How to know your Retirement Travel is Green
How many times have you seen on a travel website some hotel, flight or excursion claiming to be healthy and good for the environment with absolutely nothing substantial backing that up?
The problem that many “eco” hotels have is they advertise green living and green travel but in reality don’t have any sort of eco-friendly programs, were built decades ago (before flower power popularized) and produce tons of waste per week.
How do you pick through the greenwash posers and ensure your travels are in fact green? Read our checklist, and then pack your suitcase and head on to that green adventure!
- Check out the organizations/hotels environmental policy. A key indicator that what you’re looking at is greenwashing? No environmental policy. The policy will generally be posted on an organization’s website, but are usually available in person in writing as well. These policies should cover the organization’s environmental impact, employment and cultural policies.
- Ask questions! This is the key ingredient to finding out if a place is really green and not just putting the sign in the front window. Ask important environmental questions that a place that cares about the environment should be able to answer, even those who work the front desk. Some questions to ask include:
- How do they recycle?
- Do they employ local guides and leaders?
- Do they have a “green” purchasing policy?
- How do they minimize the effect on the environment by their walking tours in local towns and wilderness areas?
- What are their energy sources?
- What proportion of their revenue goes into helping the local communities or local environmental charities?
- Lastly, get the goods! Generally, a company or organization that makes efforts to help the community takes great pride in it, and likes to brag. Ask the customer service reps what milestones they’ve recently reached, or what environmental programs they’ve recently initiated. Hearing the pride behind employees voices should be a clear indicator they are really there trying to make a difference.
