TORONTO — Intrepid Travel together with its not-for-profit The Intrepid Foundation, has launched an initiative with the carbon offsetting subscription service Offset Earth.
The monthly service allows customers to offset their personal emissions while encouraging users to make positive lifestyle changes for the environment, says the company.
Clients can subscribe to Offset Earth with a subscription plan starting at Cdn$8.75 per month. It’s an actionable way to be part of the climate crisis solution, says Intrepid.
Offset Earth then partners with climate projects all over the world to offset carbon emissions on behalf of subscribers and, as an added bonus, plants trees.
By committing to a subscription plan via the Offset Earth x Intrepid page, Intrepid Travel will match subscribers tree for tree, meaning for every tree planted through Offset Earth, Intrepid will plant one too, effectively doubling their offset contribution.
“The rise of subscription services has been prolific, from Netflix and Amazon Prime to Dollar Shave Club and HelloFresh. But what about subscribing to offset your carbon?” says James Thornton, CEO of Intrepid Travel.
“The effects of climate change are undeniable. Now in 2020, with bushfires currently ravaging Australia, where our company is headquartered, we are witnessing a physical manifestation of the climate crisis and a brutal reminder of the urgency of the situation. For less than the cost of a Netflix subscription, you can commit to a subscription service that helps the planet,” he adds.
For the starting monthly subscription rate to Offset Earth’s carbon offsetting platform, the service will plant 12 trees matched by 12 trees on behalf of Intrepid Travel, while also offsetting subscribers’ carbon emissions with Gold Standard credits, removing 22 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year.
The program also helps users set goals to reduce their carbon footprint overall, such as refusing single-use items, not supporting fast fashion and taking public transportation to work.
“Carbon offsetting is a way to limit our damage while we explore new technologies and solutions to reduce our emissions globally. But to make a real difference, we must all collectively work towards meaningful reduction strategies in our everyday lives,” said Thornton.
“We hope this partnership with Offset Earth will help people consider their carbon footprint and encourage them to start taking action against climate change by way of their own personal habits and choices.”
Intrepid’s trees will be planted in Kenya’s Kijabe Forest, a short distance from Nairobi, by Eden Reforestation Projects and local community partners, which travellers will get to visit on select Kenya itineraries in 2020. The reforestation project will also employ local people, many of whom are single mothers, to help plant the trees and keep the forest safe.
Intrepid has been carbon neutral since 2010 and in 2018 was recognized as the world’s largest travel B Corporation. In 2020, Intrepid Travel will become a climate positive business, offsetting more carbon than it emits through its trips and operations.
All Intrepid trips are offset on behalf of each traveller and the company is continuing to reduce emissions across its itineraries.
Intrepid Travel is also a founding signatory of the Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency initiative.
To sign up to Offset Earth agents and clients can visit https://offset.earth/intrepidreforest. Once subscribed, users can watch their digital forest grow, check in on the Kijabe project, and set goals to reduce their annual carbon footprint.
For more information see intrepidtravel.com/adventures/travel-powered-forest/.
