Environment

Green tourism has an environmental impact too.

Is it environmentally responsible to travel to Iceland?

The answer to this question is probably NO, unless you carbon offset your flight to Iceland and travel within the country in a way that uses no more resources than if you were at home.

However, as climate change researcher Paul Upham says, "Planes aren't the evil things relative to cars that people imagine".

"Discard your plasma television and save 404kg"
Just about everything we do consumes carbon. According to a 2006 report by economist Nicholas Stern, power stations account for 24% of global greenhouse emissions, shipping, road and train transport account for 12.3%, and flying just 1.7%. Compare this with deforestation in Brazil (9%) and Indonesia (9%) and some perspective is gained.

A couple of hours of flying emits 260kg carbon per person (most for the climb to altitude).
Replace 10 bulbs with energy saving ones and you will save 380kg.
Discard your plasma television and save 404kg (in the UK but not in France as France's energy is 80% nuclear-generated).

See how complicated it is?

Tourism is not just a frivolous 'waste'. As well as the somewhat intangible social benefits, tourism contributes around 8-10% of world GDP and employs 230 million people - many in less developed nations.

The UK Observer (where this information is sourced from) argues to take a more sophisticated approach to overall carbon emission from your 21st century lifestyle.

Choose airlines with new greener fleets thus encouraging plane makers to prioritise environmental performance.
Reduce carbon emissions at home.

But above all, lobby politicians to tackle deforestation and to switch to greener forms of energy.

Do all this says Tom Robins of the Observer, "and we can start to cancel flights in the knowledge that it will make a real difference".

But at the moment, if we only focus on flying, we are missing the boat. Luckily for you (and us), the Goecco Outdoors trips are as low-impact as they get.

Only cycle tourists can beat us.

We hike, kayak, and share a small bus to get around. We also camp and stay in wilderness huts. Accommodation facilities contribute significantly to your ecological footprint, and by avoiding high-impact facilities we reduce our environmental impact.

Responsible travellers can also spend their money with locally owned businesses that have a vested interest in protecting the environment.

Many Icelandic tourism businesses will soon be owned by foreign companies and their profits will taken offshore rather than being ploughed back into local projects, such as wildlife conservation. No one has offered to buy us (yet) so you won't be funding a multinational corporation when you travel with us.

We proudly remain 100% icy owned and operated! Yeah!

Our environmental aim
We aim to minimise our environmental footprint. We know we can't achieve zero greenhouse emissions on our tours but we strive for best practice. We are determined to make our net impact on the planet a positive one.

Reducing your environmental footprint.

What can you do?
Rather than taking three small trips to Iceland in a lifetime, consider taking one big one. Postpone your two-week summer trip in favour of travelling here for four weeks in a year’s time.
Minimise flights within Iceland by planning an efficient route and make the most of open-jaw tickets. For instance, fly in to Keflavik and fly out of Akureyr if possiblei.

Consider your mode of transport: bike is better than bus, is better than rental car, and is better than plane.
Use responsible tour operators who can demonstrate sound environmental policies.
Offset the carbon emission of your holiday by using programmes such as carboICero (more information coming coon, see left-hand side of this page).

Goecco Outdoor's environmental performance.

So what do we actually do?

We use the Green Globe (we are not member of the Green Globe) system to monitor our environmental and social performance. Green Globe is the worldwide benchmarking and certification system for the travel and tourism industry. It measures a business's economic, social, and environmental management. http://www.greenglobe.com

Minimising, reusing, and recycling waste and managing hazardous substances
We recycle plastic, glass, aluminium, and tin.
We load food straight into food lockers instead of using shopping bags.
We buy foods in bulk to minimise packaging.
We replace stone-chipped windscreens when they become unsafe, not simply because they are chipped.
We use environmentally friendly cleaning products.
We dispose of heavy metal batteries appropriately.
We dispose of motor oils, lubricants, and cooling fluids appropriately.
We dispose of outdated medicines from first aid kits appropriately.

Energy efficiency
We maintain our vehicles for optimal fuel efficiency (tuning, tire pressure).
We keep the transport of excess weight to a minimum.
We service our gas cookers regularly for optimal performance.
We educate our clients to minimise energy use at accommodations (turn off lights, short showers, don’t unnecessarily heat rooms).
We run an energy efficient office (energy saver light bulbs, electrical appliances turned off at night, some marketing jobs performed on a bike instead of in a car, conserve water).
We encourage clients to be selective about their choice of transport outside our trips (use local buses instead of rental cars).
We buy local products and educate clients to do the same.

Management of fresh water resources, air quality, waste water, and noise control
We wash our vehicles when they need it rather than every day.
We educate our clients to have short showers.
We clean and wash well away from water sources in the wilderness and drain used water into the soil not water courses.

Ecosystem conservation and management
We adhere to the non existing Icelandic Environmental Care Code.
We prevent spread of invasive species by educating about risks and using current mitigation practises (usually using correct disinfectant).
We discourage feeding wildlife.
We keep campfires small and use dry wood whenever possible.
We assist the Department of Conservation in monitoring sites and help with maintenance tasks in places we frequent.

Management of social and cultural issues
We keep our group sizes small to minimise our impact.
We carry tents so we are not reliant on shared facilities.
We respect the right of other people to enjoy the natural environment.
We respect Viking cultural issues.
We educate clients on the spiritual importance of areas.
We minimise the use of mobile phones in the wilderness, particularly in shared huts and facilities.

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