At UnTours we are working to mitigate the environmental impact of travel. Our Green Tag program offers travelers a chance to offset the carbon dioxide created by their vacation. Guests can make a donation to buy a carbon offset, and we invest that money in green projects that help fight climate change. In 2018 we collected $4830 to help offset the environmental impact of our clients’ travel.
We chose to fund the following two programs with the money we collected.
Native Energy’s Southern Ute Methane Well Project is located on tribal lands within the San
Juan Basin in southwestern Colorado. This basin is rich in fossil fuel resources, but as coal seams emerge, methane is seeping into the atmosphere, with dire environmental consequences. New wells are capturing it and putting it to good use, releasing it into the natural gas distribution grid for thermal energy or power generation downstream. This “destruction” permanently and measurably reduces greenhouse gas pollution.
Native Energy’s Ethiopia Clean Water Project is a “help build” project that empowers a local community in Ethiopia’s Sidama Zone, a region with inadequate access to clean water. Through the donation and installation of Hydraid Water Filters, this project is helping with the eradication of waterborne illness. It also provides a safer and more ecologically stable alternative to water treatment, as locals no longer need to chop wood to boil water, an approach that was contributing to deforestation in the region.
We buy our carbon offsets through Native Energy, a Vermont-based organization that funds green projects like these around the world. Part of their mission states: Native Energy believes every penny in your sustainability budget can be invested to create meaningful, measurable change, produce quantifiable emission reductions, build resilient supply chains, and drive exclusive, uniquely positive stories that inspire your customers and peers.
Native Energy offers carbon offsets for travel and household energy usage, and we encourage you to check them out. Their mission aligns well with our green agenda and with the values and work of our owners, the UnTours Foundation.
Also, Native Energy is a B Corp like UnTours is. We work with them to help fulfill our mission as a Benefit Corporation, pledging to value people and planet as well as profit. Part of our rigorous B Corp certification is for our environmental practices. Along with solar power and office conservation practices, we buy green tags to offset employee travel and commutes too.
Thank you for your support of UnTours, the UnTours Foundation, and our Green Tag project! Together, we are making a difference.