Be An Eco Friendly Traveler On Your Next Vacation

Perhaps you already reuse hotel towels and make sure you turn down the air conditioning and turn off the lights before you leave the room.  That’s great – but there are many other things you can do to make a difference and be an eco-friendly traveller.

  • Choose Eco-Friendly Hotels.  Find out the hotel’s environmental initiatives and frequent those hotels that you think are truly trying to make a difference.  Be wary of anything that sounds gimmicky.  There are some certification programs (ex. The LEED – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Green Globe, Green Leaf, Green Deal) which rate hotels on the basis of their environmentally friendly practices.  Check to see if your hotel has earned any relevant certifications.

  • Consult an Eco-Tourism Index, which is a database of eco-friendly accommodations that is searchable by location, amenities and various green certification programs.

  • Directly query hotels about their environmental practices.  Ask these types of questions:

    • What is your hotel doing in terms of water and energy conservation?
    • How is your business contributing to the development of the local community?
    • How does your hotel dispose of waste?

  • Consider carbon neutralizing.  Popular overseas, carbon neutralizing is a practice of calculating the carbon costs of your trip and then offsetting them with a donation to an organization focused on climate change, which will then put your money to use in carbon reduction programs.

  • Evaluate your alternatives, and if possible, choose the most earth friendly means of getting to your destination.

  • Rent a hybrid car.  You might even benefit from free parking as some hotel chains are featuring free parking for hybrids.

  • Remember to start conserving before you leave home.  On the day you leave for vacation, turn down the thermostat, lower the water heater and stop newspaper delivery.

These are just a few ways you can become a more eco-friendly traveller.  If everyone takes these small steps, we could make a big impact!  Go green on your next vacation!

Posted by on 06/25 at 09:04 AM

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