With the booming travel and tourism sector generating an estimated 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, it’s never been more important for agents to make smarter choices about the holidays they sell and the way they run their business.
In the first TTG Sustainable Travel Heroes workshop of 2025 our class of Sustainable Travel Ambassadors in Training received a crash course in carbon emissions from TTG Media’s editorial director Pippa Jacks.
They heard how incremental improvements in the way a business or home is run can help slash its carbon footprint, before being tasked with researching their own energy use and finding ways to reduce it. Here, the agents share their plans and top tips:
KIMARA BOYD
Howard Travel
I’m going to unsubscribe from unwanted emails rather than continuously deleting them. (TerraVerde says the internet makes up 3.7% of all global emissions, and this carbon footprint is built from all our actions online, including emails).
LISA CONNOLLY
Travel Counsellors
I only print if absolutely necessary, and I’m planning to incentivise customers to opt to use the MyTC app instead of physical documents, by offering to make a donation on their behalf to a scheme that supports sustainability efforts. I’ve stopped keeping brochures, sticking to digital copies instead, and I’ve just set up a digital business card via Blinq, which is a game changer.
KIRI DULAY
The Personal Travel Agents at Your Coop Travel
I’ll encourage energy-conscious behaviour among staff, such as switching off lights in unoccupied meeting rooms, turning off radios at the end of the day and keeping doors closed to retain heat and reduce energy consumption.
AMANDA HANDY
Millington Travel
We’ll take a look at what we recycle, encourage the use of re-usable bottles for employees and remove all single-use plastic from the office.
