How Did We Calculate
The Kg of Carbon per Traveller?
We’ll be honest and say this wasn’t easy. It’s been a big project, with several years spent on the drawing board and then three months of solid work to achieve the results we were looking for.
Almost everything in our day to day lives has some sort of footprint and our holidays are no different.
Using emission figures provided by DEFRA (Department for Environment, Forestry and Rural Affairs in the UK), and by surveying 80+ accommodation partners we have managed to calculate the carbon footprint of every element of our trips from the vehicle used to get you around, to the accommodation you sleep in, the food you eat and the activities we provide. Where we have been able to get the data, the calculation uses actual emission figures rather than those provided by DEFRA.
In our calculations, we account for everything that is included in your trip cost. This means that for self-guided tours, our carbon footprint calculations do not measure your personal travel, meals and activities but only the elements that we facilitate. Each trip also includes a pro-rata allocation of the carbon emissions arising from the wider operation of our business which includes the office, staff travel and running the websites.
Hopefully, you’re still with us at this point but it’s important to say that although our calculation system isn’t perfect, it is highly accurate and based on science. Most importantly, it allows us to see what we can improve and by calculating every element of the business we can see where to focus our attention in order to achieve the emission reduction targets we have set.