Green Travel Tips

Transportation:

1. Air travel ticketing: Simple, choose an electronic ticket rather than a paper ticket and thereby reduce the need for paper to be wasted
2. Carbon offset flights: Many airlines are waking up to carbon offsetting and passing some of the expense on to their passengers. If you are so inclined (and can afford it) you can pay a little extra for your flight and the airline will take your extra money and invest it directly into planting trees
3. Bring your own bottle, cup, glass for the airline to pour drinks
4. Carpool or share a cab from the airport especially in metropolitan areas like NYC or Chicago. Nice way to save money and make a friend
5. Walk whenever possible
6. If renting a car, rent hybrids
7. Try not to charge phone, laptops, etc off your car charger
8. Drive around locally with the car windows down or cracked instead of using the air conditioning. DO NOT do this on the highway as it reduces miles per gallon
9. Pack up, adjust seat, buckle up THEN start your car last thing. Modern cars no longer require warming up for efficiency

Accommodations

1. Bring your own soap, shampoo
2. Use soap instead of shaving cream
3. Get hotel close to your ultimate destination
4. Get hotels near public transportation
5. See if your hotel provides bikes
6. Walk stairs instead of using elevators
7. Buy large containers of water to refill your water instead of getting a new smaller bottle daily
8. Support hotels that provide filtered water at the guestroom sink or in the lobby
9. Never trust your housekeeper to follow your instructions for reusing the towels or linens (also don't forget to tip the room attendants at least a $1 per night)
10. If you don't need your hotel room serviced, simple tell the front desk or better still the housekeeper in your hallway that you don't need anything so you don't want
11. Turn TV, lights and other electricity off when you leave the room
12. Patronize green-er hotels

Miscellany

1. Don't buy souvenirs that nobody needs. Your mother-in-law does not need a 2 inch Eiffel Tower for her den
2. Combine work and play: If you just have to attend a meeting somewhere overseas, why not book a few days off after the meeting and stay there for a week or so? That way you get the best of both worlds and you don't have to fly as much, which will massively reduce your carbon footprint
3. Pack light: Your luggage is weighed at checkin so that the amount of fuel needed for the flight can be calculated. Rudimentary mathematics suggests that when it comes to luggage and emissions, less is more