To help counterbalance the carbon footprint that results from flying, TCS World Travel offset carbon emissions for all it flights in 2019. TCS partnered with Sustainable Travel International, a global non-profit organization with 15 years of experience developing successful carbon offset programs for the travel industry. Sustainable Travel International calculated the carbon footprint of all TCS jet trips in 2019 and purchases highly vetted carbon offsets equivalent to that amount to support two sustainability projects in two of the places we travel to most—Peru and Cambodia.
Our Carbon Offset Programs
Sustainability Project #1: Madre de Dios Program Peru
This ongoing community-based project in the Peruvian Amazon was created to protect approximately 740,000 acres of biodiverse and natural resource-rich primary rainforest, as well as to safeguard social and ecological heritage in the region through sustainable Brazil nut harvesting. Our donation directly protected almost 600 acres of the project and offset 1,600 metric tons of CO2.
This project, of which our funds are a part, is establishing a collectively held land title for close to 400 families in the community. This will both ensure long-term ownership of the land and protect the land from conversion into large-scale agriculture or mining. The fund will also provide a safety net during low-yield seasons, through microloans, to keep individual businesses afloat during hard times.
Sustainability Project #2: Water Filter Program Cambodia
This project works to reduce carbon emissions through the donation of water purifiers to provide access to clean drinking water in rural households in Cambodia. Because most rural households do not have water purifiers, they must decontaminate their water through boiling, using firewood or charcoal as fuel and releasing carbons into the atmosphere in the process.
Through this project, ceramic water purifiers will be provided to 900,000 to 1.7 million people across 168,000 to 315,000 households. In addition to providing sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation, this project also reduces depletion of natural resources related to the cutting of trees, relieves families from collecting firewood to boil water, improves indoor air quality, reduces daily fuel costs and provides beneficial employment to local residents during the established distribution, monitoring and replacement phases of the project.
Our donation directly funded distribution of almost 16,000 of these ceramic water purifiers in addition to protecting nine acres of forest and creating four jobs. This offset 3,547 metric tons of CO2.
