded by Nike and Delta airlines to offset the emissions generated by Nike employee travel
Better World Club, a North American for profit
EUROPEAN-BASED PROGRAMS
CarbonNeutral, a for-profit company based in England
Climate Care and ClimateSure, a for-profit company based in English
Atmosfair, Germany-based company
TRAVEL COMPANIES
The following tour companies work with Sustainable Travel International to offset their carbon emissions.
Natural Habitat Adventures, based in Boulder, Colorado, to provide carbon offsets for all of its tours tour-related emissions.Escape Adventures, which runs mountain biking tours in the U.S. southwest, claims to be the “world’s first carbon-neutral outfitter.”
Adventure Smith Explorations, based in Tahoe City, California, offers “carbon free cruising” on its small ship tours.
TO LEARN MORE, CHECK OUT . . .Climate Change Calculator, American Forests
Climate Change and Tourism, which researches the environmental impacts of the travel industry