Earthwatch projects are located around the world, which necessarily involves international travel for volunteers, staff, and fellows. Earthwatch recognizes the impacts of air travel on the environment, and is concerned about these contributions to climate change. Earthwatch also recognizes there may be social and cultural impacts from volunteers, staff, and fellows as foreign visitors to project locations.
Responsible Travel
Earthwatch supports responsible travel, following the guidelines of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism, and aims to:
- Minimize negative environmental, social, and cultural impacts;
- Generate greater economic benefits for local people and enhance the well-being of host communities;
- Involve local people in decisions that affect their lives;
- Make positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage, and to the maintenance of the world's diversity;
- Provide more enjoyable experiences for travelers through more meaningful connections with local people, and a greater understanding of local cultural and environmental issues;
- Be culturally sensitive and foster respect between travelers and hosts.
Carbon Offsetting
Earthwatch offsets the carbon emissions we, and our volunteers, produce by buying carbon credits or emission reduction credits. The carbon offsets we purchase are generated by green-energy projects that have reduced carbon emissions. These projects involve renewable energy, energy efficiency, and forest restoration projects. Earthwatch requires that the offset provider show that real reductions in CO2 are being made, are verified, are additional, and are not counted twice.
We acknowledge that carbon offsetting is not the solution to climate change, but it can reduce the impact we have from traveling to project sites and in delivering life-changing experiences to volunteers and fellows on our expeditions.
In our approach to minimizing our carbon footprint we:
- Support people who wish to travel locally.
- Seek to place corporate employees involved in our programs on projects geographically close to their businesses.
- Operate a carbon accounting system to track and monitor our emissions.
- Educate and inform members of the Earthwatch community about the effects of air travel, greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, and ways to minimize individual impact on the environment.
- Fund scientific field research that contributes to climate change solutions.
- Have undertaken an CO2 audit of our office to assess areas where we can reduce our operational impact.
Carbon Offset Management
Carbon offsetting activities are managed by an internal working group at Earthwatch called the 3CMG (Climate Change & Carbon Management Group). The 3CMG is the entity for which all Earthwatch offices address the issues of carbon management, offsetting, and environmental markets.
In addition, the US Board of Director's Sustainability Committee oversees Earthwatch's carbon reduction efforts.
Future Plans
Earthwatch is currently developing a comprehensive international carbon management strategy that will inform how each office will offset carbon emissions, the methods by which this is achieved, and timeframes involved. Earthwatch aims to go 'beyond the basics' with any carbon neutral program undertaken. This involves not only ensuring the appropriate amount of carbon sequestration needed to offset the organizations' emissions, but also to ensure that long-term sustainable development and ecosystem benefits are also secured.
Find out more by reading our Climate Change Position Statement (pdf).