How To Reduce & Offset Your Holiday Carbon Footprint
According to recent studies, tourism is accountable for 8% of the worlds Carbon Emissions. A tourist’s chosen method of travel, excursions, accommodation type and holiday shopping items all contribute to holiday emissions. Much of the UK is taking accountability for their personal carbon footprint and seeking ways to reduce it where they can, so we spoke to budget airline Wizz Air presents easily adoptable ways the UK can offset and reduce their carbon footprint whilst holidaying in 2022.
Donate and board
Perhaps one of the easiest ways to offset your carbon footprint is to donate to projects that take carbon out of the atmosphere. There are projects that plant trees and/or provide renewable energy. There are several smaller projects that are monitored by third parties to ensure that they meet the criteria to claim a sustainable status. Such projects can partake in services such as providing fuel efficient cooking stoves in Rwanda to regenerating forests in Ethiopia.
Be as picky with your flight as you are your destination
Before you book your flights, research the airlines position on sustainability. According to independent ESG analyst Sustainalytics, Wizz Air is Europe’s most sustainable airline. The airline scored a 25.0 ESG Risk Rating, the lowest amongst all European carriers. Wizz Air has received a ‘Medium Risk’ score of 25.0 from Sustainalytics. Wizz’s sustainability achievement includes the lowest environmental footprint on the continent.
(Not) getting that paper
Whether its tickets, boarding passes or Covid certification, there is a lot of paperwork required when travelling from country to country. Going paperless is not only financially cheaper than home printing but reduces the impact on the rainforests and the waste in landfill. According to research by the World Counts, 420,000,000 of cardboard and paper ended up in landfill in 2021. If every traveller opted to go paperless, it would have a profound impact on the environment. Here are other ways to reduce your carbon footprint when you return.
Shop like a resident
We all know the importance of shopping local at home. The same logic applies abroad. Making a conscious effort to shop local not only helps the local economy but reduces your carbon footprint. This is the result of avoiding products that have been imported. Shopping at local markets also presents the opportunity to reduce, reuse and recycle as many sellers tend to sell upcycled products.
In it for the short hall
Long haul flights emit a large amount of CO2 gas. Short haul flights do not reach the altitudes of a long-haul flight, which is where contrails are produced, and carbon exerts gases that are harmful to the environment. It’s estimated that a ¼ tonne of CO2 is produced per hour of flying, making short haul flights a viable option for those wishing to reduce their carbon footprint.
Packing light
If passengers reduce the amount of luggage that they take on a flight, the plane will require less fuel and therefore reduce waste in the country that they are travelling to as less carbon is emitted. Reducing the weight of your luggage by 15LBS can reduce emissions by 80IBs (averaged on a 10-hour flight).
