understand the issues: travel

Sector

Overview

Travel – whether it be commuting to work or going on holiday – is a key sector to get right when it comes to sustainability. It can be difficult to make good decisions. For example, flying produces enormous carbon emissions but overseas tourism can be a powerful economic force against poverty in many countries.

Many people already know road transport produces 30-50% of all airborne particulate pollution, but many are unaware the electronic systems in cars may also contain conflict minerals. However, the commercial rise of electric transport powered by renewable energy along with more travel companies offering sustainable and ethical holiday alternatives is helping to broaden the sustainable options available.

issue

Flying

Budget airlines have revolutionised air travel and made it far more accessible for more people and businesses, however this means the aviation sector is rapidly growing as a polluter. It already accounts for about 2% of global emissions, a number that looks set to more than double by 2050, even if planes become more fuel efficient. A short-haul return flight from London to Edinburgh produces more CO2 per passenger than the average annual emissions of a person in Uganda or Somalia.

SOLUTION

Setting carbon budgets

There are no real sustainable alternatives to flying unless you can find, and have the time, to use a solar powered sailing boat or car. The best you can do is to reduce the impact of your flights and the number of them. Fly only when it is essential and other options – such as video conferencing – have been exhausted. Setting yourself a carbon budget for the year is a useful way to focus thinking. Each flight will require changes elsewhere to offset the carbon used. In addition, use reputable off-setting schemes such as Gold Standard

Keep in mind small things that make a difference. For example, long-haul and direct flights are more sustainable than short-haul flights as most of the carbon emissions occur during take-off, landing and flying at lower altitudes. Use trains and ferries to replace short-haul flights and make the journey part of any holiday experience. Other actions to consider include always flying economy, not business, and researching the sustainability goals and actions of the airline used.

FOR EXAMPLE

World Wide Fund for Nature – UK

The charity measures all carbon produced from all activities and staff, even those where other organisations are paying for the travel. Each department has a carbon budget and a target to reduce it year on year. Speaking at the, Climate Action for Corporate Travel Urgent Sustainability Summit (CACTUS) environmental manager, Lauren Wiseman said the assumption was that staff would not fly within the UK with very few exceptions (such as getting to the Outer Hebrides where a plane could be used for part of the journey). European travel was more flexible with journeys taking more than six hours divided between a train journey and a single flight. The charity also pays for staff to take first class sleeper carriages overnight to get to destinations. Using carbon off-setting travel at the end of the year was a last resort with the priority being preventing the carbon from being produced in the first place.

action

For individuals

Use a carbon calculator to assess your overall carbon impact. Some will distil the current evidence down to an individual carbon budget and this can help decisions on overseas travel and methods of getting to work. This helps reconsider the extra time needed for the journey as essential rather than unaffordable. If, for example, you need to visit family overseas, decide how often you can afford to do this and set a carbon budget to save for it as you would a financial budget.

action

For business

Ensure the carbon emissions from business travel is included in your assessment of the overall carbon emissions of your business. An American Express white paper on sustainable business travel found only 42% of companies measured their carbon emissions from travel and 78% did not address carbon emissions in their travel policies. This will begin a conversation about what is ‘essential’ travel and what is ‘non-essential’. Understand the long-term financial costs to the business of current travel patterns. This is essential in making a business case for infrastructure such as reliable video conferencing and sourcing more sustainable travel operators.

issue

CRUISE SHIPS

Though you might associate pollution mostly with air and land travel, cruise ships are notorious polluters. In fact, the air quality on a cruise ship has been measured as having a 20 times higher concentration of harmful ultra-fine particles than in the city centre of a major port city. They also have an impact on outside air quality. A docking cruise ship needs to run its engines round the clock, generating the same toxic nitrogen oxide emissions as 700 continuously running lorries.

Large cruise ships have around 3,000 passengers and generate 210,000 gallons of sewage a week. In 2016, Princess Cruises was fined $40 million for dumping 4,227 gallons of oily waste off the English coast  and Carnival Cruises was fined $20 million in 2019 for further environmental offences. Here is a list of environmental fines given to cruise ships.

solution

BOYCOTTING CRUISE SHIPS WITHOUT SUSTAINABILITY CREDENTIALS

While ships like the Ecoship and Hurtigruten’s first hybrid powered ship MS Roald Amundsen show that more sustainable options can be built, there seems to be little appetite amongst the biggest cruise operators to become more sustainable. Many seem happy to pay massive environmental fines rather than commit to real change and this is likely to be the case unless such companies see changes in their profit margins.

FOR EXAMPLE

DISNEY CRUISE LINES

Tour and package operators that sell boat trips or short cruises need to consider whether there are better and more sustainable alternatives. At the very least, operators should be demanding evidence that sewage is being disposed of properly and companies are making efforts to lessen their impact on the environment.

action

For individuals

Choosing cruise operators that are looking to minimise their impact on the environment will be the only way of influencing the market. Also consider other options such as sailing holidays.

action

For business

Tour and package operators that sell boat trips or short cruises need to consider whether there are better and more sustainable alternatives. At the very least, operators should be demanding evidence that sewage is being disposed of properly and companies are making efforts to lessen their impact on the environment.

issue

VOLUNTOURISM IN ORPHANAGES

Voluntourism schemes – which combine tourism with volunteering – are often sold as a chance to make a positive change in a poorer region of the world, while being a profound and transformational personal experience. Unfortunately, such schemes can be fraught with ethical issues.

The best example of this are orphanages where voluntourism has been linked to issues ranging from the inefficient spending of charity funds to child trafficking and abuse. The overall goal in some schemes is to profit rather than benefit the children in their care and it’s been estimated as much as 80% of children in orphanages worldwide still have at least one parent alive.

solution

ETHICALLY CERTIFIED VOLUNTOURISM SCHEMES

There are widespread calls to boycott schemes which involve working with orphanages and revised travel advice from the Foreign Office warns of the potential harm of orphanage tourism.

If you want to help children in poorer countries, consider supporting a children’s charity that does vital work with families and young people such as UNICEF. Consider alternative voluntourism opportunities with providers are that are ethical, certified and transparent.

FOR EXAMPLE

Pod Volunteer

Pod Volunteer is a non-profit organisation that partners with animal sanctuaries, conservation projects and community initiatives around the world to provide ethical and supported volunteering opportunities. It has won numerous awards for its sustainable approach to volunteering overseas which includes working with handpicked and continuously assessed projects on a long-term basis which ensures volunteers support rather than replace local staff.

People & Places

People and Places is a social enterprise that offers voluntary positions. At least 80% of its profits go back into the local community, something it verifies by publishing its figures. They encourage volunteers to do research and ask questions to themselves and previous volunteers.

action

For individuals

Volunteering abroad can foster positive change but it does require research. Consider it as you would apply for a job. Check for transparency about the charitable work and how the company operates. Ask if you have the right skills for the kind of work being considered and check how you will be supported during the experience. 

action

For business

Tour operators should be looking to move away from working with orphanages and look for alternative ways to support communities and children. This should include children in any form of ‘residential care’ as sometimes it may not be obvious in the description. The Australian charity Rethink Orphanages helps businesses make the transition away from orphanage involvement.

ISSUE

Leakage

Leakage is a phenomenon where money generated through tourism is “lost” to the host country. This is particularly a problem in less developed countries, with money typically flowing to richer countries via global hotel chains, tour companies and foreign ownership of local infrastructure. These countries are often the places where tourism has real potential to lift people out of poverty.

Leakage rates range from around 40% in India to 80% in Mauritius according to 2011 research published by the German development agency GIZ. In Thailand, the world’s ninth largest tourist destination, an estimated 70% of money leaves the country through foreign-owned tour operators, airlines, hotels, imported drinks and food.

SOLUTION

BOOKING DIRECTLY WITH LOCALLY RUN OPERATORS

The best way to decrease leakage is to increase the amount that tourists spend with local enterprises. This means tourism that benefits local people and businesses by employing locals instead of being siphoned off abroad. Think more authentic local experiences and less lying on a fenced off, “residents-only” beach with an imported beer.

FOR EXAMPLE

Awamaki

Awamaki is a sustainable tourism project based near Cuzco, Peru and winner of the Guardian’s 2019 travel award for social impact. Local Quechua women are employed to host meals and run weaving workshops for day trippers, while overnight trips include a homestay and hiking. The extra income families receive means women don’t have to leave their families to work in cities and children can attend school. 

action

For individuals

Generally, steer clear of ‘all inclusive’ holidays as they provide few opportunities of interacting with the local culture and local people. While it might be more logistically challenging to organise, try to sleep, eat and drink in places that are locally owned and accredited. As well as improving your ethical impact, you’re also likely to get better value for money due to import costs whilst still having some safeguards as to the quality of your experience and safety.

action

For business

Tour operators and hotels should be adopting an ‘ethical’ approach to profits – so local people and businesses truly share in the benefit. This can mean anything from sourcing food from local producers to employing locals as guides and representatives. Visitors will benefit from a more genuine travel experience that includes the lives and perspectives of local people.

Discover more

This article was written in partnership with Ethical Consumer magazine. Revolutionise the way you shop, save and live with Ethical Consumer’s unique shopping guides >