Selective Asia’s approach to carbon in travel
There's no sugar-coating the fact that travel leaves a carbon footprint.
Flying is always going to significantly increase your annual carbon footprint. It’s that simple. We can mitigate, offset or donate - call it what you will - but flights release carbon and nothing can ever completely negate the impact. Ultimately, the decisions we make about our own carbon footprint (flight, or no flight) matter.
Here at Selective Asia, we know that greenwashing doesn’t do any of us any favours - it just distracts from the things that actually do make a difference.
We believe that reducing carbon wherever possible is essential. When put up against flights, these sorts of steps can sometimes appear trivial, but we disagree. These are the areas where we have an influence and are actively making a tangible difference:
Providing clients with the tools to mitigate their flight carbon if they wish to do so.
Striving to reduce our clients’ overall trip carbon through the recommendation and logistical provision of train or other modes of transport in place of short-haul flights wherever appropriate.
Recommending street-food and local eateries which - aside from being our favourite way to eat - reduce food waste and food miles.
Designing an increasing number of shared vehicle tour programmes and introducing electric vehicles where possible.
Championing hotel and accommodation recommendations which operate with measurable sustainability criteria.
Supporting regenerative woodland projects
We know that travel can have a positive and meaningful impact, and the economic and social benefits it can bring are needed more than ever in an increasingly fragmented world, but we need to be crystal clear as to its purpose, who it’s benefiting, and how the logistics are implemented.
For us, the optimal path is to approach the way we travel by making the most of the carbon impact of each flight, spending longer in each destination, choosing thoughtful activities with a low carbon impact, distributing our spend in each country more fairly, and helping fund research into conservation initiatives that protect forests and look after wildlife.
We do whatever we can to make sure your travels are positive — not just for you, but also for the communities you visit, the conservation and wildlife projects you choose to support, your guides, and the people that you meet.
How we're tackling carbon
Four pillars support our approach to carbon: transparency, reduction, education and community.
Transparency
Using calculations by C-Level, we'll include the carbon impact of your trip within your quote so you're informed ahead of booking. If you want to make any adjustments to reduce your footprint, we can advise on how to do it.
Reduction
We'll define carbon reduction actions for ourselves and our partners in Asia, and work with them to improve efficiency and find more sustainable modes of transport. We'll lobby for greener airlines, hotels, food and vehicles, and we'll even go so far as to share ways you could reduce your own carbon footprint, whilst travelling and at home.
Education
Ignorance is bliss, right? Except it can also end in disaster, which is why we think it's better to let you make informed decisions. We're also committed to training our network overseas, so that they can make the best decisions when it comes to lowering emissions, be that serving up local seasonal ingredients or limiting the use of cars.
Community
We need each other, and collectively we are more likely to come up with the answers, quickly. Committed as we are to always improving, there are many better informed, more enlightened minds out there — we salute you, and hope you'll join this conversation.