Minimizing Your Travel Footprint

Posted May 20th, 2010 by Chris Gurney

If you have to travel for business as much as I have been, and you’re concerned about your carbon footprint as much as I am, you begin to look how you conduct yourself on the road a little differently from everybody else.

When you travel you tend to leave a trail of disposable items behind, from food containers, to styrofoam cups, to magazines, to miniature bottles of shampoo. And then there’s the things you don’t see: The exhaust from your plane, or the energy consumed by your hotel room’s A/C while you’re not in the room.

It all adds up, and what’s worse is that we’re leaving an impact on a place that’s not our home. (Although, strictly speaking, the Earth is our home.)

Lately I’ve done so much traveling that I feel guilty every time I hop on a plane, take a taxi, or rent a car (because the businesses I have to go to are nowhere near urban centers).

So I started to ask: If we have to travel, what can we do to lessen our impact on the world?

Here are my thoughts, and tips:

• Question why you’re traveling, in the first place. This first bullet is practically a blog post in itself. For personal trips, try exploring locally. Find out what your city, countryside, state/province, or area has to offer. Otherwise, extend the length of those trips where you have to drive or fly, to maximize the bang for your carbon footprint. For business, technology like WebEx and telephones make it possible to do things remotely; webcams are only making these sessions more personal.
• Try not to rent a car. If you are able, choose a hotel close to your destination, or use public transportation. You may have to do a little more preparation ahead of time, to look up transit routes and such. Google Street View is indispensable when it comes to finding out whether a given area is walkable.
• At the hotel, hang up the Do Not Disturb sign, for the length of your stay. Regardless of how environmentally friendly a particular chain claims to be, not every hotel (or housekeeping person) follows a consistent pattern when it comes to changing towels and sheets. I once stayed at a hotel that changed my soap and shampoo every day. Surely you can get by for a few days without getting fresh towels, and you can make your own bed; isn’t that what you do at home?
• Reuse leftover soap and shampoo. I keep mine in a small ziploc bag in my toiletries kit.
• Turn off the A/C or heat in your room. This is usually controlled by a electronic thermostat, but older hotel rooms need to be controlled directly on the window fan. If you need it, turn it on for short bursts, but remember to turn it off again. People tend to leave it on during the day when they’re not in the room.
• Take a water bottle or travel mug with you. Get used to drinking tap and fountain water. It’s not as bad as you think; less fortunate people in the world survive on much, much worse. Just be sure your bottle is empty when you go through airport security, and fill it up before you hop on the plane. That’s one less cup, each way (at least). While you’re at it, say no to the complementary pretzels.
• Since you tend to eat out a lot while traveling, consider restaurants that don’t require disposable items and packaging, over fast food joints. Other places may offer options, if you ask for them: At Starbucks, if you ask for you next beverage “for here”, and you’ll get your drink in a mug or glass; use your travel mug, if you want to take it with you.
• Purchase carbon offsets. Offsets are like a donation to the environment, but don’t use them to justify your travel. Some frequent flyer programs let you purchase offsets with points.

What tips do you suggest help to lessen the environmental impact of traveling, while still enjoying the benefits that a trip provides?

Photo by chrisjohnbeckett.

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