Our Net-Zero Carbon Policy
Our Responsibility
At Tour Guide Agent we care deeply about our environment and the planet that our children will inherit from us. And naturally, we believe that being able to share our beautiful country with you is a wonderful thing. However, we also have the moral responsibility to balance this with the effect that our services ultimately have on the global environment.
Our Pledge
For tour guide bookings that we make for our clients, we will offset an equivalent or greater amount of carbon than that produced by the activities of the booking itself.
For guide bookings that consist of tours or other activities involving road vehicles we will offset an equivalent or greater amount of carbon than that produced by the vehicle and the guide during the course of the tour.
For guide bookings that consist of walking tours or other activities not involving vehicles we will also offset a minimum amount of carbon to further contribute to our commitment to our net-zero carbon policy and the fight against climate change.
We do this by investing in a diverse selection of UN-certified carbon projects and other projects from around the world that reduce, avoid or remove greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere. We understand that carbon offsetting is only an interim measure while new technologies and policies are being developed and this approach alone will not prevent climate change. However, at the moment we believe it’s one of the best ways to remove and prevent further carbon from entering our atmosphere.
Climate change is not a distant, far away problem: it is here in Scotland and we’re seeing the impact already. At Tour Guide Agent we have a love for Scotland and it’s natural beauty, and so we are fully committed to protecting the land that we love to ensure a positive future for Scotland and the wider world.
Why the Net-Zero Carbon Approach?
In 2015, the Paris Agreement set out its primary goal to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Doing so recognizes that this would substantially reduce the risks and impacts of climate change.
At Tour Guide Agent we want to do our bit in the global fight against climate change and contribute to the reduction of harmful emissions into the earth’s atmosphere.
For further reading on climate change, we recommend:
Our 3-Step Approach to Net-Zero Carbon Operations
1. MEASURE your climate footprint.
We measure the main sources of emissions on the bookings we provide guides for and our office operations. To do this we use the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, which provides the world’s most widely used greenhouse gas accounting standards.
2. REDUCE your footprint as much as you can.
We take a sustainable approach in all of our operations and we aim to reduce or prevent harmful emissions wherever possible.
We strive to work with locally-based guides who use modern, fuel-efficient or electric vehicles and encourage them to use public transport when commuting.
In our offices, we only use 100% renewable energy suppliers, recycle waste responsibly, and have virtually eliminated our use of paper.
3. OFFSET the rest with UN Certified Emission Reductions
For unavoidable emissions from our own and our clients’ operations that we cannot further eliminate or reduce, we offset these emissions by purchasing UN Certified Emission Reductions (CERs). These reductions are generated from UN certified projects operating in developing countries.
By purchasing UN Certified Emission Reductions we are making a direct financial contribution to each project in our carbon offset portfolio, allowing these projects to continue reducing emissions. We have identified three key industries from which we acquire CERs from in 2021-2022.
Our Emission Reduction Projects
The funding of renewable energy projects produces clean electricity which is fed directly to the local national grid, supporting the country´s long term sustainable renewable energy development. These projects reduce and replace the use of dirty fossil fuels in local electricity production with clean, renewable energy.
Wind Turbine Power
Wind turbines use wind to turn electric generators and produce electricity. Turbines are often located in wind farms consisting of multiple turbines, either on land or offshore. Wind power is a popular but intermittent energy source that must be used in conjunction with other power sources to provide a reliable supply. About 6% of global electricity production is produced by wind.
Solar Power
Solar technologies convert sunlight into electrical energy through photovoltaic solar panels or through mirrors that concentrate solar radiation. After installation the operational costs of solar power are comparatively low. Solar power produces aboout 3% of global electricity production.
Hydroelectric Power
Hydroelectric power uses falling or fast-running water to turn electric generators and produce electricity. These power plants have long economic lives, quick start up times, and can be used to store electricity by holding water at low cost for peak demand periods. Hydroelectric power produces about 17% of total global electricity production.
Methane Reduction Through Composting
These projects transform municipal solid waste and food waste into organic manure through composting, preventing methane emissions from typical landfill decomposition. This initiative reduces greenhouse gases such as methane from being produced naturally and also promotes environmental and economic well-being by enhancing soil quality and crop yields through eco-friendly organic manure.
Our Emission Reduction Mix
We are currently supporting five emission reduction projects in India and Latin America. Going forward we pledge to continue to increase our contributions to these projects as well as additional projects using other reduction methods as we seek to further diversify and strengthen our impact to the global climate cause.
We will also continuously seek to improve on our current policies, thereby using our standing in the tourism industry as a force for good.
We will continue to seek out new types of effective emission reduction projects locally in Scotland and around the world that we can support in order to cover a diverse and extensive range of industries and methods of continuing the fight against climate change.
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