Travel Like It’s 2019? No, Thanks
/Last year I pledged to reduce my carbon emissions. Here’s how the year went.
Twenty-twenty-two was a year in which the world presumably returned to a new normal following the acute phase of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. According to preliminary numbers, travel came roaring back, in many cases outpacing pre-pandemic times. It was a year that seemed to demonstrate that the pandemic lessons of care for each other and the planet were temporary and short-lived. The coordinated will to address the problems threatening the planet are as elusive as ever.
And yet.
And yet I haven’t returned to normal. While I’ve returned to traveling again, I’m not doing it in the same way. I’ve had too much time to think. The direct consequences of human action—and inaction—have never been more clear. I’m not the same, and I’ve met many others like me.
A public commitment
Last year (2021), having spent a career covering the travel and tourism industry as a journalist, editor, and communications consultant, I became a signatory to Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency and the Glasgow Declaration. These initiatives publicly committed me to drastically reduce my business’s carbon footprint over the coming years. After publishing my intention, I had a year to research, measure, and publish my climate action plan and report on progress. Typical writer, I waited until almost the last possible minute to do this. But though I dragged my feet on the deliverables, I remained acutely aware of the pledge I’d made. As you will see, it altered my behavior.
I’m a solo entrepreneur, so to keep things simple, I didn’t try to separate my business and personal activities as they are so intertwined. I also focused my measuring efforts on my biggest carbon expense—air travel. Here are the steps I took:
Establish a baseline: You can’t change what you don’t measure. I selected 2019—a typical travel year pre-pandemic—as my baseline. That year I traveled to Ecuador, Sweden, Mexico, Nepal, and Canada. Using past itineraries and an online carbon calculator, I retroactively tracked my flights. The results: 42,190 flight miles, which roughly equal eight tons of carbon emissions.
Re-imagine business travel: The pandemic years taught us the value of connecting in person, but also that not every meeting had to be in person. We don’t have to attend every conference. Even when conferences returned in 2022, I chose to sit out a few, or attend every other year. It wasn’t easy—FOMO is real—but I found I had more time to follow up on connections from the conferences I did attend.
Slow travel: When I did fly, I made sure to make my trip last longer by adding as many extra days as I could. I built a leisure trip around a work trip. I combined trips to reduce flight segments. I was already starting to travel this way, and the trend continued in 2022. This year my shortest trip was five days (Kansas City) and my longest 33 days (a combined trip to California and Seattle). Compared to my 2019 baseline year, I flew one fewer round trip (five) and averaged more days in the place—19.4 per trip compared to 15.8 in 2019.
Offset the rest: The benefits of purchasing carbon offsets are currently being debated and I admit I haven’t spent too much time digging into the topic. In any case, it’s clear that the world simply can’t “offset” its way into sustainability. Nevertheless, there is a place for it. My focus this year was reducing flight emissions by flying less, combining trips, and where possible, choosing lower-emissions flight options. Using an online calculator like this one, I calculated my 2022 flight emissions to be five tons (down 37.5 percent from eight tons in 2019). I purchased offsets through Carbonfund.org, which cost $62.50, which I rounded up to $75 to offset emissions I was unable to measure or calculate.
Give back: I became an individual member of 1% for the Planet, committing me to donate at least one percent of my income to environmental and social causes. I also volunteer my time as a board member for the nonprofit Adventure Travel Conservation Fund, which addresses climate change from another angle, by protecting natural places and working with local communities.
Tweak lifestyle: I am gradually moving to a lower-waste lifestyle. I work from home and have no commuting costs. I avoid buying single-use plastic cups and utensils. I cook more and therefore have greatly reduced convenience packaging. I save up vegetable scraps, and make homemade stock. The majority of my clothing comes from thrift shops. I belong to a neighborhood Buy Nothing group so I receive items I can use and pass on things I no longer need for others to use. Although I do not have a green thumb, I have learned to grow my own basil and spring onions. I spread spent coffee grounds, pistachio shells, and dog fur balls into a backyard heap to lessen what goes in the landfill. I compost sporadically. I’ve cut my meat/poultry/fish consumption to about once a week. This is nothing compared to what others are doing. They are my models, and have inspired me. Could I do more? Definitely, but what is important is to start somewhere.
Motivate others: As a professional communicator, part of my climate action plan is to inform and inspire others. In addition to the links already mentioned, I found the following resources helpful this year:
Google Flights makes it very easy to compare the emissions of various flight options. Quick tip: Flying economy class and taking a direct flight is better.
There are many published climate action plans on the web. As a solo business owner, I particularly liked the plans of Jeremy Smith and Holly Tuppen.
I follow Helen Coffey (@lennicoffey) a travel editor at UK’s Independent. She swore off flying and proves that even those of us who do travel for a living can do better.
I’m thrilled to see some of my favorite outdoor gear companies have thriving used-gear resale programs. Check out Toad and Co., Patagonia, North Face, REI.
It’s complicated. Learn more about cleaning up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at Tomorrow’s Air.
What’s at stake? The 2021 movie The Last Tourist summarizes the problems with the mass-tourism industry, highlights that problems are connected (as are the solutions), and helps travelers make better choices.
Make a plan: For 2023, I plan to keep pushing on all these fronts, engage the travel industry more on these topics by speaking and writing, double down on my volunteer work with the Adventure Travel Conservation Fund (join me—ask me how!), and ensure my vendors are also working to drive positive change so that my spending has more impact.
Learnings
My biggest takeaway is that intention matters. This was to be a year of establishing baselines and measuring, but the simple act of tracking my flight emissions led to a behavior change that yielded dramatic results: a reduction of three tons of CO2 in 2022 from my baseline year of 2019. A few other insights:
Not everyone is in the same situation: I have the ability to work remotely and therefore control to a certain extent how, when, and how much I travel. I acknowledge that not everyone has that privilege and flexibility. But everyone can do better.
Individual action is only part of the picture: While individuals and communities can have a big impact, primarily by inspiring and demanding change, governments and businesses have the largest role to play in halting climate change and its related issues. We must demand more of our leaders.
In the end, it’s not about deprivation, but about making it count by reducing carbon emissions, staying longer in places, using responsible operators, and traveling in a way that leaves a place better for your having been there. Travel—specifically spending time in places—is both my work and my personal passion. It grounds and animates me; I know many others for whom travel has been equally transformative. The idea isn’t to give it up but to transform travel to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Wherever you are in the journey, I invite you to take the next step. Make your 2023 plan today.