How can a tour operator measure its emission scopes?
Alexandra Michat, Sustainability and EXO Foundation Director
EXO Travel (Tourism Declares signatory since February 2020), a leading DMC specialized in bespoke travel itineraries in Asia, has published a Climate Action Plan clearly outlining how they measure the emissions related to the companies operations (Scope 1: company facilities, company vehicles), and the emissions related to tours and other activities (Scope 2: purchased electricity, steam, heating and cooling / Scope 3: transportation for customers, business travel, employee commuting, etc.).
EXO Travel started in 2015 by calculating GHG emissions in offices, including paper use, energy use, and waste, collecting data internally. Many of the country offices started to engage with Travelife, which pushed for more data to be collected. EXO then worked with a Cambodia-based consultancy called Nexus for Development, which checked the data submitted by EXO, and calculated the carbon emissions.
EXO gradually added more categories to measure and add to its emission calculation over time. For example, staff commutes were added as one of the follow-up steps, and in 2018, business travel by staff (for training sessions and business meetings) and regional and domestic flights used by clients (and booked by EXO) were added. Further, in 2019, ground transportation was also added, taking into consideration vehicle types and sizes, and distance of trips from a number of destinations.
“EXO’s step-by-step approach in measurement has proven to be helpful, as it has made the daunting task more manageable.”
To calculate the emissions from boats, EXO focussed on Thailand and Indonesia, where most boats are used, and gathered data from local suppliers related to engine size, petrol use, and distance travelled, in order to come up with an average amount for different boat journeys.
To calculate the emission associated with accommodations, EXO worked with Bookdifferent.com, which collected data from EXO’s top selling hotels in 10 destinations, using the Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative (HCMI) tool.
Taking all these into account, EXO has been able to get an average per passenger per day carbon figure, and now includes a $1.50 per passenger per day fee to the trip prices.
The next steps in carbon measurement for EXO includes focusing on emissions related to food waste, and reconsidering Scope 3 emissions based on the pandemic-induced changes such as offices closing, and team members working from home.
EXO’s step-by-step approach in measurement has proven to be helpful, as it has made the daunting task more manageable. It’s also important to note that there will always be shortcomings in any data gathering and calculation methods. EXO recommends that businesses be open and transparent about what they measure and what they don’t. The goal is not to be perfect, rather, starting somewhere and improving the approach over time.