Each hotel is audited and then given a Green Key rating (and if need be, some input on how to increase it to the highest rating of 5 keys).

The audit is based on five areas: Corporate Environmental Management, Housekeeping, Food and Beverage Operations, Conference and Meeting Facilities and Engineering. Within these, they look at nine sections.

• Energy conservation
• Water conservation
• Solid waste management
• Hazardous waste management
• Indoor air quality
• Community outreach
• Building infrastructure
• Land use
• Environmental management

Post-audit, the Hotel Association of Canada provides the accommodation with a written report discussing their accomplishments and recommendations, if applicable. They also receive a plaque displaying their rating.

Green Key rating system

The rating is determined from the factors outlined above, based on a percentage on how they “score” during their audit.

What do the ratings mean?

1 Green Key – 1 – 19.9% score
The hotel has taken initial steps to reduce their eco-impact through looking at their operations and seeing where they can improve. Resource conservation and waste minimization, with the commitment for improvement, are evident.

2 Green Keys – 20 – 39.9% score
The hotel has taken greater measures to see where they can reduce their eco-impact, and develop policies and programs to minimize further environmental issues.They have also committed to continual improvement through programs that have shown results.

3 Green Keys – 40 – 59.9% score
The hotel has shown significant ways they’ve protected the environment with strong programs, management practices, and solutions that have benefited the local community and the planet.

4 Green Keys – 60 – 79.9% score
The hotel has displayed national leadership and commitment to eco-issues, and have implemented programs that involve management, employees, guests and the public, with sustantial results.

5 Green Keys – 80-100% score
The hotel shows the highest standards in eco- and social responsibility through all operations, including technology, policies and programs. These hotels set the international standard.
Because this is a Canada based site, the vast majority of hotels are based in Canada. However, Americans are also able to do the voluntary audit, and currently, four hotels across the US are listed on the site.

The hotels run from modest Holiday Inns to swanky Hiltons, easily catering to any budget. We definitely recommend checking out the accommodation choices and choose a hotel with the  Green Key Eco-Rating Program in mind.

For more information, visit: hacgreenhotels.com

Image courtesy of canadianfamily.ca

Their mission, they state, is that “together, we can help heal the earth,” and by providing flyers with service that offers the same low rates that the airlines do, they can offset your carbon footprint without any extra cost to you.

So what does that mean?

A carbon offset occurs when an organization emits an amount of greenhouse gas but invests in providing a way to remove the  equivalent volume of gasses out of the atmosphere or preventing more emissions from occuring.

They have partnered with Offsetters Climate Neutral Society (www.offsetters.ca), a non-profit organization that invest in projects that prevent greenhouse gas emissions, through sustainable projects that deal with renewable energy.  Their projects include industrial heat recovery, ground-source heat pump systems, solar thermal systems, high efficiency biomass stoves and efficient lighting systems.

So how much does this really help?

Their website describes the process on how to tally how much carbon dioxide each individual flight produces. Through the fuel consumption, seats occupied (and thus, overall weight), the impact of the emission, and the distance flown, they can then tell extract how many carbon emissions are actually produced. And as a result, they can provide accurate numbers of how they can offset the flight.

FlyGreen.ca also include a calculator, so you can envision how you help the environment. A family of four traveling  return-trip from from Toronto to Vancouver, for example, emits 1.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide, and the total offset cost to make it climate friendly is $106 for the whole family.

We think this is a step forward in eco-traveling. After all, with no extra costs to you, you can truly give back to the environment based on your own actions.

Visit FlyGreen.ca if you’re traveling within Canada to book your next conscious-climate trip.

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Traveling soon? Check out our tips on eco-friendly travel or planning your eco-accomodations with Eco-Hotels of the World.

Image courtesy of bbc.co.uk

Whether you’re planning a trek a few hours away or flying to the other side of the world, it’s important to maintain you eco-mind. Here are some ways to stay sustainable while you travel before, during, and after your trip.

Before you go

• Plan your main form of transportation to the location. What will have the least logical impact? A train? Plane? Taking your car?
• Think of your transportation for while you are there; if you know that public transit, for example, won’t be an option, opt to rent a hybrid vehicle, or see if there are bike rentals available.
• Educate yourself about the location by reading guidebooks, browsing the internet, and perusing books, such as Lonely Planet. Being aware of the local customs and language is not only polite, but is appreciated by locals, and thus, brings in a level of compassion, integral to building a better world.
• Learn about their environment; everything from water consumption to hiking in specific areas.
• Eliminate hotel room waste by bringing your own toiletries in reusable containers, instead of using the complimentary ones.
• Look for a place to stay based on their Green Seal Certification, which checks out their the business’ environmentally friendly practices. For a list of certified lodgings throughout the United States, visit greenseal.org. Also check out The Hotel Association of Canada’s ECOmmodation Rating Program, which pre-explores hotels, motels, and resorts committed to improving their eco-practices. Visit hacgreenhotels.com for information.

During your visit

• Observe their customs. Wonder why tourists aren’t readily snapping photos? There may be a reason.
• Respect the locals, and understand and complying to their levels of communication
• Add to their economy by supporting businesses that will benefit the community, from accommodations to farmer’s markets.
• Don’t pollute their environment; try renting bikes, walking, and use public transportation instead of cars, if you can.
• Keep in mind the eco-system; do not remove plants, animals, and anything else you’re unsure of.
• If you’ve planned a road trip, idling for more than 10 seconds produces more emissions that if you shut off your car. Keep it in mind if you pull over to look at your map, or snap photographs of the local scenery.
• Support regional food by eating local while you’re there. You might be tempted to stick to what you know by dining at chain restaurants, but try the local cuisine – it might be your only chance to ever sample the real deal.
• Respect the reefs, they are living parts of the eco-system. When coral is touched, a  protective mucous membrane is removed, placing it in danger.

When you get back

• Share your experience with others, aiding their knowledge while promoting a potentially overlooked destination
• Readily write reviews; people often search for first-hand information when planning their own trip

Eco-tourism can be as simple as adding a few tweaks to your trip. Do you have an eco-experience to hear? We want to hear all about it. Comment below, or contact us for the opportunity to give a full-fledged review!

Other great eco-travel companies:

Fly Green combats carbon emissions with a program that gives flyers the opporunity to offset their emissions. flygreen.ca
Read our article covering Eco-Hotels of the World, a great resource for finding first-hand reviewed eco-accommodations.
Familiar with the Lonely Planet series? We love their new eco-guide, Code Green.
Visit Travelling the Green Way, a blog dedicated to, well, traveling the green way.

Image courtesy of Eco Hotels of the World, featuring Arenas Del Mar Beach & Nature Resort

This free online guide has a huge (and growing) list of hotels that are specifically selected by their editors to ensure they meet their standards for eco-friendliness. Showing hotels and lodges all across the world, they are a leading guide in green accommodations, from hotels to resorts to cabins to igloos.

It’s as simple as a search engine to see where to stay next time you take a trip. The five start rating that corresponds with each location is based on energy, water, waste disposal, eco-activity, and ecological protection.

If you’re planning to Fiji, do a quick search and you might be interested in Matava Eco Adventure Resort. Set beside the Great Astrolabe Reef, it’s a small tropical paradise, where you sleep inside traditional thatched Fijian bures among the rainforest.

Amazon Yarapa River Lodge might spark your interest instead, a full-fledged green operation, with solar lighting and locally staffed Peruvians along the banks of the Yarapa River.

And if you’re a frequent traveler? Eco Hotels wants your voice. Always looking for new properties, if you have one to recommend, they’re more than interested in adding it to their online guide. You can also add reviews to your favourite properties (or least favourite), to the ones that they’ve already listed.

The 147 hotels that currently are listed is ever-growing, each with customer reviews. The sole 1 star hotel caught our attention, and that’s where Eco Hotels of the World proves to be helpful. The hotel, with a beautiful, lush description and scenic photographs looked perfect, but user reviews assured us that it was overridden with dirt and bugs.

In addition to the resource, website owner Alex Conti also has written the Eco Hotels of the World Guidebook. This full-colour book combines information for eco-travel, a more detailed look at each accommodation, combined with additional images and key features.

Visit: ecohotelsoftheworld.com for more information