THE GREEN ITINERARY

PLANNING YOUR NEXT ESCAPE? INCLUDE THESE TIPS FOR A SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL WHICH NOT ONLY YOU BUT ALSO OUR PLANET WILL CHERISH.

- Sonali Fabiani

The travel industry creates 8% of the CO2 emissions of the world, which doesn't sound like a lot, but transportation creates 27% of it. So clearly it is a leading industry contributing to CO2 emissions as well as waste because of the number of plastic bottles and other single-use plastics involved in flights, cars on the way to hotels, and even hotels or Airbnbs themselves. Let me share some ways I try to reduce my carbon footprint as an avid traveller myself.

WHILE BOOKING YOUR TRIP

Research hotels with sustainability initiatives. In today's day and age, there are so many. The ones who aren't boasting about it on their website aren't doing it. So don't book those. An amazing example of this is the Park Hyatt at Hadahaa, Maldives. My husband and I went here for our honeymoon-there was zero use of plastic anywhere.

Look up greener airlines. Sometimes the same route will have one airline emitting way less than another. So do your research, because airlines that emit the most usually work hard to hide that data from customers. Check Google flights for flights that say "lower carbon emissions than usual". Google calculates it for you and gives each flight a rating. Skyscanner does this too.

PACKING

Bring your own water bottle, and bring a jute/ cloth bag to carry things around in so you don't have to use plastic. Don't forget a metal straw and cleaner if you need one for your drinks.

GETTING THERE

Flying itself creates a lot of carbon emissions, so the first thing I do is donate to the Sankalp Foundation to plant trees often to offset my carbon footprint. You can even use co2.myclimate.org to check your flight's carbon footprint.