In 2021 we got serious about data. This enabled us to know our baseline. Getting the right information at the right time is not always easy, and our data collection is improving as we mature.
Where we have been able, we have set targets and KPIs to help us get there, and these are in our overall sustainability strategy and on our business sustainability dashboard so that we can see our progress each month.
On a global scale, tourism is responsible for 8-10% of emissions.
The term Net Zero means achieving a balance between the carbon we emit into the atmosphere, and the carbon we remove from it. It will take time to rewire the business and our supply chains to achieve this. We’re thinking “Systems change not Climate Change!”
Our direct emissions – circa 5% of total. We want to be Net Zero for the things we can directly control (Scope 1 and 2) by 2030 – from a 2021 baseline (measurement). This is fairly straightforward and what most companies focus on.
Our indirect emissions – about 90-95% of total. Scope 3 include the emissions from our value-chain upstream and downstream from us. This includes our purchasing, our business travel, our waste disposal. However, there is a strong move for leaders to take responsibility for their companies broader negative impact. For us that includes our owners homes. Whilst each is it’s own separate business, they are integral to ours. We can be a super-power to influence change.
We aim to be Net Zero for Scope 3 emissions by 2035, from a 2021 baseline – including wherever we can, taking our owners, guests and key suppliers with us on that journey.
Transparency and trust are integral to our way of working,
We share financial transparency with the team, monitor KPI’s for our social and environmental impacts, and increasingly assess our stakeholder engagement through the year.
—
Accountability is Key
Our eco collection will allow guests to see the work owners are doing, and our digital guidebook allows guests to see what the owners are doing too, and how they can get involved.
Booking.com research shows that over 71% of people would be happier if the house they stayed in was eco-certified and 80% of people say that travelling sustainably is important to them. A whopping 3/4 of the adult population in the UK, and 83% of teens, have eco-anxiety (UK Census Nov 22). All these figures point toward a new tourism approach.
But which certification and how do they work? Who reviews them, what’s the cost etc… It’s our role to help our owners work that out. As yet, there is no simple answer.
We’re working with the industry to create a sensible, workable system that user-friendly for all. Watch this space.
Below are a few of our environmental projects, for more visit our Properties page
Plastic and food waste. Two of our pet hates! We can do better – even if we have major local restraints with our New Forest Council systems.
Food waste is one of the largest causes of carbon emissions. In holiday houses, discarded food makes up 40% of black bag waste – composting isn’t a kerb-side pickup option here. Currently the local council doesn’t separate it, and until they do, we’ll do what we can to encourage owners to put in wormeries, offer composting on-site.
By keeping food waste out of our bins, we found that recycling rates shoot up. Important learning for our industry.
New Forest Escapes have teamed up with researchers at the University of Cumbria on an innovative research project to investigate the factors affecting visitors happiness and wellbeing as a result of staying in a sustainable place.
We hope to answer questions such as ‘How much is holiday happiness to do with what the owners provide?’ ‘How much do the guests own experiences or the weather contribute?’ ‘How does a sustainable home add to guests experience of holiday happiness?’ And most importantly – ‘Can these factors help to reduce a guests climate concerns?’
View our GDP of Happiness page and change maker interview with Dr Parapanos from the University of Cumbria.
