carbonneutraltourism.co.uk

Defra’s (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs) website has a whole range of information about carbon offsetting which may be of interest to readers.

“British Airways took fresh steps today to intensify its work in limiting aviation’s impact on climate change.

The airline unveiled a new carbon offset scheme, and backing for deforestation prevention in Brazil and research into the effects of aircraft’s non-carbon emissions.

The upgraded offset scheme uses UN certified emissions reductions to help finance clean energy projects in developing countries.

Customers offsetting their flight emissions will be supporting a new wind farm in one of the poorest regions of China, as well as run-of-the-river hydro electric plants in China and Brazil.

The scheme is more user-friendly with customers able to buy their offset in one transaction when they book their flight on ba.com.”

To find out more about BA’s environmental initiatives and policies please click here.

Amtrak which provides rail services to 500 destinations in 46 states on 22,000 miles of track has partnered with the Carbonfund to offer a carbon offsetting service to passengers. US$3.00 offsets 2,500 miles of travel with Amtrak!

Lake Placid news reports Whiteface Lodge now offers guests a ‘carbon neutral’ vacation.  The article reports that Whiteface Lodge is joining the Leading Hotels of the World’s Green Initiative to provide guests with the opportunity to make their stay carbon neutral.

Leading Hotels of the World have launched a scheme which makes “the financial commitment to offset guest’s carbon footprint during their stay at any Leading Hotel…The room rates offered in the Leading Green Initiative have not been inflated to support this program, and are uniform in every distribution channel. All funds are being donated entirely  by The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd.”  Read more about Leading Hotels of the World’s Leading Green Initiative here.

The Voluntary Carbon Standard was launched on the 19th November 2007.  The Voluntary Carbon Standard will provide a benchmark for the voluntary carbon market.

Andrei Marcu, President of The International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) and co-chair of the VCS Steering Committee, says: “While the main action must be in regulatory approaches, voluntary actions and offsets have an important role to play, and the VCS will provide them with necessary credibility.”

Mark Kenber, Policy Director of The Climate Group and co-chair of the VCS Steering Committee, says: “The Voluntary Carbon Standard means business and consumer buyers can now trust the offsets they buy. Its robust quality assurance will trigger a new global confidence in the voluntary market from corporate buyers, consumers, and policy-makers. The VCS is vital for the environment and for growth of an important global market.”  Read more here.

Harbour Air Seaplanes is the first carbon neutral airline in North America. They have been working with Vancouver based Offsetters Carbon Neutral Society. Interestingly, Offsetters Carbon Neutral Society are not for profit company.

Perhaps, one of the first steps to encourage people to offset their carbon emissions is to make it as easy as possible.

In UK with a high percentage of people with mobile phones the World Land Trust has made a significant step in making it as easy as possible for people to pay to offset their carbon emissions. You can send an SMS and offset 53kg of CO2.

A good research report (Tipping Point or Turning Point? Social Marketing & Climate Change) has been published by Ipsos MORI and it’s free to download.

Something I haven’t seen before.  Ethical Taxi  based in Salisbury (Wiltshire, UK) state:  “Whatever vehicles and fuel we use, ethical taxi Salisbury recognize that we will have a negative impact on the environment. Until such times as clean and renewable sources of fuel become available this is an unavoidable by-product of our business. Our commitment is to offset our total CO2 emissions impact by investing in offset programs. We make the commitment to offset a minimum of 125% of our total CO2 emissions each year.”  Visit their website here.