Ultimate Guide To Traveling Green!
1. Try to book non-stop flights whenever you can: It’s the takeoffs and landings that create most of an airplane’s carbon emissions.
2. If you’re traveling with family or friends and the destination is within driving distance, perhaps you should consider taking a road trip. But if you’re traveling by yourself, it’s actually much more eco-friendly to fly!
3. If you do fly, consider doing so with one of the 30+ IATA (International Air Transport Association) member airlines who offer carbon offset programs to neutralize the aircraft’s carbon emissions by investing in carbon reduction projects.
4. If you decide to drive to your destination and your car isn’t eco-friendly, consider renting a hybrid or electric vehicle, which use less fuel and produce less carbon emissions than gas-guzzlers.
5. If you have the time, traveling via bus, train, or ship generally has less negative environmental impact than traveling by plane.
▪ TIPS FOR CHOOSING GREEN HOTELS
6. When traveling in the U.S., check to see if the hotel has LEED Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The program judges hotels on sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, material selection, indoor environmental quality, and innovation in design.
7. When traveling overseas, look for seals of approval from other certification programs, such as EarthCheck (Australia), Green Globe, Rain-forest Alliance (Latin America, Caribbean), and Green Tourism Business Scheme (UK). Some countries, including Costa Rica, have their own certification programs to rate sustainability initiatives.
8. Ask if the hotel has a recycling program. If not, encourage them to start one when you leave suggestions on comments cards at check-out.
9. Ask questions about the hotel’s sustainability initiatives, such as solar power, wind turbines, rainwater harvesting, energy-efficient lighting, and low-flow toilets.
10. Find out what percentage of the hotel’s resources are local. Do they hire mostly local staff? Do they get most of their foods locally, or even grow them on the property? Do they use locally sourced materials in the décor? Companies that utilize indigenous resources tend to be more sustainable, as they’re investing in the local economy.
▪ WATER-SAVING TRAVEL TIPS
11. Take a BPA-free water bottle you can refill over and over again. Many international airports have free water dispensers, which saves you money and wasting plastic bottles.
12. Take showers, not baths. Showers use just 10-25 gallons of water, while baths use up to 70 gallons. Feeling frisky? Shower with a friend and save even more water!
13. Try to take shorter showers, turning the water off while you lather up, shampoo, shave, and/or brush your teeth.
14. Never use the hotel laundry, as they typically wash every guest’s clothes separately (even when there are only a few items). We usually wash our clothes as we shower, then hang them up overnight so they’re dry the next day.
15. Hang up your towels after each use, which is the universal sign that you’d like to use them again. You don’t wash your towels every day at home, so why do it when you travel?
▪ ENERGY-SAVING TRAVEL TIPS
16. When you leave your room, always turn off all lights, heat/AC, and television. Closing the curtains and blinds can help keep out the heat of the sun in summer.
17. Leave the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door of your room for the duration of your stay. This cuts down on chemical cleansing agents, electricity used in vacuuming, and the washing of bed linens.
18. Walk, bike, or use public transportation to get around whenever possible, which cuts down on gas usage and saves you money.
19. Return maps, brochures, and other tourist info once you’re finished with them so that they may be reused by future travelers.
20. Take any leftover soap, shampoo, or toothpaste with you. Unused portions are often thrown away, and you can reuse the plastic bottles in the future.. Have a friendly competition to see who can clean up the most unsightly waste.
2. If you’re traveling with family or friends and the destination is within driving distance, perhaps you should consider taking a road trip. But if you’re traveling by yourself, it’s actually much more eco-friendly to fly!
3. If you do fly, consider doing so with one of the 30+ IATA (International Air Transport Association) member airlines who offer carbon offset programs to neutralize the aircraft’s carbon emissions by investing in carbon reduction projects.
4. If you decide to drive to your destination and your car isn’t eco-friendly, consider renting a hybrid or electric vehicle, which use less fuel and produce less carbon emissions than gas-guzzlers.
5. If you have the time, traveling via bus, train, or ship generally has less negative environmental impact than traveling by plane.
▪ TIPS FOR CHOOSING GREEN HOTELS
6. When traveling in the U.S., check to see if the hotel has LEED Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The program judges hotels on sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, material selection, indoor environmental quality, and innovation in design.
7. When traveling overseas, look for seals of approval from other certification programs, such as EarthCheck (Australia), Green Globe, Rain-forest Alliance (Latin America, Caribbean), and Green Tourism Business Scheme (UK). Some countries, including Costa Rica, have their own certification programs to rate sustainability initiatives.
8. Ask if the hotel has a recycling program. If not, encourage them to start one when you leave suggestions on comments cards at check-out.
9. Ask questions about the hotel’s sustainability initiatives, such as solar power, wind turbines, rainwater harvesting, energy-efficient lighting, and low-flow toilets.
10. Find out what percentage of the hotel’s resources are local. Do they hire mostly local staff? Do they get most of their foods locally, or even grow them on the property? Do they use locally sourced materials in the décor? Companies that utilize indigenous resources tend to be more sustainable, as they’re investing in the local economy.
▪ WATER-SAVING TRAVEL TIPS
11. Take a BPA-free water bottle you can refill over and over again. Many international airports have free water dispensers, which saves you money and wasting plastic bottles.
12. Take showers, not baths. Showers use just 10-25 gallons of water, while baths use up to 70 gallons. Feeling frisky? Shower with a friend and save even more water!
13. Try to take shorter showers, turning the water off while you lather up, shampoo, shave, and/or brush your teeth.
14. Never use the hotel laundry, as they typically wash every guest’s clothes separately (even when there are only a few items). We usually wash our clothes as we shower, then hang them up overnight so they’re dry the next day.
15. Hang up your towels after each use, which is the universal sign that you’d like to use them again. You don’t wash your towels every day at home, so why do it when you travel?
▪ ENERGY-SAVING TRAVEL TIPS
16. When you leave your room, always turn off all lights, heat/AC, and television. Closing the curtains and blinds can help keep out the heat of the sun in summer.
17. Leave the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door of your room for the duration of your stay. This cuts down on chemical cleansing agents, electricity used in vacuuming, and the washing of bed linens.
18. Walk, bike, or use public transportation to get around whenever possible, which cuts down on gas usage and saves you money.
19. Return maps, brochures, and other tourist info once you’re finished with them so that they may be reused by future travelers.
20. Take any leftover soap, shampoo, or toothpaste with you. Unused portions are often thrown away, and you can reuse the plastic bottles in the future.. Have a friendly competition to see who can clean up the most unsightly waste.