Flying produces 285 grams of CO2 for each passenger (considering an average of 88 passengers per flight) for each kilometer traveled. Civil aviation produces about 2% of global emissions and on the other hand when we get on board eight times out of ten we are doing it for pleasure. But also to move in the car, to break every habit related to waste sorting, choosing an accommodation that does not follow even the most elementary rules to reduce one’s impact on the resources used weighs on the environment. In short, going on vacation we pollute as we pollute in our daily life but perhaps even more.
The guide
Small actions, big impact: what you can do for the planet
E se i transport I’m the heaviest item on the bill, too activitiessolutions of hospitality, rentals e consumption affect the weight of our trip. For example, choosing to stay in a hotel means producing an average of 6.9 kg of CO2 for each night. Years ago, before the pandemic crisis, there was even talk of “death by tourism” linked to the uncontrolled growth of the world of mass travel, for example in situations where the number of visitors is systematically higher than that of residents, the impact on housing and their prices, the protection of cultural and natural heritage. However, there are some applications that can give us a hand to contain this impact, if not to eliminate it completely, and to choose the “lighter” solutions for the environment.
Junker, the separate collection done well
The United Nations Environmental Program (Unep) calculated a few years ago – it was 2016 – that 14% of all global solid waste is produced by the tourism industry. That is why, in addition to choosing structures that comply with the rules, in our small way – whether we are in an Airbnb, in a private accommodation and in general in our daily activities at the destination – we should align ourselves with local regulations on waste sorting. But they change from town to town, let alone abroad. Junker (for iOS, Android and Huawei) is an application that allows us to orient ourselves based on the geolocation and the type of product we have to throw away: just scan the barcode or carry out a manual search to understand where to give that single object, as well as to discover the correspondences between materials and symbols printed on the packaging and the calendars of home pick-ups. The only limitation is that it does not work for all municipalities: administrations must subscribe to Junker and join the platform for perfect separate collection.
Fair Trip, sustainable hospitality
Fair Tripavailable for iOS, Android and MacOS, is instead a kind of tour guide reinvented at its roots: it proposes over 3 thousand seats selected by users from home accommodation, restaurants, authentic experiences, with the aim of putting together a collaborative path to discover territories in a sustainable way. Activities can be book directly from the application, which among other things donates 10% of the proceeds to the financing of projects that have a strong social impact in developing countries. Obviously, before being added to the list, a place shared by users is validated by a team and the platform includes a social ingredient, since you can follow the most active and interesting “fairtrippers” so as not to lose their discoveries.
He reports
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Glooby: the flights (and hotels) that pollute the least
The role of means of transport in the budget of our trip, as we have seen, is preponderant. A first step would therefore be to find and compare flight prices, but also considering the most efficient routes in terms of consumption and, as regards hotels, those that have some green certification that guarantees the adoption of certain standards. . This is precisely the mission of the Swedish Glooby, a travel search engine that integrates a series of data to the information provided by the other “olta” to allow users to make a more informed choice. There is an air emissions calculator (as there are many to be honest, like this one) and, as various platforms such as SkyScanner have begun to do, the idea is that of digital “nudging”, that is to lead us to book the least impactful flight possible.
HappyCow: eat veg, anywhere
Still on the subject of the habits that we tend to abandon when we travel, especially abroad, there is that of food. Especially if we have chosen to become vegetarians or vegans, or want a meat-free alternative, HappyCow (iOS and Android but also the web, over two million downloads) is the solution that can help keep us away from fast food restaurants and chains that pollute the most. Not to mention that a vegetarian or vegan diet is by definition helping to reduce greenhouse gases, water consumption and in favor of better soil management. The network covers over 180 countries with an integrated map and the inevitable reviews. You can search for vegetarian, vegan, and vegetarian restaurants if you are traveling with someone who has not yet taken that route.
Closca Water: the babel of world fountains
And while we are out and about, perhaps in the summer for the very hot cities of art, with our water bottle to refill and we don’t want to fall into the trap of plastic, all that remains is to unload Closca Water (iOS and Android), which calls itself “the app with the most drinking fountains in the world“. There actually are 200 thousand geolocated in hundreds of countries, to help us refill the bottle. The assumption, as we know it well, is that 41% of the plastic consumed on a global scale is linked to plastic bottles: we use (and throw away) over 20 thousand of them per second. Among other things, as in many other applications that push us to behave responsibly, there is also a rewards program that includes “refill coins”, digital tokens earned for each refill made, register your bottle or invite friends. . And of course add more fountains to the world map.