Carbon emissions of our travels

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As travel professionals and outdoor specialists, we are acutely aware of the impacts that our adventures are having on the environment. We are committed to preserving the natural spaces and indigenous communities that we encounter on our trips.
With this in mind, we want to provide you with the information that will allow you to make more informed decisions, in order to contribute to reducing your carbon footprint. We endeavour to have complete transparency in our carbon management. Displaying our calculation methods and the amounts of carbon emissions each of our trips produces, provides you with insights into how we are optimizing our trips and offering stays that emit increasingly less CO2 and greenhouse gases.

What are carbon emissions?

Carbon emissions, often referred to as carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, are a measure of greenhouse gases (GHGs) released into the atmosphere due to various human activities. These GHGs are one of the main causes of global warming and climate change that we see today. They are emitted mainly by the combustion of fossil fuels, such as oil, gas and coal, as well as other industrial and agricultural activities. The main GHGs emitted by these activities are water vapour, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and ozone (O3).

What do we mean when we talk about “CO2 equivalent”?

This allows the impacts of different GHGs on the environment to be compared and combined, then represented using a single “CO2 equivalent” unit. For example, methane is 28 times more polluting than CO2, so 1kg of methane therefore represents 28kg CO2e (the little “e” meaning “equivalent”).

What do the kg of CO2 displayed on our trips correspond to?

When we are calculating the carbon emissions produced by our trips, we take into consideration: accommodation, fuel, transport, flights and activities  - food is included as a ‘default’ option as this varies from trip to trip so we work this out as an estimated average. These are then worked out using our Carmacal calculator, which is specific to the travel sector, allowing specific hotel/activity/transport emissions to be inputted on multiple days and occasions.

As an example:
  • 1 kg of CO2e = 500 km by TGV
  • 2 kg of CO2e = a 10km journey with a classic petrol car
  • 10 kg of CO2e = a meal with red meat
  • 1000 kg CO2e = a one-way plane trip from London to New York

To provide even more context, here are examples of the calculations for our most popular trips:

  • Le Vietnam du Nord au Sud, 15 jours

    6175 kg CO2 per traveller
    • Transports (19984 km) : 5886 kg
    • Hébergements : 214 kg
    • Transferts (1939 km) : 75 kg
    • Activités : 0 kg

  • Égypte : Panoramas pharaoniques, 15 jours

    1985 kg CO2 per traveller
    • Transports (6742 km) : 1727 kg
    • Hébergements : 155 kg
    • Transferts (2120 km) : 101 kg
    • Activités : 2 kg

  • Espagne : Randonnée en Catalogne entre mer et montagne, 8 jours

    164 kg CO2 per traveller
    • Transports : 0 kg
    • Hébergements : 144 kg
    • Transferts (472 km) : 16 kg
    • Activités : 4 kg

How are the carbon emissions from our trips calculated?

At Kandoo Adventures, we take our environmental responsibility seriously. We calculate the carbon emissions of each trip by taking into account several factors, including:
  • Transport: we assess the environmental impact of the means of transport used during the trip, taking into account the use of planes, cars, trains and boats.
  • Accommodation: we consider the types of accommodation we use, favouring those which adopt more environmentally friendly practices.
  • Activities: we analyze the activities included in each trip, ensuring that they have minimal impact on the environment.
  • Food: we encourage our local partners to adopt sustainable catering practices, such as promoting local cuisine and reducing food waste.
NB: We have decided not to take aerial emissions into account in our calculation as we don’t provide these within our trips, the data displayed on these circuits therefore only corresponds to the calculation of in-destination emissions.

Our commitments and actions for the decarbonization of our travels

At Kandoo Adventures, we believe in collective responsibility for our planet. We are proud to take steps to reduce our environmental impact and allow our travellers to participate in this effort. Our various actions on the ground help to reduce our impact and also allow our travellers to have local influence. If you want to know more about the actions we are implementing to improve our sustainability, you can take a look at our Sustainability page.