How we’re thinking about the environment
More than ever, businesses need to acknowledge their responsibility when it comes to the environment. Despite the majority of global carbon emissions coming from a handful of corporations, businesses of all sizes can model responsible behaviours and take measures to minimise their environmental impact.
We want our values to be front and centre in how we run and grow our business. At Gourmet Yoga, we organise yoga and food experiences in locations around the world. Travel is central to how we operate. The global transportation sector is a major emitter of carbon, making up 16% of all emissions. Considering the significant percentage that transportation contributes to global emissions, we have an obligation to consider ours, and an opportunity to minimise them.
With all this in mind, we’re thinking really hard about how to run our business responsibly when it comes to the environment.
Like all complex and challenging situations, we have the opportunity to draw on our creativity and find ways to minimise and offset our environmental impact as we continue to dream up new experiences and find new locations to share.
Here’s what we’re thinking about at this stage in our business.
We aim to embrace the ethos of slow travel.
Generally the slower a mode of transport, the more energy efficient it is. We aim to minimise our use of high-carbon modes of travel, which means flying as little as possible. This opens up wonderful opportunities to embrace slow travel, with the shift in mindset and outlook that accompanies it.
We don’t want to stop traveling internationally, but we can minimise flights and use other forms of transportation. This would involve taking the shortest flight possible, then travelling the rest of the way by other means, like rail. I’m particularly excited by this as I’d love to find ways to bring guests along, too. Anyone want to join us for a yoga retreat as we travel by train from Istanbul to Toulouse?
As far as energy efficiency goes, sailing is about as good as it gets. I’m not sure how yoga would work on a yacht, but I’m keen to try!
When planning our international experiences, we will group and sequence them to minimise the number of flights required. For example, rather than flying to Europe and back, then to Asia, we will sequence our experiences across different locations to minimise the number of flights.
We’re also exploring ways for how we can actively plan to offer carbon offset for our guests. Our dream is to make our experiences carbon-positive through minimising the carbon footprint of our activities, and supporting projects that make positive contributions, like reforestation.
As we grow, we will seek certification as B Corporation. B Corporations are businesses that balance purpose and profit, making decisions that positively impact their workers, customers, suppliers, the community and the environment. This accreditation will provide public accountability of our commitment to our values.
We’re just setting out on this journey, which offers a fantastic opportunity to put our values front-and-centre in our decision making and the direction we want to take our business. Caring for the environment, just as we care for the guests who join us, is vital to the viability of our enterprise. By setting our intentions from the outset to minimise our carbon footprint, we can find innovative ways to achieve those goals and provide unique experiences. We’re so excited to have you along for the ride.