Sustainable travel for beginners

You already make some efforts in your everyday life to reduce your ecological footprint or not to harm the environment. You take the bike, you avoid unnecessary plastic waste or you buy your clothes partly second hand – great! But you want to go one step further and travel sustainably? Today we’ll show you a few easy-to-implement tips that you can consider during your trip. In addition, we’ll explain that sustainable travel is not just about ecological aspects. Stay tuned.

Sustainability in three dimensions

Sustainability is often equated or understood to mean environmental sustainability alone. So when one speaks of a sustainable trip, most people will probably think of an ecologically sustainable trip in terms of transportation, etc. Yet the basic framework of sustainability is based on three dimensions or pillars: ecology, economy and social.

Ecology

The goal of ecological sustainability is to conserve natural resources and to deal more consciously with water, energy and other environmental issues, as well as to educate people in this respect. Biodiversity is to be promoted, emissions kept as low as possible and renewable raw materials used.

Economy

The economic dimension of sustainability calls for sustainable management. This means that long-term profit must be generated in order to pay fair salaries or to use high-quality materials in production. The focus of companies should increasingly be on increasing environmental protection and quality of life for everyone rather than just maximizing profits.

Social

In social sustainability, people are the top priority – human dignity and the free development of personality must not be taken away from anyone. The focus is therefore on the overriding issues of justice, safety, and quality standards and criteria designed to prevent forced and child labor.

Sustainable travel – Tips

We have a few easy-to-implement tips for you on how to travel sustainably. Our tips apply to your arrival and departure, your choice of accommodation as well as the activities on site.

Arrival and departure

Of course, the best option is to go on vacation by train and avoid flights as much as possible – especially short-distance flights. The length of your stay should also always be in proportion to the distance traveled. Thus, we recommend that you also plan enough time on site for a long-distance trip.

You can go one step further by having a CO2 offset carried out for your flight. The CO2 emissions of the flight are determined and a compensation amount is calculated, which you can donate to an environmental organization. When packing, go minimalist and don’t forget your own reusable water bottle and jute bag.

Accommodation

How can you recognize a sustainable accommodation? To make sure that the accommodation is set up in a resource-saving way, you can find out to what extent there is a conscious use of water and energy: is green electricity used or are minibars in the rooms and a pool dispensed with? The towels should also not be changed every day.

From a balanced and local organic diet to activities to reduce plastic and separate waste, you can tell if the accommodation has familiarized itself with the ecological aspects of sustainability. In addition, is it an inclusive workplace for local workers and do they pay fair wages? Try to find out these things.

Instead of a conventional hotel, you can opt for exciting, sustainable vacation accommodations. At the socialbnb Project Wings, for example, you can stay in a bungalow built from plastic waste in the world’s largest recycling village for just seven euros a night.

When you stay at the socialbnb SINA VILLAGE, your overnight price supports educational programs for youth in Uganda. The empowerment courses are designed to help young people achieve economic and social independence.

Or how about a stay on an organic farm in southern Italy. Our socialbnb Masseria Agriturismo Moschella not only offers you organic food from its own garden, but also stands out as an educational farm that educates in the field of environmental and animal conservation.

Activities

For your sustainable trip, make sure to book your activities directly with local people so that the money from tourism goes to the right people. This means that you should eat locally or support local retail stores instead of international restaurant chains or souvenir stores.

Treat the local people with respect and adapt to the rules. If you want to do activities in nature, do it as gently as possible for those. Stay on marked trails when hiking or visit national parks where you can observe animals at a distance. Offers where you can ride elephants, for example, should immediately trigger an alarm signal in you.

Enjoy your vacation and be not only physically but also mentally in the here and now. Being aware of places, people and nature rounds off your perfect sustainable vacation experience.

Take a look at this article about our cooperation with SOS Children’s Villages and get interesting insights into the valuable collaboration. You still have the opportunity to win an overnight stay in a socialbnb of your choice every month. All you have to do is register for our newsletter. We keep our fingers crossed for you!