World’s First Carbon-Neutral Travel Company
Marks a Decade of Pioneering Offsets
Setting the sustainability bar higher than it had ever been set before, Natural Habitat Adventures became the world’s first carbon-neutral travel company in 2007. Now, in 2017, Nat Hab celebrates the 10-year anniversary of its carbon offset program, a groundbreaking endeavor that has since offset more than 34.5 million pounds of CO2 for guests’ nature adventures in destinations all around the globe.
As the conservation travel partner of World Wildlife Fund, Nat Hab noted early the impacts of globetrotting clients on a changing climate. The EPA estimates that about 14 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions are travel-related. Offsetting carbon emissions became mission critical for this nature travel company.
Nat Hab’s carbon offsetsencompass every aspect of each adventure—from vehicles on safari in Africa and the American Southwest, to marine diesel in the Galapagos, to energy consumed in lodges all around the world. Carrying through on this promise involves complex calculations—but it’s a commitment that remains core to Nat Hab’s company values as a world leader in conservation travel.
Offsets were a novel idea 10 years ago—something most were dabbling in only on a small scale. Nat Hab partnered with nonprofit Sustainable Travel International to invest the travel company’s offset funds in a variety of high-quality, third-party-verified carbon reduction projects. This early, thorough and visionary action in offsetting guest travel and corporate operations has since caught on in other parts of the travel industry. Nat Hab set the bar high a decade ago, and continues to do so in ways that few companies accomplish on such a broad scale.
Nat Hab’s carbon offset program is standing the test of time with real-deal, boots-on-the ground projects. Each year, a slate of projects is carefully evaluated and assessed for sustainability and viability. Nat Hab’s carbon offsets are currently funding biogas in Vietnam, wind generation in South Dakota and reforestation in Brazil and Tanzania forests. Benefits touch real communities around landscapes where Nat Hab travels. And the company has simplified a process for travelers to offset flights too—with the added bonus that Nat Hab automatically offsets international flights after a guest’s 10th trip.
Nat Hab continues to think globally and raise the bar on conservation. Not only has the adventure travel company offset the carbon output from each and every trip for the past 10 years, but all carbon use from office operations, building emissions and staff flights are offset too.
For information about how Nat Hab offsets carbon emissions and the projects that the Carbon Offset Program supports visit http://www.nathab.com/sustaina
For more information about Natural Habitat trips, from polar bear encounters in the Arctic to a safari-style base camp expedition in East Greenland, visit http://www.nathab.com/ or call 800.543.8917. Click HERE to order a copy of the current catalog.
About Natural Habitat Adventures
Natural Habitat Adventures is a world leader in responsible adventure travel and nature-based ecotourism. Since its founding in 1985, the company has offered eco-conscious expeditions and wildlife-focused small-group tours to the planet’s most remarkable nature destinations. Inspired and created from years of scouring the planet for the singular and extraordinary, Nat Hab’s itineraries are artfully crafted experiences that are far from “typical.” Trips are guided by professional naturalist Expedition Leaders, and Nat Hab enjoys a longstanding reputation for hiring some of the world’s best guides. Conservation is at the forefront of everything NHA does, and its philosophy is simple: tourism must work with and benefit local communities, which will in turn find value in protecting natural resources and wildlife. NHA is proud to be the travel partner of World Wildlife Fund, sharing a mutual commitment to travel as a means of helping to protect the world’s wondrous natural places. Nat Hab has donated more than $2 million to WWF and will continue to donate 1 percent of gross sales plus $100,000 annual through 2018 in support of WWF’s mission.
