Tis the Season
It’s the holidays! Now’s the time to spend that Christmas bonus and make travel plans, yes?
If you’re jetting off for the holidays, do spare some time to read up on the airline company’s environmental policies. It may be hard to avoid chalking up carbon emissions from air travel altogether, but some companies are at least concerned enough to minimise such negative externalities. Singapore Airlines, for example, has made tremendous efforts towards reducing its carbon footprint. It releases comprehensive reports on its environmental, governance and community support programmes, all of which are worth reading about.
Similarly, select hotels with responsible practices. Does your hotel have a corporate responsibility pledge? How green is the building and its choice of location? What are the water, electricity, waste and ecological management practices like? How well are the employees treated? What is the relationship between the hotel and the community it operates in? Here at the CSR Student Movement, we all love the Banyan Tree, not just for the splendid resort experience it provides, but also for the strong focus on corporate social responsibility. The commitment to local environment and community development is evident from the design, construction, operations and management of each resort location. It clearly respects the importance of reporting and dialogue too, as all information on its CSR policies and practices are a mere one click away from its main website.
Let this not put you off travel, of course. There’s nothing quite like travelling that brings different cultures together, allowing people to appreciates the diversity and richness of the world. Tourism is also a main source of income for many developing countries. It has the ability to create jobs, generate wealth, and increase quality of life for the many involved in tourism-driven economies.
But let’s all do it in a responsible manner :)
