intrepid treads lightly
A tuk tuk can cough up 1.1kg of CO2 per person on a return trip from Khao San Road to Bangkok’s Grand Palace, and even hiking to Everest Base Camp can peak at emitting 4.0 grams of CO2 per person each day. Calculating all your holiday carbon emissions could seem impossible, but Intrepid knows it can be done!
When Intrepid set course to be a carbon neutral company by 2010 we knew it wouldn’t be easy, but we also understood that as a responsible travel company it was the only way forward. So we have employed the help of professionals and are definitely on track to achieving this important goal!
A big (and exciting) step in our journey towards carbon neutrality is the release of our first Carbon Offset trips. We’ve taken 38 of our favourite Intrepid adventures, such as Cambodia Basix, Roam China and Moorish Spain, carefully assessed their greenhouse gas emissions and reduced them where possible. Then we will offset the remaining emissions on these trips with our already pre-purchased carbon credits.
To conduct accurate trip assessments we asked our Group Leaders to provide detailed information regarding the emissions activities of each tour, describing the types of accommodation, the distances and modes of travel and any other possible carbon-producing activities Intrepid uses as part of the trip. We then sent this data to an independent assessor to determine the carbon emissions associated with each element.
Conducting these assessments has taught us a lot about what else we may need to consider if we want to be a carbon neutral company. Our next step therefore, is to conduct a Life Cycle Assessment, so that we can be assured that we have explicitly considered all of our supply chain when determining the boundary of what we are responsible for assessing, reducing and offsetting. Once we have assessed our boundary, we will be conducting assessments against the rest of our trips to be launched in 2010. This is going to be another exciting year!
**The great news is Intrepid travellers undertaking any one of our Carbon Offset trips can enjoy an adventure with a lightened carbon footprint and it’s easy! There are no surcharges or extras you need to pay and we are working with very credible carbon offset suppliers so you know your money is going to reputable projects that are already having a positive impact. Just look for our leafy-green logo to carbon offset your next adventure!
