Nat Hab is the world's first 100% carbon-neutral travel company, and we continue to provide leadership to the travel industry.
Did you know travel-related activities account for approximately 10% percent of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change? Or that a long-haul flight generates more carbon emissions than an average person in many countries generates in an entire year? Even a round-trip flight from New York to California emits more CO2 than your car produces in a year. And more people are flying more often. There’s no way around it: travel emits a lot of carbon. That’s why we’re doing all we can to offset the emissions that are generated by our adventures.
We are Industry Leaders in Carbon Reduction
Through our carbon pollution reduction program, we’ve made pioneering strides in the travel industry. Since 2007, Natural Habitat Adventures has been the world's first 100% carbon-neutral travel company. We embarked on that ambitious project in partnership with Sustainable Travel International, reducing and offsetting the carbon emissions that result from all office- and trip-related activities. In 2018, we began partnering with South Pole, a sustainability company that works with businesses and governments to reduce carbon impacts by offsetting greenhouse gas emissions via third-party verified projects around the world. In 2019, we took our commitment to a whole new level: we also offset all our travelers' flights to and from our global adventure destinations, increasing the total amount of our carbon offsetting by 300-400%.
How It Works
We calculate the carbon emitted from activities on your adventure (the majority of these emissions result from burning fossil fuels for transportation). Then, we fund carbon reduction projects to balance emissions in an amount equal to what is released on our trips and via our guests’ transportation to and from our adventures. For example, we support renewable geothermal and hydroelectric energy in Sumatra, Indonesia, and we provide high-efficiency cook stoves in Ethiopia to replace the burning of wood.
Innovative Strides
Since 2022, Nat Hab has supported Tomorrow’s Air, a negative emissions technology that can help clean up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere fast via direct air capture. This progressive technology locks carbon away in rocks, soils, plants and aquifers for long-term storage. While nature provides its own carbon removal solutions, direct air capture has the potential to remove tens of billions of tons of CO2 per year, enabling the rapid, massive removal required to address climate change.
What Difference Does It Make?
From January 1, 2007 through the end of 2019, we have offset 49,418 tons of carbon dioxide. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, this is equivalent to:
- 10,616 cars not on the road for a year
- 5,626,196 gallons of gasoline not consumed
- 115,761 barrels of oil not consumed
- 8,465 homes not using electricity for one year
- 826,761 tree seedlings grown for 10 years
- 338 acres of woodlands preserved from deforestation
- 2,127,479 trash bags of waste recycled instead of landfilled
You Can Offset Your Personal Travel, Too
If you’d like to offset you flights for trips other than with Nat Hab, navigate to this handy carbon calculator on South Pole's website, which lets you calculate and offset your emissions at the same time. It doesn’t cost much, but the collective impact is significant!