We’re going beyond carbon neutral and have set our sights on net zero. With verified carbon-reduction targets in place, a dedicated carbon fund to support our low-carbon projects, and support for carbon removal and biodiversity projects from our non-profit, The TreadRight Foundation – it’s time to get to work.
First, what’s the difference between carbon neutral and net zero?
Carbon neutral means you’re balancing the carbon you’re emitting by reducing the same amount of carbon elsewhere. Sounds ideal right? Not quite- the climate crisis demands we stop producing carbon period. This is where net zero comes in – it’s a plan to get to zero emissions by 2050, and then compensate for any emissions we’re still producing . This means we’re focusing on our own business and investing in low-carbon fuels and technology to reduce our emissions. Having verified science-based targets will guide our efforts and hold us accountable for ensuring these reductions happen.
As the saying goes – you can’t manage what you can’t measure. Our teams have taken significant time to understand and calculate the carbon footprint of our trips so we can get them down to zero. Check out how we do this below.
In 2020, Highland Explorer Tours worked with an independent consultant, Synergy Enterprises, to build a customised Trip Carbon Calculator for our team to measure the emissions associated with our trips, from the moment we pick you up to when we drop you off. It covers all included transport, accommodation and meals. This was a huge undertaking, and some of you might have questions on how, exactly, we did this – well, you’ve come to the right place.
About our Trip Carbon Calculator
Highland Explorer Tours worked with an independent consultant, Synergy Enterprises, to build a customised Trip Carbon Calculator to help us measure the emissions associated with our trips. Our Trip Carbon Calculator was developed in alignment with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, an internationally accepted emissions accounting and reporting standard. In 2022, the Trip Carbon Calculator was updated to allow for greater granularity in the data collection and results gathered by the trip itinerary measurements. As a result, data collection in future reporting years will be able to capture carbon conscious decisions and show reductions in emission totals.
The most relevant and up to date emission factors at the time were selected from international reporting bodies. Emission factors are coefficients that allow us to convert activity data into greenhouse gas emissions. They may differ based on the country or region the activity is taking place in. Where emission factors were not available, custom averages were developed.
Sources include:
What’s in and out of scope?
Here’s what we considered in scope:
Transfer emissions: Include emissions from all forms of transportation during a Highland Explorer Tours trip. This includes transfers that are included in the trip and transfers that result from Free Time Add-On experiences. Emissions from transfers are calculated by taking transfer modes, distances, fuel type, passenger numbers and number of vehicles used for selected trips.
Accommodation emissions: Accommodation emissions are based on average energy consumption by room type from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. A regional energy factor is applied resulting in a unique average for each room type in each region.
Meal emissions: Emissions from meals have been calculated based on two main identifying factors – buffet vs. non buffet and vegetarian vs. non-vegetarian meals. Synergy Enterprises developed customised emission factors for each meal type that accounts for food production and food waste. Emissions are only calculated for meals included in the trip itinerary.
Here’s what we considered out of scope :
Each traveller’s air travel to and from the destination
All pre and post services not included in the base price of the trip
Emissions produced by facilities or buildings we visit on our trips (ie. museums). These emissions are considered the responsibility of the facility as determined by internationally accepted principles for emissions accounting.
Meals purchased by the traveller, above those included in the cost of the trip
What is the average carbon footprint per person per day on a Highland Explorer Tours trip?
Using our Tour Carbon Calculator, Highland Explorer Tours calculated the emissions of 14 tours with consideration of region and distance travelled, seasonality, and number of included and optional experiences. We measured these tours to identify an average carbon footprint per passenger, per day. This worked out to 10.82 kg CO2e per person per day.
Average Carbon footprint per passenger, per day 10.82kg
Highland Explorer Tours is taking several steps to reduce the carbon footprint of our tours:
Over time, our goal is to decrease the average tour emissions per passenger per region per day while increasing the accuracy of our measuring our tour emissions. While we have had our Tour Carbon Calculator and its methodology reviewed by peers and industry experts, we recognize this is an evolving process and commit to collaborating with the industry and incorporating best practices on measuring and reducing tour emissions. We will review and update the carbon footprint of our tour every two years using an updated Tour Carbon Calculator with the latest emission factors.
In cooperation with our parent company, The Travel Corporation (TTC), we will report and verify our 2022 business and tour emissions with an external third-party auditor in alignment with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
If you have questions about our approach to measuring Highland Explorer Tours emissions or ways to improve, email us at marketing@radicaltravel.com.