Films such as Seaspiracy alongside documentaries including Seven Worlds, One Planet from Sir David Attenborough, cast a light on the importance of living a more sustainable lifestyle due to our impact on the environment. This can sometimes be a little tricky when it comes to holidays. However there are ways in which we can ensure that our holidays are more ‘green’ and we can make an effort to travel sustainably. The provisional statistics released by the UK Government show that carbon dioxide emissions dropped by 10.7% for 2020 vs. 2019, primarily due to the lockdown, but in 2021 and 2022 we can build on this and ensure that we make choices to enable our holidays to be more sustainable. 

Really simple and effective ways to reduce our holiday carbon footprints include offsetting air miles through the airline that you have booked with, the easiest way if available, or using a respected offsetter such as Climatecare who have a calculator to help with this. Alternatively use different modes of transport that have a lower impact such as taking the train to your favoured destination if possible, wonderfully feasible for a ski holiday, less so if the Maldives is your chosen destination! Furthermore opting for a non-stop direct flight is also better than one with a stop-over; taking off and landing are very fuel heavy for aircraft.

Another sustainable practice to embrace whilst away is to eat local where possible. This is something we are firm advocates of, after all who doesn’t want to sample the beautiful local produce and cuisine? Other small practices which will aid your sustainable tourism efforts are to take a reusable water bottle, buy locally to aid development in the country which you are visiting, to pack lighter as this reduces fuel consumption, and to embrace paperless travel checking-in online to save printing.

There are of course some properties which are also making significant efforts to be ‘greener’ and to lead the way to a more sustainable future. Below are three properties which we would recommend if you are looking for a property which embraces the sustainable lifestyle.

1. The Farncombe Estate in The Cotswolds:

Combining three of our favourite Cotswold properties: Dormy House, Foxhill Manor and The Fish, the Farncombe Estate is an indulgent countryside retreat. Perfect for a relaxing few days away as a couple, a corporate break, or even a special birthday celebration. 

First and foremost, by enjoying a staycation there is no air travel, this immediately results in a warm glow that you are heading away for a few nights away with a lower impact and also likelihood is you will be on holiday within a few hours drive. 

Secondly the eco-credentials of the Farncombe Estate are ‘green and getting greener’. The Estate aims to be in harmony with the stunning Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that it sits within and to integrate with it. Farncombe Estate has an impressive list of sustainable credentials:

• 0% waste. No landfill, the estate recycles 75% of its waste and the remaining 25% is sent to a waste incineration plant to generate electricity, meanwhile the food waste goes to a nearby anaerobic digester to break down the waste.
• Donating and recycling old IT equipment to schools in Africa. No landfill for any IT systems which are upgraded, they are renewed, recycled and equipping learning in Africa.
• Going off grid… Watch this space, Farncombe Estate are in the pre-application stage of building a solar farm, meeting all their energy needs on site.
• Farm to Table dining. The pork used on-site is all reared throughout the grounds of the Farncombe Estate, meanwhile the fine dining which is on offer at restaurants such as The Back Garden at Dormy House focus on local ingredients, vegetables grown in the hotel gardens, and responsibility cultivated grains. All whilst retaining the beautiful flavour of the ingredients and creating delicious feasts for guests.
• The Fish and Foxhill Manor are run on green energy. Meanwhile Dormy House is on the ‘to-do’ list. The Fish also received a generous amount of insulation when it was renovated as well as an upgrade to LED lighting.

This isn’t all that is being done to improve the sustainability of the Farncombe Estate, but hopefully it gives you an idea of the strides which are being made to improve things.

2. SALT of Palmar, Mauritius

For those in search of a beautiful beach holiday, their fill of Vitamin D over the winter, or just luxurious surroundings to make the most of, the SALT of Palmar is ideal. This stunning Mauritian resort is the ideal sustainable retreat. Mauritius is a good destination for sustainable tourism as it is easily reached by direct flights, it has a bountiful garden of produce which means that visitors can feast on mouth-watering cuisine without many miles on their plate, and the country is beginning to shift focus to sustainable growth.

The SALT of Palmer resort is leading the way in terms of sustainable holidays, not just for the environment but for the local community as well. They have been implementing measures since this luxurious resort opened in 2018. These include putting people first, skill swapping, no single-use and ensuring positive luxury. Further details of each of these is below:

• People first. At SALT of Palmar the aim is to reconnect with local people and local places. There are so many qualities and skills that people have that could be unknown to even their neighbours. The resort up-skills, provides authentic experiences and draws on this pool of knowledge with their skill-swap platform.
• Composting and waste reduction. By eating food at its freshest, it not only tastes best but also reduces waste, but when there is waste here it is composted to reduce the impact of this.
• Part of the SALT farm is used to help the local community. In the neighbouring village SALT have set up a farm school in which farmers share their knowledge and with a focus on fresh, high-quality food and agro-ecology, it certainly bodes well for the future.
• No single use. Single use plastic is a global problem, at SALT of Palmar the resort recognises this and addresses it. Toiletries are packaged in biodegradable cornstarch, the kitchen has more space so there’s less need for plastic wrapping and more storage, and each guest receives a reusable water bottle to use at the still and sparkling water stations.
• Carefully sourced ingredients. Any produce that isn’t grown on-site is carefully sourced from farmers that don’t use chemicals to grow their produce. Meanwhile each supplier of lobster, cheese, fruit and more is carefully chosen for providing the best produce with the lowest environmental impact.
• Positive Luxury Accredited. SALT of Palmar are proud of their green achievements and rightly so, aiming to develop sustainably, tread lightly on those beautiful sandy beaches, and have a low impact that is positive.

This doesn’t mean that guests compromise on their experience at the SALT of Palmar. It adds to it to make your holiday even better. SALT of Palmar is regarded as one of the very best, most luxurious and fantastic value places to stay on the island.

3. Chobe Game Lodge, Chobe National Park, Botswana

Safari holidays to Botswana mean visiting some of the most sensitive and bio-diverse environments. This requires careful conservation, preservation of wildlife and sympathetic understanding of the impacts that the tourist industry has on locals. 

Many of our properties in Botswana have a strong focus on sustainable tourism. Botswana is a wildlife powerhouse, the country tends to offer a more premium safari experience, where the cost is higher, but the holiday might not only be the best that there is, but also takes into account the impact on its surroundings to improve sustainable tourism.

The Chobe Game Lodge is fully ecotourism-certified and combines the ultimate luxury safari lodge with green credentials. In Botswana’s Chobe National Park there is some incredible wildlife to be seen, known for its large elephant numbers, the area is a dream destination for wildlife enthusiasts. 

This premium wildlife lodge is lavish, indulgent and it is amazingly positioned on the banks of the River Chobe. Importantly it has a strong eco-tourism focus. Some of the ways in which it does so are:

• Electric game vehicles. Pioneering work at the Chobe Game Lodge has paved the way for electric game vehicles and electric-powered boats to be used at the lodge.
• Community projects. The lodge gives back to the local communities and has contributed to a number of projects. These include work at youth centres and helping vulnerable women to be removed from sex work in the Kasane area. 
• Grey water recycling. With a huge above ground water treatment plant at the lodge, over 60,000 litres of grey water is safely processed daily, irrigating the surroundings and enabling the beautiful greenery to thrive.
• Female empowerment. There is an all-female team of guides at the camp and a 65% female team has its sights set firmly on empowering and enabling women to inspire and develop skills.
• Recycling. Roughly 95% of the waste at Chobe Game Lodge is sorted and recycled, utilising inventive repurposing from manufacturing bricks on-site from recycled glass, to returning tins for recycling to the relevant depots. Meanwhile the 250 metre boardwalk and deck was constructed from recycled timber and plastic and is maintenance free, resulting in no cleaning and no chemicals bleaching into the surrounding soils and waterways.
• Youth development. The lodge runs a youth development programme to educate and assist in training local youths in the skills which might equip them to flourish in the tourist industry. Many of these trainees go on to become full time employees at the Chobe Game Lodge.

From the incredible boating safaris with solar-panelled electric boats, to the all female team of guides, Chobe Game Lodge is paving the way for sustainable tourism in Botswana. All of this goes on behind the scenes and does not compromise the luxurious quality that the lodge offers its guests.

Hopefully this blog has helped illustrate the ways in which we might be able to travel more sustainably in the future. If you would like to see more of our sustainable properties you can find them here. If you would like to plan your next green travels then do get in touch as our specialists would love to help.