Sustainability and responsible travel is not a trend, it’s the only way forward that literally won’t cost the Earth. Get up to renewable-powered speed with Karryon’s weekly eco-wrap of the latest initiatives making a positive impact in travel.
We get it. Talking about sustainability in travel can often be difficult and easily become the elephant in the room. But the fact is, more and more travellers now are wanting to know about the impact of their trips on the environments, wildlife and communities they visit.
So to make it easy to stay up-to-date on all the new initiatives in sustainable travel and tourism, we’ve curated an easy-to-digest weekly update of all the latest (non-greenwashed) news just for you.
Making a difference simply starts with education and conversation. Please pass it on and let’s all do our bit to make positive change.
For Good, For Travel: Travel advisors can now take sustainable action with their clients
A new “For Good, For Travel” not-for-profit project has been launched to assist travel advisors to help their clients understand specific and simple actions they can take to travel more sustainably. The new online initiative encourages education and giving based on a destination’s progress toward achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals as agreed upon by all 193 member states of the United Nations.
Read on for more here.
Sunshine Coast launches world’s first solar-powered campaign
Visit Sunshine Coast (VSC) has harnessed the power of its region’s namesake for its latest campaign with a world-first ad filmed using solar power in nine locations across the Sunshine Coast. A portable 5kw solar generator attached to the film crew’s production vehicle powered everything from their cameras to laptops, battery chargers and even hairdryers.
Read on for more here.
BNE sets an ambitious target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2025
Brisbane Airport (BNE) is set to be Australia’s most sustainable airport, bringing forward its net-zero emissions target by 25 years with robust plans to improve the planet.
To achieve its net-zero goal by 2025, Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) has committed to transition to 100 per cent renewable energy, purchase all-electric fleet vehicles and develop an onsite carbon removal project within its Biodiversity Zone. BNE has also allocated 285 hectares to preserve and maintain biodiversity on-site and act as an improved carbon removal asset.
BAC has committed to working with more than 100 other airports, airlines, fuel suppliers and industry stakeholders to put the global aviation sector on the path to net-zero emissions by accelerating the supply and use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to 10 per cent by 2030.
Find out more at bne.com.au/sustainability
PONANT shares its first annual sustainability report outlining early results
PONANT has released its first annual sustainability report, charting the company’s course and objectives via its Blue Horizon roadmap to achieve quantifiable sustainability commitments. The Blue Horizon roadmap’s founding commitments – aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals – include a 15 per cent reduction of CO2 emissions by 2026 and to 30 per cent by 2030, eliminating single-use plastics from 2022 and ensuring the reuse and traceability of all waste by 2025.
PONANT will also include scientific research teams aboard the exploration ship, Le Commandant Charcot, and support the international Blue Nature Alliance project that aims to create 18 million sq km of Marine Protected Areas by 2025.
Read the full report here.
CamperMate partners with Welcome to Country to highlight Indigenous experiences
Experiential travel platform CamperMate has partnered with Indigenous experiences marketplace Welcome to Country, listing almost 200 of its First Nations experiences and adventures on its app and website to showcase its products to around 500,000 users each year.
The Campermate app is free to download and uses an interactive map and geofencing to help travellers explore, plan and book everything they need for road-tripping across Australia and New Zealand.
Find out more at campermate.com
Report: 8 out of 10 travellers recognise the importance of sustainable travel
A Trip.com Group survey of 7,705 respondents across 11 markets in Asia and Europe found the impact of travel tops the list of reasons why travellers are increasingly drawn to sustainable travel. Around half of those surveyed said they care about the impact of travel on future generations and a third (26.8%) cited its role in improving the travel experience.
Amid heightened sustainability awareness, more than half (59.2%) of respondents paid for carbon offsets to reduce the impact of their travel. The report also showed that an overwhelming 93 per cent of respondents would consider booking via OTAs that provide sustainable options.
Trip.com also found a lack of visibility of sustainable travel posed a significant barrier to wider adoption – 32.9 per cent stated a lack of sustainable options and a quarter said options are not clearly marked.
Read the full report here.
Tourism Fiji appoints its first Sustainability Officer Sunishma Singh
Fiji’s national tourism board has appointed youth climate activist Sunishma Singh as Sustainability Officer in its first dedicated sustainability role to increase the organisation’s efforts to protect and preserve the Fijian island for locals and visitors.
Fiji has committed to researching and progressing a more sustainable way of living and approaching tourism. Resorts and tour operators all over Fiji are helping build a sustainable industry by re-evaluating and amending their operations as well as supporting conservation and community initiatives.
Find out more at fiji.travel
Got sustainability news to share? Email us at editor@karryon.com.au to be featured in our weekly updates.
