The Limitations of Carbon Offsetting

For years, carbon offsetting has been the go-to strategy for individuals and businesses looking to mitigate their environmental impact, including travelers. The idea is simple: calculate your carbon footprint (say, from a flight) and then pay for projects elsewhere that reduce or remove an equivalent amount of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. These projects often include renewable energy installations, forest preservation, or energy efficiency initiatives in other parts of the world.

While born of good intentions, carbon offsetting faces increasing scrutiny and highlights certain limitations, particularly when viewed through the lens of creating direct, positive impact within the specific places we visit. As our research points out, carbon offsetting involves compensating for emissions by funding projects *outside* an organization's value chain (Research). This fundamental characteristic leads to several potential drawbacks for the conscious traveler:

• Lack of Direct Connection: The projects you fund through offsetting are often geographically distant and unrelated to your travel destination or the companies involved in your trip. This can feel abstract and disconnected from the actual impact your travel might have on the ground in a specific location.
• Additionality Concerns: A key principle of offsetting is "additionality" – meaning the emission reductions would not have happened without the offset funding. Proving true additionality can be complex, leading to concerns that some offset projects might have occurred anyway.
• Permanence Issues: Projects like tree planting are vulnerable to risks like wildfires or deforestation, raising questions about the long-term permanence of the carbon sequestered.
• Potential for Greenwashing: Critics argue that offsetting can sometimes be used by companies or individuals to justify continued high-emission activities without making fundamental changes, effectively "paying to pollute" rather than reducing impact at the source.
• Limited Local Benefit: While some offset projects benefit local communities, the primary goal is carbon reduction elsewhere, not necessarily building resilience or sustainability within the specific ecosystem or community impacted by the traveler's presence.

Our research notes that offsetting is suitable for emissions that cannot be immediately reduced (Research). This acknowledges its place as a temporary solution, but it doesn't address the desire for more integrated, direct action within the travel experience itself. These limitations pave the way for a different approach: insetting.

What is Insetting? A Deeper Dive

If offsetting looks outward, insetting looks inward – specifically, within the value chain or sphere of influence of an organization or activity. In the context of travel, carbon insetting involves investing in sustainable projects that are directly connected to your trip, the destination you visit, or the companies providing your travel services.

Our research defines carbon insetting as a strategy where companies reduce their carbon footprint *within their own supply chain or industry* by investing in nature-based solutions (Research). This involves *direct investment* within its value chain to reduce emissions and store carbon (Research). It focuses on initiatives that directly address a company's carbon footprint and reduction within its own operations and supply chain (Research).

Think of it this way: Instead of paying for trees to be planted in a forest thousands of miles away to offset your flight emissions, you might contribute to a project that helps the airline switch to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) or funds reforestation efforts in a watershed crucial for the destination's water supply, potentially even one that provides water to the hotel you're staying at. This constitutes a compensation solution that takes mitigation actions *directly within their own business activity*, whether with suppliers upstream, customers downstream, or both (Research).

Our research highlights how insetting works: It involves a company's direct investment within its value chain to reduce emissions and store carbon, often including practices like regenerative agriculture, agroforestry, or improving soil health (Research). It's seen as most effective *after* a company has already taken steps to reduce its direct emissions, such as optimizing energy efficiency or transitioning to renewable energy sources (Research). This emphasizes that insetting is not a replacement for reducing emissions but a complementary strategy for addressing residual or value-chain emissions.

Insetting projects are developed within ecosystems connected to the organization's value chain, allowing the integration of the company's vision, values, management system, and programs (Research). This deep integration is a key differentiator from offsetting.

For travelers, insetting shifts the focus from simply neutralizing emissions elsewhere to actively contributing to the environmental and social well-being of the places they visit and the systems that enable their travel. It's about creating positive change closer to the source of the impact.

Benefits of Insetting for Travelers and Destinations

The insetting approach offers distinct advantages over traditional offsetting, creating a more integrated and potentially impactful model for sustainable travel. These benefits extend to both the traveler seeking to make a difference and the destinations hosting them.

Drawing from our research, the benefits for companies (and by extension, the travel providers you choose) include:

• Long-term Decarbonisation: Supports companies in achieving long-term decarbonisation, particularly within their Scope 3 (value chain) emissions (Research). For travelers, this means supporting businesses genuinely invested in cleaning up their entire operation, not just buying credits.
• Stronger Supply Chain Relationships: Fosters deeper relationships with third parties like suppliers, enhancing the overall value of products (Research). This translates to more resilient and sustainable local economies in destinations.
• Multiple Positive Environmental Impacts: Practices like improved agriculture, agroforestry, restoration, and conservation address both climate and nature crises effectively (Research). Insetting projects often deliver co-benefits beyond carbon, such as improved biodiversity, soil health, water quality, and local air quality.
• Brand Enhancement: Companies engaging in insetting can strengthen their brand image as they are seen as genuinely committed to sustainability (Research). For travelers, this helps identify businesses with authentic sustainability commitments.
• Direct and Measurable Emission Reductions: By improving sustainability practices within the supply chain, companies can make a significant and lasting impact (Research). This makes the impact feel more tangible.
• Resilient Supply Chains: Insetting can strengthen relationships with suppliers and create a more resilient supply chain (Research). This benefits local communities and ensures the long-term health of the resources tourism depends on.

From a traveler's perspective, these company-level benefits translate into compelling reasons to support insetting initiatives:

• Tangible Impact: You can see and potentially even interact with the projects your money is supporting. The impact feels more real and directly connected to your journey.
• Supporting Local Ecosystems and Communities: Insetting projects are typically based within or directly linked to the destination or the travel provider's operations. This means your contribution directly benefits the environment and people in the places you visit. This can help mitigate some of the potential downsides of tourism, such as habitat destruction, resource overuse, and economic leakage, by reinvesting directly into local sustainability and community well-being (Research).
• Encouraging Systemic Change: By supporting businesses that inset, you encourage a fundamental shift towards more sustainable practices within the travel industry's value chain, rather than just compensating for the status quo.
• Authentic Connection: Supporting local, integrated projects can provide a deeper connection to the destination and its challenges and successes.

For destinations, insetting brings much-needed investment directly into local conservation, restoration, and sustainable development efforts. It helps build resilience against climate change and environmental degradation while empowering local communities and strengthening the destination's natural and cultural assets – precisely what sustainable tourism aims to achieve. Insetting initiatives give companies an opportunity to influence the services their customers are using or operations throughout their network, creating a more cohesive sustainability strategy (Research, citing Stena Line).

Examples of Insetting Initiatives Around the World

Insetting is gaining traction across various industries, and the principles are increasingly being applied within the travel and tourism sector. While direct "traveler insetting" mechanisms are still evolving, many travel companies are implementing insetting projects that travelers can indirectly support by choosing those businesses.

Our research provides several examples of how insetting principles are being applied:

• Reforestation and Agroforestry: Planting trees amid crops to create carbon sinks and enhance biodiversity (Research). In travel, this could look like a hotel chain investing in restoring nearby forests that are crucial for the local watershed and biodiversity, or a tour operator partnering with local farmers on agroforestry projects that sequester carbon and provide sustainable income.
• Renewable Energy Projects: Investing in renewable energy sources within the supply chain (Research). Hotels and resorts are increasingly investing in on-site solar or other renewable energy sources (Research), directly reducing the emissions associated with your stay. Airlines and cruise lines are exploring transitions to sustainable fuels and energy-efficient fleets (Research).
• Regenerative Agriculture: Implementing farming practices that restore soil health and sequester carbon (Research). Travel companies with food services (hotels, cruise lines, tour operators providing meals) can inset by sourcing food from local farms practicing regenerative agriculture, investing in these farms to improve soil health and carbon sequestration within their food supply chain. PepsiCo uses fees from employee travel to fund regenerative agriculture projects in its supply chain (Research), demonstrating how travel expenditure can be linked to agricultural insetting.
• Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF): Carbon insetting with SAF allows airlines and passengers to cover the cost premium of SAF and ultimately support the production and use of this more sustainable alternative jet fuel, which produces 80% less CO2 emissions over its lifecycle compared to conventional kerosene (Research). Choosing airlines committed to increasing SAF use or participating in voluntary SAF programs is a form of insetting. DHL Group promotes a “carbon neutral” shipping option that uses premiums to fund alternative shipping fuels (Research), illustrating this mechanism for transport.
• Community-Based Projects: Implementing cookstove projects in communities that overuse and thus degrade nearby natural forests (Research). Tour operators or hotels operating in rural areas might invest in providing efficient cookstoves to local communities, reducing pressure on forests that are part of the local ecosystem and potentially popular with tourists. Nespresso, while not a travel company, provides an example of how investing in communities within its supply chain (coffee farmers) through planting trees and providing training can inset its operational footprint, benefiting both the environment and local people (Research).

Examples of companies applying these principles, as mentioned in the research, include Ganni (fashion retail, focusing on value chain), Nespresso (coffee, focusing on farmers and ecosystems), PepsiCo (using travel fees for agriculture), and transport companies like DHL Group and Stena Line (investing in sustainable fuels and network operations) (Research). These diverse examples show that insetting is applicable across supply chains, and for travel, it means focusing on the specific operations and locations involved in providing the travel experience.

Other travel-specific examples mentioned include hotels/resorts investing in water conservation or ecosystem restoration on their property or nearby, and tour operators supporting biodiversity conservation or circular economy models within their destinations (Research).

These initiatives offer travelers the opportunity to support businesses that are actively working to improve the sustainability of the very systems and places their travel relies upon, creating a more direct and integrated positive impact.

How to Find and Evaluate Credible Insetting Opportunities

Identifying genuine insetting initiatives within the travel landscape requires diligence and a critical eye. Since "insetting" is still an evolving concept, especially at the consumer level, it's not always clearly labeled. However, by understanding the core principles and looking for specific characteristics, travelers can find credible opportunities to support.

Our research provides valuable insights into what makes an insetting project robust:

• Integrated within the Value Chain: The project should be directly connected to the travel company's operations, suppliers, or the destination itself (Research). Is the hotel investing in renewable energy on its property? Is the tour operator funding conservation efforts in the specific park they visit? Is the airline investing in SAF development?
• Focus on Direct Reduction/Storage: The initiative should aim to reduce emissions or store carbon within the company's operational sphere or supply chain (Research). This could be through energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable fuels, or nature-based solutions like reforestation or regenerative agriculture relevant to their operations.
• Multiple Positive Impacts: Look for projects that deliver co-benefits beyond carbon, such as improving biodiversity, soil health, water resources, or supporting local communities (Research). This aligns with the holistic nature of insetting.
• Transparency and Data: A credible initiative will be transparent about its goals, methods, and results. While gathering data from all aspects of a company's supply chain can be difficult (Research), reputable companies should be able to provide information about their insetting efforts.
• Verification and Standards: To build a high-quality inset project, it should ideally hold its project to the same verification standards as a carbon offset project, following standards bodies such as Gold Standard and Verra where applicable (Research, citing IPI). Some companies use third-party auditors to verify their insetting processes and outcomes (Research, citing Normec Verifavia for GoodShipping, and TraceX DMRV for using blockchain for transparency). While formal certification might be a challenge for some insetting projects compared to traditional offsets (Research), look for any level of independent assessment or clear reporting against sustainability frameworks.

Practical Steps for Travelers:

1. Research Travel Providers: Before booking, look at the sustainability pages of hotels, airlines, tour operators, and cruise lines. Do they mention investing in local projects or improving their own infrastructure/supply chain?
2. Look for Specific Project Examples: Don't settle for vague statements. Does the hotel mention installing solar panels or sourcing food from local organic farms? Does the tour operator talk about specific conservation partnerships in the regions they visit? Does the airline offer a clear program for contributing to SAF?
3. Ask Questions: Contact the travel provider and ask specifically about their insetting or local sustainability investments. Where is the money going? What are the projects? How do they measure impact?
4. Check for Partnerships: Do they partner with credible local NGOs, conservation groups, or community organizations? This can be a sign of genuine engagement.
5. Seek Transparency: Look for evidence of reporting on their sustainability efforts. Do they publish reports or data? While perfect data from complex supply chains can be challenging (Research), willingness to share information is key.
6. Be Wary of Simple "Carbon Neutral" Claims: As our research notes, DHL promotes a "carbon neutral" shipping option that funds alternative fuels (Research). This mechanism (sometimes using "book-and-claim" systems - Research) can be a form of insetting for transport, but understand how it works – is it genuinely investing in cleaner fuel for the service you are using or its network?
7. Consider Direct Local Support: Beyond choosing companies that inset, you can engage in "personal insetting" by supporting local businesses practicing sustainability, visiting community conservation projects, or buying local regenerative agricultural products during your trip.

Evaluating credibility means looking beyond marketing terms to find tangible investments that address environmental and social issues directly within the context of your travel. By asking targeted questions and looking for transparency and connection to the destination or service, you can identify opportunities to make a more integrated contribution.

Making Insetting a Part of Your Travel Plans

Integrating the principles of insetting into your travel goes beyond simply checking a box or paying an extra fee. It's about making conscious choices that support sustainable practices within the very systems and destinations you interact with. Here's how you can make insetting a more active part of your travel plans:

1. Prioritize Travel Providers Committed to Insetting:
   • Accommodation: Choose hotels, lodges, or resorts that are investing in on-site renewable energy, water conservation, waste reduction, or ecosystem restoration on their property or nearby (Research). Look for those sourcing food and supplies locally from sustainable producers (connecting to regenerative agriculture insetting - Research).
   • Transportation: If flying, research airlines investing in or using Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). While voluntary SAF contributions are still developing, supporting airlines committed to this path encourages the necessary infrastructure investment. For sea travel, look for ferry or cruise lines investing in cleaner fuels or energy efficiency for their fleet (Research, citing Stena Line and DHL's similar transport focus). On the ground, choose local transport providers using electric vehicles or investing in local infrastructure improvements.
   • Tour Operators: Select operators with clear partnerships with local conservation projects, community initiatives (like cookstove projects - Research), or those who actively invest in maintaining the natural sites they visit (e.g., trail restoration, anti-poaching efforts).
2. Engage with the Destination's Sustainability Efforts:
   • Support Local, Sustainable Businesses: Spend your money with local restaurants using locally sourced or regenerative ingredients, artisans using sustainable materials, and community-based tourism enterprises that directly benefit the local population and environment. This reduces economic leakage and supports sustainable local value chains (counteracting potential tourism downsides - Research).
   • Visit and Learn: Seek out opportunities to visit local conservation projects, regenerative farms, or renewable energy sites if they are open to visitors. Learning about these initiatives firsthand deepens your understanding and connection.
   • Participate Responsibly: Follow local guidelines for visiting natural areas, minimize waste, conserve water and energy during your stay, and respect local customs and traditions. Your behavior on the ground is a direct form of positive insetting.
3. Ask Questions and Provide Feedback:
   • Don't hesitate to ask travel providers about their sustainability initiatives, specifically mentioning "insetting" or asking how they invest in the local environment and community *within* their operations or supply chain.
   • Provide feedback (positive and constructive) about their sustainability efforts. Let businesses know that their investments in local, integrated sustainability influence your choices.
4. Be Mindful of Your Direct Impact:
   • Reducing your footprint remains paramount. Fly less if possible, choose direct flights, pack light, and minimize energy/water use during your trip. Insetting complements reduction; it doesn't replace it (Research).
5. Look for Transparency and Verification (as discussed in the previous chapter):
   • Support companies willing to be transparent about their insetting projects and impacts, ideally seeking some form of third-party verification or reporting (Research).

Making insetting part of your travel plans means shifting from a transactional model (paying to offset emissions elsewhere) to a relational one (investing in the health and sustainability of the places and systems directly connected to your journey). It requires more active engagement and research but offers the potential for a more tangible, integrated, and meaningful positive impact on the destinations we cherish and the future of travel itself.