by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 3:43 PM ET, Tue October 15, 2019
As the debate continues over whether carbon offsetting is truly effective, a growing number of tour operators have begun providing offsets on behalf of customers in an attempt to operate in a more eco-friendly manner.
World Expeditions, for instance, has announced that all of its trips will be carbon neutral by November 1. And this added feature will be provided at no extra cost to travelers.
In a statement on its website, World Expeditions says proceeds from its adventures are used to purchase carbon credits through the world's largest and most awarded carbon project developer, South Pole, a company that puts the money toward Positive Impact Projects.
"These projects aim to transition communities from fossil fuel dependency to renewable energy, as well as help protect and regenerate forests that capture and store carbon from the atmosphere," says the World Expeditions website, a company that offers about 500 itineraries across the globe.
The company is offsetting the carbon emissions from the land travel portion of each customer's journey to support a wind farm in Vietnam, a conservation project in Australia, a habitat protection project in Zimbabwe and a hydropower plant in China.
A recent article in The Guardian also noted that Bamboo Travel has announced plans to offset about 1.5 tons of carbon for each client who takes part in holidays in Asia. The offsets will be achieved via the company's partnership with Gold Standard.
Intrepid is yet another notable option for travelers looking to book with environmentally conscious tour operators. The global tour operator, an environmental trailblazer, has been carbon-neutral since 2010. It offsets all of the 2,000 trips it sells by buying carbon credits in renewable energy.
Beginning in 2020 Intrepid will expand its efforts to cover even the flights its clients' book.
Some of the other tour operators launching offsetting efforts of one type or another, according to The Guardian, include Canopy & Stars (which intends to plant one million trees by 2025) and Undiscovered Mountains (which allows travelers to plant a tree to offset their travels).
Responsible Travel, long an outspoken voice in the move toward more sustainable operations in the industry, recently released its own guide to being a more environmentally conscious traveler.
Notably, the company told TravelPulse that carbon offsets are not the answer and suggested in fact, that they have been proven to be ineffective.
"While carbon offsets seem to offer a solution, EU research shows 85 percent of them don't work," Responsible Travel points out in a recently released video.
The company suggests that those who truly want to reduce their impact on the planet should consider a variety of options including traveling by train; taking holidays close to home; or picking an airline that flies newer aircraft. In particular, look for carbon fiber planes such as the A350 and B787.
Still more ways to help reduce the impact of your travels include packing light. (Every item on a plane increases the carbon it burns.) And choose local transport at a destination wisely, opting for local buses, trains, cycling or walking.
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