Last year, the Team at Envirotels started developing a new kind of travel-booking platform: one that focuses on environmentally responsible travel and accommodations. In 2020, the company has taken its mission even further with the announcement that all of its bookings will be carbon neutral. Each booking through Envirotels will now include the planting of enough trees to offset the carbon emissions associated with the booking made.
Each time a customer makes a booking, Envirotels plants trees that offset the carbon emissions generated from the related travel booking. Each tree can capture more than 200 pounds of CO2 in its lifetime.
“Carbon neutrality was always an integral part of our business plan,” notes Founder, William Rademacher. “And like everything else we do, we took the time to get it right. We could have left the actual planting to a third party and left it at that, but instead we’ve chosen a more direct approach that reflects our customers’ investment in sustainable travel.”
Currently, Envirotels works directly with landowners in Candeias do Jamari, Brazil, a location in the western Amazon, to plant trees that capture carbon emissions while contributing sustainably to the local economy. Its current agreement includes a plot of land on the Piscicultura Paru farm capable of sustaining more than 30,000 newly planted trees. Over 7,000 trees have already been planted in a short time frame. Future agreements with landowners are currently in the works. Rademacher’s goal is ambitious but admirable, ‘I want to reforest the Amazon.’
This direct approach ensures that all trees associated with the project contribute meaningfully to the life and economy of the farm. Most of the trees scheduled for planting bear fruit with demonstrated commercial importance, especially in the production of natural cosmetics. Others represent threatened species, including the severely over-harvested Brazil nut tree.
Working directly with farmers also allows Envirotels to track every single tree it plants, and to share that information with its customers. The company’s TreeTracker application allows customers who book through Envirotels to identify exactly which trees were planted to offset their travel, and to follow their development.
“Our TreeTracker might not be the fastest-paced app on anyone’s phone,” says Rademacher with a laugh, “but it’s a nice reminder that our choices really do have consequences. Even now, when travel has slowed dramatically, we’ve enjoyed a terrific degree of customer loyalty. Our zero-carbon initiative and the TreeTracker app are just two of the ways that we celebrate and reward our customers’ investment in sustainable living and responsible travel.”
ABOUT ENVIROTELS:
Envirotels is an Online Travel Agency (OTA) with a mission – reduce and offset travel-related carbon emissions. For every booking made on the site, trees are planted in the Amazon rainforest in order to offset the associated CO2 emissions. Envirotels do not use any third-party companies to plant their trees. They have ‘boots on the ground in Brazil’ which enables Envirotels to partner with landowners and farmers to reach agreements where trees can be planted on their land that are guaranteed to be protected. Envirotels uses tree planting methods that give landowners direct revenue to encourage them to see trees as a viable income source as opposed to a resource that should be deforested. In addition to offering traditional online booking services, Envirotels provides eco-friendly travel information, tips, resources, and best practices for the Eco-conscious traveler. Envirotels believes that eco-friendly travel is better for everyone (including the planet) and it doesn’t have to cost more than traditional travel. They believe that sustainable travel should not come at a higher price point. Currently Envirotels has a global Hotel inventory of over 100,000 Hotels at some of the lowest prices on the Web. They have partnered with a world-leading Bedbank, to offer highly discounted prices for the consumer.
SOURCE Envirotels
https://envirotels.com