The holiday season is well underway. During this time, travelling can be a tricky business for the eco-conscious explorer. Especially for those who choose to fly to their chosen destination. Aviation produces around 3.5% of the world's manmade emissions of carbon dioxide, and as if this isn’t worrying enough, a study in 2010 discovered, that toxic air pollutants created by aeroplanes, ‘kills more people than plane crashes.’[i] 

But don’t despair! We’re here to show you that indulging your wanderlust doesn’t mean going against your eco-principles. We can all make more ethical, responsible (and exciting) travel choices that will ensure we minimise our impact on the planet.

Our Carbon Reduction Promise

As a global company with headquarters in Europe, North America and affiliates all over the world a certain amount of international travel is, unfortunately, unavoidable. While we try to keep the number of flights to a minimum we know that our actions negatively affect the climate.

That’s why we’re committed to offsetting our carbon footprint by planting more trees with our partners WeForest.org and Eden Reforestation Projects. We’ve calculated that, so far, our aviation use has produced 13.1t of CO2, to counteract this we’ll plant an additional 624 trees[ii], on top of the 20 trees planted for every Tree Tent or hammock we sell. To date, we’ve helped plant over 561,000 trees in projects across Zambia, Madagascar, India and Nepal.

You too can become an eco-traveller by drastically reducing your carbon footprint starting today! You may be excused for thinking that it’s much easier for a company with green credentials and environmentally- friendly infrastructure to offset the carbon emissions of its employees’ travel. However, it couldn’t be more straightforward for you to counteract your carbon use. Simply, follow these 3 steps:

 

Deliberate

Ask yourself, do I need to take a plane or can I travel by train or coach? If you’re an inner-city traveller why not walk, cycle or use public transportation to get around? Nowadays, most major and minor cities have excellent zero-emissions options, like the tram.

Calculate

Head over to https://www.myclimate.org/ or a CO2 calculator of your choice and put in your travel destination to see how many tonnes of emissions your journey produces.

Compensate

Counteract your carbon footprint by making a donation to plant trees with us, from just €2/$2. 1 tree can absorb up to 21kg/48pounds of carbon in a year. You can even pick where to plant your trees!

 

 

So, before we book those tickets, pack your bags and board that plane, let’s think how, together, we can make the earth a cooler place this summer. Happy Holidays Tentsile Tribe!

[i] https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/10/101005-planes-pollution-deaths-science-environment/

[ii] Calculation based on a mature tree absorbing on average 21kg of CO2 in a year https://www.treesofstrength.org

 

 

Alex Shirley-Smith