Top 10 UK and US green travel tips

There are a few easy steps clients can take when travelling to help reduce the environmental impact of their trip.

TO LONDON (FOR THE OLYMPICS?)

1. Plan Your Green Arrival – London is well served by rail – a good alternative to road and air. Eurostar transports you straight to Central London and uses a tenth of the carbon consumed by a plane over the same journey. If you must fly, off-set your flight via one of the many online carbon calculators.
2. Use Public Transport – Avoid hiring a car to get around. You’ll see London in a whole new light from the top of a double-decker bus, or get walking for the best, and healthiest, low-impact option.
3. Reduce Energy Use In Your Hotel Room – You can make a difference by turning down the heating or air-conditioning by just one degree. By switching the TV off stand-by you can reduce its energy consumption by 25 per cent. Always remember to switch off appliances whenever you leave the room.
4. Reduce Your Laundry – Laundry consumes almost 40 per cent of the average hotel’s energy for hot water. Be willing to use your towels and sheets for more than one day and help hotels reduce their energy use by at least five per cent.
5. Use Your Own Toiletries – A lot of energy goes into the production of the miniature soaps and shampoos available in hotel bathrooms which then contribute to thousands of bags of waste each year. Bring your own favourite toiletries and encourage hotels to stock refillable dispensers.
6. Minimise Waste – Reuse plastic bags or pack your own cloth or string bag to carry any purchases. Bring your own water bottle and some rechargeable batteries and a charger for your camera and other gadgets.
7. Support Independent Shops – Buy your souvenirs from small independent stores and support local traders. Their products are likely to be less energy-intensive in their production and you’ll go home with a unique memento.
8. Visit Local Farmers’ Markets- London has several farmers’ markets and you can sample and buy a delicious selection of locally sourced meats, cheeses and organic produce, all with low food miles. Perfect for a picnic in one of London’s many parks.
9. Recycle Your Guide Books – Give them to a friend or leave them at your hotel for another guest to read. It also leaves your suitcase a little lighter!
10. Green Volunteering – For those who want to do a bit more, why not consider short-term volunteering? You could spend an afternoon planting trees in a community garden or a couple of hours helping out at a charity football match. Visit the Time Bank website or the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) website for details.

AND ANOTHER 10 FROM THE USA

1. Destinations: Rather than doing grand tours, travel to one place and stay longer. You’ll use less fuel as well as get to know an area much better. Instead of seeing all of Eastern Europe, why not focus on just Bulgaria and get to know the culture, foods, arts and language?
2. Transportation: You may have little choice but to take a jet to your overseas destination, but once there take trains, buses, boats or cars rather than planes. These save on fuel (compared to planes), are cheaper and allow you to see a lot more of the country from the ground. Even better, bicycle or stay in one place longer.
3. Accommodations: Look for genuine eco-resorts and check out what, exactly, makes them green. Ban Mai Beach Resort, to be built in the next year on the coast of Vietnam, will feature innovative construction, alternative energy and organic farming, and will plant a tree for every guest.
4. Food: Don’t let your paranoia get the best of you and avoid over-packaged foods. Instead, head for the markets, mom and pop establishments, organic shops and vegetarian/vegan restaurants.
5. Drink: Instead of adding to the millions of water bottles that aren’t recycled, carry your own water bottle and refill it from the hotel/hostel multi-liter containers of purified water.
6. Packing: Don’t over-pack as the additional weight results in every form of transportation using more fuel getting you there. Also, as much as possible, borrow travel gear and clothing rather than buying new.
7. Activities: Look for activities that don’t use fuel, packaging or cause damage to the environment. Consider volunteering vacations for organizations that regenerate natural environments or assist abused animals such as the Center for Animal Rehabilitation and Education (C.A.R.E.).
8. Shopping: Buy locally-made souvenirs to help indigenous cultures survive and minimize the fuel used in the transportation of foreign-made goods. They’re also less likely to be packaged in paper, cardboard and plastic which add to our landfills.
9. Guide Books: Rather than buy guidebooks, borrow from friends or do all your searching on line. Some can be purchased in pdf format, chapter by chapter, and can be left on your electronic device for reference such as Lonely Planet .
10. Reduce, Reuse & Recycle: Buy less to save both the environment and money. When you do buy use items until you can no longer get anything out of them. Then give the items to charitable organizations, such as Goodwill or the Salvation Army, which may be able to sell them to someone else for reuse. If not that, then recycle them.

Valere Tjolle
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