At Powder Byrne, we are advocates of caring for and preserving the places we experience when travelling, and as part of that, we are trying to mitigate the impact of our operations. The question we are posing to ourselves is not how we travel perfectly but how we travel better? Here are some tips for being a responsible traveller that we have learned in our 35 years of operating…

1. Choose local. Use local companies for activities, and eat-in restaurants that serve local produce and cuisine. A small act such as selecting a local drink brand rather than a global brand reduces the emissions that would have been used to transport the produce. A favourite drink in our original resort of Grindelwald is 3970 Nordwand (North Wall) Brau, a beer brewed just outside of the resort.

2. Bring your own in-flight extras. Onboard items such as flight socks, eye-masks and earphones tend to be single-use items that come wrapped in plastic and are thrown away at the end of the flight. According to IATA, airlines generated 5.7 million tonnes of cabin waste in 2017 alone, by avoiding unnecessary single-use items this can be significantly reduced.

3. Pack Light. Packing fewer items or just sticking to your baggage limit means that less fuel is required for the flight, reducing your carbon impact. Removing any excess packaging before you fly results in your suitcase being lighter, and less waste being transported to your destination and potentially not recycled.

4. Consider the local community. Learn about the local heritage and traditions, especially in far-flung destinations. Our Air & Space holidays all include an itinerary with a local fact file and if you have any questions about your destination, our travel consultants will be happy to help. You can positively impact the local community through understanding its needs and bringing useful items to help fulfil these. For example, in rural Peru, school supplies are limited and small items such as paper or outgrown children’s school shoes can go a long way. Non-for-profits like pack for a purpose provide great resources for finding out what local communities are lacking.

5. Avoid single-use plastic cups and bottles. According to Forbes, 1 million plastic bottles are bought every single minute, 91% of which are not recycled. In an effort to reduce our consumption of single-use plastic, we are moving away from using plastic water bottles on our transfers to gifting our client’s Chilly bottles when they travel with us, which we hope they will use again and again.

6. Book direct flights where possible. You can reduce your carbon footprint by booking the most direct route; take-off and landing are where the most emissions are produced. You can also choose airlines that are considering their eco-credentials. We use Swiss Air for a large number of our flights, who have reduced their fuel consumption by 29% since 2003 and are committed to improving this further. Our other big flight provider, British Airways are working on reducing the carbon emissions produced per passenger amongst other measures.

7. Offset your impact. You can use sites such as ICAO to calculate and understand your emissions when travelling. We are committed to working with a Gold Standard certified project in Costa Rica to reduce our environmental impact as a business, and as part of this, a small contribution from your booking will be used to support this. If you want to fully offset your individual carbon emissions, visit pure leapfrog, a British Airways partner, or my climate to fly carbon zero. Whilst we understand that offsetting isn’t perfect, we believe that it is one of the best choices we can make today to try and balance the effects of flying on the environment.

8. Think when purchasing souvenirs. Whilst souvenirs are a great holiday memory, you can take the Marie Kondo approach to purchasing them. If you want to take a souvenir home with you, bypass the mass-produced items that are most likely an import, and find something that is produced locally and sustainably, not using any endangered resources such as ivory.

9. Consider animal welfare. One of the greatest joys of travelling is experiencing animals that are not native to your own country. Our travel consultants will be happy to find a sanctuary that cares for animals in their natural habitats so you can still experience wonderful and exotic wildlife responsibly. Sites such as Yala National Park in Sri Lanka are committed to conserving species such as the endemic Sri Lankan Leopard, so we can experience them for years to come.

10. Stay in eco-friendly accommodation. We are proud to work with some sustainable hotels all around the world. Our travel consultants have rounded up a few of their favourites.

a) Pacuare Lodge, Costa Rica. This tropical treetop retreat is situated in the heart of the diverse Costa Rican rainforest, on the banks of the fast-flowing Pacuare River and is a fantastic stop within our Costa Rican adventure. Highlights from this lodge include arriving via white-water rafting and the rainforest infinity pool. The lodge was built using local resources and people from the community, the little electricity that is used in the resort is powered by a water turbine, and the lodge is lit entirely by candles at night creating a unique experience in the jungle. The lodge even has its own organic farm, which the majority of the food is supplied from.

b) Revier Mountain Lodge, Switzerland. This state-of-the-art hotel manages to incorporate having high-tech touches throughout whilst using renewable energy resources to power the hotel. It also endeavours to save environmental resources through only including daily room cleaning service if you make a special request. As an added bonus, it is located near the lifts for easy access to the mountains of Lenzerheide in both summer and winter.

c) Tri Lanka, Sri Lanka. This tropical paradise can be found on the edge of the magnificent Lake Koggala in south Sri Lanka. The mantra “create more, consume less” can be found in practice throughout the hotel, from the 100% recycled local jak wood used in the design, to the shoreline protection programme the hotel has initiated. A nice touch is the living walls and roofs which are planted with native creepers and the cinnamon sticks that are used on the exterior of buildings. Nourish your mind, body and soul with the incredible cuisine and wellness facilities on site.

d) Belvedere, Grindelwald. The family-run Hotel Belvedere is located in the heart of the traditional Alpine village of Grindelwald, the original Powder Byrne ski resort. The Hauser family are committed to being sustainable and the hotel uses energy generated from Swiss hydroelectric power stations and heat from a Grindelwald based heating plant, both of which are CO2 neutral. Make the Belvedere your base for skiing the Jungfrau region, all with views over the famous Eiger.

e) Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, Peru. Inkaterra Pueblo Hotel provides a great base to explore Machu Picchu from as part of one of our family itineraries. The hotel’s key ethos is focusing on preserving Peru’s nature and culture and the hotel village is situated within 12 acres of natural beauty which is home to 214 species of bird and the world’s largest native orchid collection. This lodge is a destination within itself; explore the cloud forest, visit the spa for a treatment using all local botanical ingredients and soak in the steaming natural springs, all whilst knowing that the lodges are protecting the local wildlife including spectacled bears.

f) Rocks Resort, Switzerland. Situated directly at the Laax lift station, this family-friendly hotel redefines the alpine holiday by focusing on the conscious use of resources and the environment. The cuisine is seasonal according to available food resources, electricity is generated from regional hydropower and there are even e-bikes available which run on sustainable electricity. Laax as a resort embodies sustainability throughout the ski area, with conservation areas in place to protect wildlife and vegetation and as an added bonus has access to the full Powder Byrne resort services throughout the ski season.

g) Valsana Hotel, Arosa. The Valsana is a sustainable hotel concept that combines modern elements with retro chic. The hotel is powered using an ice battery which increases energy efficiency. Local produce used in the restaurant.

For more information on our approach to more sustainable travel please visit our website or drop us an email on enquiries@powderbyrne.com.