SCAD (Social Change & Development) is an organisation that works with the most marginalised villagers in southern India to create genuinely sustainable development. One of the many brilliant projects they have is a tree-planting programme; we donate our carbon offset budget to this. The trees planted not only absorb carbon dioxide, they help to prevent erosion and flash flooding in a badly denuded region, create a source of income from their medicinal properties, and in some cases fruit, and provide shade cover for crops that provide extra income for the villages.
We know that carbon offsetting is a rough science, and that planting trees isn’t the perfect answer. But trees aren’t only carbon ‘sinks’; they have a huge number of other benefits and real cultural value too.
Every single penny that we give to SCAD goes directly to the village tree-planting programme. None of it is swallowed up in the overheads of carbon offsetting companies in Britain and we have a close connection with the people our money is helping. We think that’s a good thing.
We’ll carry on working to make sure those carbon emissions keep coming down. We hope to add a wind turbine to the office, work more closely with our owners to find ways that they, too, can reduce their carbon ‘footprints’, and find more green places for you to stay in.
If you choose to fly as part of your holiday, please consider offsetting your carbon emissions with Climate Care »
