Pangaea Travel Consultants, 5490 La Jolla Blvd., Suite B, is offering carbon-neutral travel to help fight global warming. By working with Carbonfund.org, the leading carbon reduction and offset organization in the nation, Pangaea’s program counteracts a traveler’s carbon emissions for an entire trip at no extra cost to the traveler.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said that travel composes 10 percent of the human contribution to global warming, a figure which the eco-active co-owners Chris Tharp and Jessica Finley had trouble swallowing. The travel lovers left their corporate worlds of Wall Street and Washington, D.C., to start Pangaea Travel in March 2007 ¦with an eye for wanting to do something as green as possible,” Tharp said.
According to Carbonfund.org, carbon-neutrality can be achieved by supporting carbon-reducing projects to offset the exact carbon footprint of a travel itinerary that can be figured out by a carbon calculator. Carbon credits often go toward reforestation projects worldwide or wind or turbine energy-based research or construction. Pangaea is the company’s main travel client.
“We’re kind of the initial client they’re sampling travel with. Travel is devastating environmentally, so this is important. We’re excited about it,” Pangaea’s co-owner Tharp said.
Some of Carbonfund.org’s other customers include Dell and Volkswagen.
Those who already have a tour or cruise completely planned can still come to Pangaea, where Tharp and Finley will book the trip and then issue carbon credits in return.
“There’s really nothing in it for us. It costs the client the same amount of money, but by allowing us to book the trip we can make it green,” Tharp said. “We, Pangaea, contribute the money out of our own pockets to offset our clients’ trips.”
Other companies offer customers a choice of paying to offset their carbon emissions for part of their trip, perhaps $15 to make a flight carbon neutral. But Pangaea costs the client nothing extra and at the end of the trip gives the client a gift to thank them for traveling in an eco-friendly manner.
“We earn a commission by booking trips, just like any travel company,” Tharp said. “But we put that money into green travel and also contribute a little bit of money from every trip to global organizations, such as the Rainforest Alliance and the Surfrider Foundation.”
Pangaea, a travel consultant centering on custom trips, including adventure, educational and cultural tours and cruises, takes being eco-friendly seriously. The company uses energy-efficient light bulbs and recycling, among other things, to make up for the cost of their business operations for the year, according to Pangaea representatives.
Those looking to travel green can find out more at www.pangaeatravel.net or by calling (866) PANGAEA.
“It doesn’t fix the problem. The planes are still flying, the cars are still driving, but it helps,” Tharp concluded.