As incredible and as privileged as it is to be able to travel the world and experience the beauty of nature and different cultures, it’s no secret that air travel isn’t benefitting our world. That’s why it’s important to make an effort to travel as sustainably as possible and commit to reducing your impact on the environment.

Air travel currently accounts for roughly 2.5% of global CO2 emissions and contributes to around 4% of global warming. If unmitigated, aviation emissions could double by 2050 and consume around 10% of the remaining carbon budget to stay below 1.5C of global warming. Not only does air travel contribute to CO2 emissions, but planes also release other gases such as water vapour, nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide (alongside soot), all of which further contribute to warming and may be up to 3 times worse than the warming caused by aviation’s CO2 emissions.

These facts aren’t pretty and we don’t mention them to fear you into not travelling or shame you for the travel you have done, but to encourage you to enact positive change and offset your carbon footprint.

So here’s 10 ways to make your travel more sustainable….

1. Horse riding is an inherently more sustainable way to travel and see a country as it emits 0 carbon emissions so you’re already doing great by choosing a riding holiday.

2. Choose a riding holiday that lasts a for a longer period of time. Going somewhere for the better part of a week or longer is more sustainable than going on multiple short, few-day getaways.

3. Travel to the airport on public transport rather than by car.

4. Fly direct where possible. Take offs and landings are fuel heavy which makes direct flights more sustainable.

5. It’s even better if you can avoid flying overall. If you can get to your destination by train rather than flying, that’s great and sometimes even cheaper. It also allows you to see more beautiful scenery.

6. Travel via public transport when you get to your destination. Choose buses and trains instead of taxis to get to your accommodation and around where you’re staying when possible.

7. Bring a reusable water bottle with you to avoid buying plastic ones. Whilst this may not always be possible at every destination as some places don’t have drinkable tap water or accessible places to refill, even bringing one to use at the airport (a lot of airports have refill stations now) is better than nothing.

8. Bring a reusable shopping bag to avoid plastic bags if/when shopping for souvenirs and snacks.

9. Be careful about what souvenirs you’re buying. Try to buy handmade or locally made souvenirs rather than ones that are mass produced / imported.

10. Support local owned businesses and restaurants which keeps money within the area rather than funnelling it into larger corporations who tend to be less sustainable.