Carbon Footprints in the Sand
Las Vegas Outfitter is a shining example of sustainable travel.
With hundreds of tour companies claiming to be environmentally responsible, this will undeniably raise the bar for outfitters.
A world leader in multi-sport mountain biking and road cycling tours spanning the globe, EA’s mission is to keep their carbon footprints to a minimum (or even negative), while offering first class eco-friendly vacations.
Are you buying in to the world wide marketing ploy? Many times, companies claim to be green, when essentially they are only paying to pollute, by purchasing energy credits instead of working to reduce their bad energy consumption.
Conscious consumers are hungry for a better way to decipher real green from, light green companies who use “green” as nothing more than a marketing scheme. The future of outfitting will require actual business reform substantiated by third party audits, not just a quick fix of carbon credit purchases.
Jared and Heather Fisher of Escape Adventures have worked many years to acquire this outstanding honor. Since they started their outdoor adventure business in 1992, their mission statement has always been the same: to Promote human power and the natural environment.
The Fishers have raised the bar on many levels.
• Jared personally collects & recycles used kitchen vegetable oil from local restaurants to fuel tour vans; UNLV recently donated entire campus’ eco-waste to EA
• They grow their own organic garden & they feed its fare to guests on tour
• The Fishers recycle 90% of waste; tires, bottles, paper, plastic, glass- on tour & at shops
• They have public recycling bins at shops and even other businesses
• The Fishers compost all vegetarian food scrapes not only on tour but at work and home as well
• They have installed solar panels at both their Moab and Las Vegas locations, resulting in a negative power bill
• Awarded, “Certificate of Environmental Stewardship,” by Rocky Mountain Power, for purchasing 30,000 kilowatt hours of renewable wind energy (this in addition to producing more than enough of their own solar energy)
• Offer all employees $5/day to ride to work rather than drive
• Use recycled products and buy merchandise with little or no packaging,
• No plastic bags
Third party auditing by organizations like Sustainable Travel International, which has over 1200 companies adhering to their strict guidelines worldwide, holds the key to knowing whether a touring company, or any company for that matter, is truly green.
For more information on Sustainable Travel International, please visit http://www.sustainabletravelinternational.org.
For more information about Escape Adventures and Las Vegas Cyclery please visit www.escapeadventures.com or call toll free 800.596.2953
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