No doubt you have heard the term “sustainable travel” more and more in recent years. And not surprisingly, more than 80% of travelers believe that sustainable travel practices are important because we are so close to the 2030 agenda.
We all have a responsibility to try to reduce our carbon footprint when we travel. Tourists and business travelers travel by rail, from airlines that use sustainable wind energy, to the hotel industry exploring new ways to reduce plastic waste – here are six of the biggest trends in sustainable travel.
1. Committed to using sustainable wind fuel
Sustainable wind energy represents one of the most promising changes towards more sustainable travel. Produced from sustainable feedstock, this type of fuel is not derived from fossils, although it has the same characteristics as conventional jet fuel. In fact, it can reduce carbon emissions by about 80%.
According to the US Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office, many natural resources can be used to develop sustainable wind energy. These include corn grains, oilseeds, algae, agricultural residues, and wood mill waste, among a variety of other options. Leading airlines around the world have already entered into forward-purchase agreements for sustainable wind fuel, including United, Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Delta and KLM. Not only that, several airlines are already operating flights with SAF in fuel blend – 370,000 flights since 2016!
According to Boeing CEO David Calhoun, SAF is “the only answer from now until 2050”.
2. Invest in carbon removal technology
Also known as negative emission technology or direct air capture technology, it is a method that removes carbon from the air instantly, physically and permanently. Although often associated with carbon offsetting, which can often be difficult to measure, direct air capture is often praised as a more concrete solution.
At the mechanical level, a Swiss company called Climbworks is pioneering a new technology that can draw air into a collector using a fan on a modular machine. Then, it captures carbon with a filter made of organic compounds. When the filter is full, the collector is turned off and heated to 100 ° C (212 ° F), which emits pure carbon dioxide (National Geographic).
There are also other, more biological ways to remove carbon from the air. Forestry, afforestation, bioenergy, and improved weather are just a few examples of how direct air capture can help make green travel a reality sooner rather than later. In fact, Science Direct indicates that we have the global capacity to store 5 to 30 trillion tons of carbon dioxide!
3. Opting for more eco-friendly transportation options
Governments around the world are implementing measures to help make travel more sustainable overall. In countries like France, legislation is being passed to make it mandatory for all short-distance domestic travel to be taken by train instead of plane in less than 2.5 hours. The positive effects of such legislation are quite clear – French policymakers claim that such use of rail services could reduce emissions by 40% by 2030.
And it’s not just the government that is showing interest. Travelers themselves are choosing the greenest and most environmentally friendly options when it comes to how they travel. According to our own data, train travel is gaining momentum and is being associated with air travel – especially in Europe. In fact, over 30% of all business trips across Europe are booked on our platform trains. If all travel from London to Paris were taken on a train instead of a plane for one year, 189,120 tons of CO2e would be saved. You need a forest the size of New York to remove the same amount of CO2e.
What’s more, encouraging more responsible travel practices for business travelers and tourists will go a long way. Things like using public transport over private taxis or renting an electric car will make a huge difference. Our recent calculations show that 507,900 tons of CO2e would be saved if all car rentals in the EU were electric for one year. Such a change would be CO2e savings equivalent to all vehicle emissions in a city with a population of 450,000 for one year. That’s the size of Miami!
4. Focus on regenerative travel
Regenerative travel is about empowering and helping an area where sustainable travel aims to minimize the negative effects of travel on the ecosystem, habitat, local communities and more. Traveling in a regenerative way is all about making informed decisions. It helps to understand how the way you travel affects your destination and helps you to consciously repair the addresses and areas in which sellers choose to work.
And no, it’s not like ecotourism. Think of it this way. You may be a business traveler based in New York who often has to go to the London office. To be a resilient traveler, your first step would be to equip yourself with the right information so that you can limit what could harm your business travel environment. You can significantly reduce your impact on the environment by consciously choosing to fly with low-carbon airlines or stay in renewable energy-powered hotels. You can work with a travel agency that helps you offset your carbon footprint and purchase or pay for locally produced products and services.
The same goes for leisure travel. Sustainable tourism can easily be combined with regenerative practice that enables you to enjoy your travel experience and make a positive impact. You can look for local nonprofit organizations that can help you participate in volunteer projects like cleaning up national parks with local people. Not to mention that you can plan your entire vacation with tour operators or travel agents who value durability and help make your trip as “green” as possible.
5. Supporting a plastic and paper-free travel industry
Above all, hotels are promising to eliminate single-use plastics for cosmetics and disposable cutlery, for example. While the hotel industry uses 150 million tons of single-use plastics each year, such initiatives represent a significant shift toward a more eco-friendly travel industry. Simple steps can go a long way in the hospitality sector, including things like:
- Exclude the use of plastic straws, cutlery, shampoo bottles
- Replace plastic bottles with glass or reusable water bottles
- Implement mobile keyless access to hotel rooms
- Set up plastic recycling stations across their property
- Introducing paperless invoicing at check-out
Many hotel chains have begun implementing effective policies in an effort to say “no” to plastics. Hilton is one of the first major hotel chains to create science-based carbon targets aligned with climate science and the Paris Climate Agreement, and has been approved by the Science-Based Goals Initiative (SBTi) in an effort to address their effects on climate change. The chain is committed to reducing waste by 50% by 2030 – to do this, they are replacing all miniature convenience bottles with full size across all of their features and will be completely miniature-free by 2023. They are also using a digital 6 The main program of opening the door of the guest room without the use of plastic keycards, plastic reduces 125 tons of plastic waste.
Yes, you can help make travel more green!
It doesn’t matter if you’re traveling to Costa Rica for a family vacation, traveling to Shanghai for an all-important business trip, or meeting your team to get back somewhere in the Caribbean (you’re lucky) – there are many ways you can be a Green traveler.
Here are some quick travel tips on what you can easily do to make travel more sustainable: