How harmful is my journey for the climate?

The Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE) has developed key principles for the carbon footprinting of travel.

The tourism industry is facing the urgent challenge of reducing the emissions of the holidays it offers. This is because global tourism accounts for around eight per cent of all emissions, making it a major contributor to global warming.

In October 2021, the German Travel Association (Deutsche Reiseverband, DRV) published a position paper that sets out the key steps for climate protection in business and holiday travel. The basic prerequisite for this is a reliable standard for determining greenhouse gas emissions when travelling. The member companies of the tourism sustainability initiative Futouris e.V. have pledged to make this contribution to climate protection with the industry project "Climate-conscious travel" in 2022.

Prof. Dr Wolfgang Strasdas, Professor at the Centre for Sustainable Tourism at HNEE, together with HNEE graduate Anna Tenger, provided the basis for this with a comprehensive preliminary study. In this study, central principles were formulated and various climate accounting methods were compared and evaluated. The aim is to calculate the specific climate footprint of travel offers. This standard is intended to cover the greenhouse gas emissions from the individual components of the tourism value chain, primarily transport and accommodation.

"I am delighted that the tourism industry has finally recognised its responsibility in the fight against global climate change and is now actively working on the development of an industry standard for the carbon footprinting of travel," says Prof. Strasdas, who is also a member of the Futouris Scientific Advisory Board.

About the "Climate-conscious travel" project

The project is fully funded by contributions from Futouris member companies, which include tour operators, travel agencies, destination management organisations and cruise companies.