Remote destinations such as distant islands, pristine polar regions, and isolated wilderness lodges captivate travelers with their untouched beauty, serenity, and sense of adventure. However, decarbonizing tourism in these areas presents unique challenges, such as limited infrastructure, dependence on imported goods, and the long distances required for transportation. Yet these destinations are among the most vulnerable to rising sea levels, warming temperatures, shifting wildlife patterns, and other climate impacts. To preserve these extraordinary places, travel must not exacerbate the very threats they face.
This webinar in our Road to Net Zero series explores how travel companies are addressing these hard-to-abate transportation emissions in their remote operations. Our CEO, Paloma Zapata, chats with three industry leaders about their innovative reduction strategies. Court Whelan shares how Natural Habitat Adventures minimizes the carbon footprint of safaris in wilderness areas. Renée Kimball of Tranquilo Bay discusses how their island lodge prioritizes local sourcing and implements creative logistical solutions to reduce transportation needs. Carly Biggart of Hurtigruten explains how the cruise line is working towards emissions-free exploration.
Watch this webinar to discover how the tourism industry is overcoming the toughest emissions challenges in some of the world’s most remote and sensitive destinations and gain actionable insights to shape your decarbonization efforts.
What You'll Learn
- Ways companies can build stronger local supply chains to cut down on the importation of food, water, and supplies.
- Innovative technologies being used to reduce excursion and transport emissions in off-grid wilderness areas, such as zero-emission ships and solar-powered vehicles.
- Strategies for minimizing waste, reducing the need to transport it elsewhere for disposal.
- Techniques for optimizing transport efficiency to lower fossil fuel usage.
- The role that carbon measurement plays in reducing these emissions.
- How to collaborate with travelers, communities, governments, and other stakeholders to achieve these goals.
This webinar was streamed live on October 24, 2024. Click here to watch the recording.
Watch the Webinar Recording
Meet the Experts
Speaker
Court Whelan, Ph.D.
Chief Sustainability Officer, Natural Habitat Adventures
Nature has been a constant in Court’s life. Spending much of his youth outdoors fostering a strong love and appreciation for wildlife led him to attend the University of Florida, where he received his bachelor’s, master’s and PhD degrees in both Ecotourism and Entomology. As the creator of his own discipline and major, he was able to design his coursework, research and teaching to focus on, as he puts it, “conserving the world through nature and educational travel experiences.” Throughout his graduate school career, Court also ran an ecotourism company through which he planned and led more than 60 expeditions to nature destinations on all seven continents.
Today, Court continues to guide the world’s best nature expeditions with Natural Habitat Adventures and World Wildlife Fund, while also heading up Nat Hab’s sustainability efforts as Chief Sustainability Officer, elevating it to become one of the most sustainable and eco-conscious travel enterprises in the world. From ensuring complete carbon neutrality to guiding the world’s first zero waste adventure, saving the world via travel is at the center of Court’s career, as well as day-to-day purview.
Speaker
Renée H. Kimball
Chief Steward & President, Tranquilo Bay Eco Adventure Lodge
Renée H. Kimball is the Chief Steward and President of Tranquilo Bay, an ecolodge in the archipelago of Bocas Del Toro, on the Caribbean coast of Panama. Combining her legal background with a deep commitment to sustainable hospitality, Renée leads her team with a forward-thinking vision that goes beyond conventional approaches to stewardship.
The group believes that stewardship is about how we treat our neighbors and the planet. She underscores the importance of care and responsibility, whether at home or while traveling. The company measures its social, environmental, and economic impacts, not against external benchmarks, but through a culture of continuous self-improvement.
Renée and her team track specific metrics to gauge their progress today. With this information, they identify areas for future growth, striving to raise their standards.
Speaker
Carly Biggart
General Manager Americas, Hurtigruten
Carly Biggart has more than 20 years of experience in global roles across the telecom and travel industries. Carly joined Hurtigruten Group in 2019, with the responsibility of North American sales for both the Hurtigruten Expeditions and Hurtigruten Norway brands, managing a team of sales managers in both Canada and the US. Ahead of the brand split in late 2023, Carly became the Head of Hurtigruten (formerly Hurtigruten Norway) in the Americas in June 2023, leading all sales, marketing, and trade representation for the over 130-year-old legacy brand.
Passionate about the brand’s sustainability focus, she has helped improve Hurtigruten’s position by forging new partnerships with ATTA (Adventure Travel Trade Association), Tourism Cares, and Innovation Norway,
to improve collaborations and enhance opportunities. Whether she’s traveling for business or pleasure, Carly always tries to maximize the local experience. Carly lives in Toronto with her husband, two children, and Labrador retriever.
Moderator
Paloma Zapata
CEO, Sustainable Travel International
Paloma Zapata leads Sustainable Travel International’s global efforts to maximize tourism’s contribution to environmental conservation and community well-being. With over 15 years of experience in sustainable tourism, Paloma has implemented impactful initiatives in 26 nations across the globe. Paloma manages the organization’s efforts to engage the tourism industry in climate action through a suite of carbon measurement, offsetting, and educational solutions. She is also working alongside destination leaders and communities to define a Carbon Neutral Destination model.
Road to Net Zero
A webinar series catalyzing climate action in travel
It’s readily apparent that the world must take swift, ambitious action to reach net zero emissions. What’s less evident is how to get there. Our Road to Net Zero Webinar series offers stakeholders support on their journey to net zero travel. Each webinar takes a deep dive into a different aspect of climate action, demystifying confusing or controversial topics and highlighting real-life examples of climate action in practice.