Greenearth to offer offsets to trade

Partnership with Offset Options to leverage social media and help travel companies respond to climate change

Offset Options is partnering with Greenearth.travel to help travel companies and travellers respond to climate change with an innovative, low-cost offset program.

The partnership combines greenearth.travel’s experience and dedication to green growth and a sustainable Travel and Tourism industry, with Offset Options‟ expertise and innovation in web services technologies for carbon offsetting and social media marketing.

It should help companies, destinations and travelers understand the complex world of carbon reduction – while making it an easy and positive experience for travelers to take action and let their friends know.

The flexible web-services platform helps travel providers quickly integrate carbon offsetting calculation, action and communication into the booking process, and leverages new social media tools to help travelers share their action – and the brand – on Facebook, Twitter and other social media streams. International surveys clearly suggest an increasing appetite for low carbon travel across the globe and social media will intensify this trend.

The platform offers consumers a wide choice of high quality carbon offset projects from across the world, with a focus on those in developing countries; consumers can track progress of these projects after their purchase. The platform presents the options in multiple languages and currencies, making this an ideal solution for operators reaching international audiences.

The platform will shortly be up on both the Greenearth site and Live the Deal  GreenEarth.Travel’s aim of encouraging carbon-responsible travel and providing low-cost means to provide industry and customer engagement aligns with Offset Options‟ ability to simplify the carbon management and messaging process by increasing access to high-quality, competitively priced carbon offsets to travel providers and their customers.

Professor Geoffrey Lipman, director, greenearth.travel, said: “As governments tighten their own carbon reduction commitments through the UNFCCC agreements and as carbon markets extend across our sector, the Travel Industry and travellers will increasingly contribute to the Green Growth paradigm. Offset Options will help them do it intuitively and effectively.

It fits closely with our other initiatives in establishing Live the Deal and the International Council of Tourism Partners, which are designed to help companies, their employees and destinations progressively meet government carbon reduction commitments.”

Luke Miller, Co-Founder and CEO of Barcelona-based Offset Options said: “We believe this is an important partnership because Travel & Tourism have a great opportunity to reduce the carbon impacts of their activities – and can do this in partnership with their customers.

“GreenEarth.Travel’s aim of encouraging carbon-responsible travel and providing low-cost means to provide industry and customer engagement aligns perfectly with Offset Options‟ ability to simplify the carbon management and messaging process by increasing access to high-quality, competitively priced carbon offsets to travel providers and their customers.”

Valere Tjolle
Valere is editor of the Sustainable Tourism Report Suite 2011 Special Offers HERE