Four ways to greener travel
Tips for lightening your environmental load
BY Lindsay Kneteman
Illustration by Dave Donald
The ethics of travel have become more complicated, but planning a green vacation has never been easier. Follow these four tips to ease your effect on the earth—and your conscience.
1. Do your research
Find out what makes a vacation green by reading Lonely Planet Code Green and stopping by the Sustainable Tourism Stewardship Council’s website. The STSC also runs eco-indextourism. org, which is dedicated to green travel in Latin America and the Caribbean. If you’re travelling elsewhere, check out SustainableTravelInternational.org, host to an eco-directory that contains links to everything from travel agencies that specialize in green travel to off-the-grid lodges.
2. Buy carbon credits
It’s better to not fly, but if you are planning air travel, you best know your carbon credits, which are not created equally. Check Gold Standard, a nonprofit that endorses only agencies that support renewable energy and energy efficient technologies that promise sustainable development for local communities. One highly recommended agency, Swiss myclimate, charges $83 to offset the carbon created from a round-trip flight from Toronto to London’s Heathrow airport. That money goes toward projects such as implementing solar power in Costa Rica. (The cost is charged in Swiss Francs, which are worth slightly less than Canadian dollars.)
3. Eat locally
Eating at independent restaurants usually increases the chance that you’re eating locally grown or raised food, meaning your meal creates a smaller carbon footprint. Mike Schreiner, co-founder and vice-president of Toronto’s Local Food Plus, adds that you can increase those odds by stopping by local farmers’ markets and asking vendors where to eat.
4. Watch what you buy
If you happen to be visiting a wildlife trade hot spot such as east/southern Africa, Mexico or Southeast Asia, be sure to familiarize yourself with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Doing so will help you avoid purchasing products made from endangered fauna and flora and skip hassles at customs upon your return.
