Carbon Labels on Tripmates Tours
Travel is powerful — it connects people, creates lifelong memories, and shapes how we see the world. But every journey also comes with a carbon footprint. At KILROY, we believe in being upfront about that.
The tourism sector is both deeply affected by climate change and a contributor to it. According to UN Tourism, climate action, which includes measuring, reducing, and adapting to the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions, is critical to ensuring the long-term resilience of our industry. Tourism currently accounts for roughly 8% of global emissions, much of it driven by travellers from high-income countries. As more people gain access to travel, understanding and managing its environmental impact becomes increasingly urgent.
That’s why we’ve introduced carbon labels on all Tripmates tours — giving travellers a transparent estimate of the emissions each trip generates per traveler. We began this work in January 2025, with the support of the ST3ER programme (Scaling Twin Transitions in Tourism by Harnessing the Experience Economy for Greater Resilience), co-funded by the European Union.
Why did we start with Tripmates small group adventures?
This is where we’re starting because we have the most ownership over Tripmates: we design the itineraries, choose the accommodation, and shape the experience from the ground up. That also means we can shape the impact.
Tripmates tours are already designed to be more mindful — not just in how they feel, but in how they’re built. We prioritise smaller group sizes to reduce pressure on destinations and support more intimate, local experiences. We choose land transport wherever possible — buses, trains, and shared transfers — instead of short-haul flights. Our trips rely on local guides who live the stories they tell and understand the places you’re visiting inside and out. Accommodation and activity partners are carefully selected with an eye on locally owned businesses and responsible operations. These decisions are built into the DNA of Tripmates — but now we’re putting numbers behind them.
And while carbon is a major part of the story, it's not the only one. Tourism has a wide range of impacts — both positive and negative. Measuring carbon helps us track one important piece of the puzzle, while continuing to build trips that are thoughtful, respectful, and future-focused.
What’s included in the estimate?
- Accommodation (hotels, hostels, homestays, camping)
- Local transport (buses, trains, ferries, 4x4s, internal flights and flights between countries where applicable)
- Meals
- Activities (guided tours, nature visits, cultural experiences)
- Services (guides)
- Internal operations – the impact we have from doing business and making your trip a reality (think staff, office emissions, business travel)
What’s not included?
The big one is international airfare to and from the starting location. Since our travellers join from across Northern Europe, flights are not automatically included in Tripmates tours across destinations.
That said, we know long-haul flights carry a significant carbon footprint. So, alongside each trip, we provide a benchmark estimate for round-trip airfare from each market’s capital airport (e.g. Copenhagen, Oslo, London) to the trip’s starting point. We know not everyone is flying from the capital — our travelers come from all over, and some may already be in the region or combining this tour with a longer journey but using the capital airport as a consistent reference point helps give a clearer picture of your total travel footprint.
It’s not perfect, but it’s a meaningful way to help you think through the full impact of your journey.
A quick note on other factors
Our carbon estimate focuses on everything included in your Tripmates package — accommodation, local transport, flights (if included in the itinerary), activities, meals, and guides. But naturally, some travellers choose to add extras along the way.
Things like meals not included in the itinerary, optional excursions, souvenirs, or extended stays all carry their own footprint. These aren’t accounted for in our estimate, but they’re worth keeping in mind as part of the broader picture.
How are the numbers calculated?
We’ve partnered with Ecollective, an independent carbon consultancy that specializes in the travel industry. They help us break down each itinerary, component by component, and assign emissions values accordingly. The goal is to estimate the full carbon footprint of what’s included in your Tripmates adventure with as much accuracy as possible.
The calculation covers everything built into your trip: transport, accommodation, included meals, activities, and guides. It also includes emissions from our own internal operations that support the delivery of our travel experiences. This includes office emissions, staff commuting, business travel, and more. These figures are based on a combination of actual data and trusted industry benchmarks, such as emissions factors from DEFRA (UK), EPA (US), and IEA (international), as well as supplier-provided information when available.
The graphics above for Nepal and Vietnam & Thailand show what this looks like in practice — breaking down the total estimated footprint per person across the main categories of each adventure. These examples highlight how the type of trip matters: a trekking-heavy itinerary like Nepal results in relatively low transport emissions, while a longer overland journey such as Vietnam & Thailand includes more varied transport and accommodation types.
When exact details aren’t available, national or global averages are applied. Ecollective also builds in a 15% buffer to account for unknown and unrecorded elements that may arise during the trip, ensuring the estimate reflects the reality of travel as closely as possible.
The methodology follows the GHG Protocol, the most widely recognized international standard for measuring greenhouse gas emissions. It includes emissions from:
- On-the-ground transport (calculated based on transport type, fuel efficiency and total km travelled)
- Accommodation (calculated per room per night, adjusted for property type and occupancy)
- Included meals (based on carbon intensity of different diets)
- Activities provided through the tour
- Guides, including their travel
Trip-specific emissions fall under what's known as Scope 3, meaning emissions that aren't directly controlled but are influenced through our operations. While Scope 3 is often left out by other travel providers, it's the largest and most meaningful part of a travel experience’s footprint, and we believe it should be measured.
Our numbers are built on sound methodology, continuously updated data, and a clear commitment to transparency and improvement.
What do we do with these insights?
Transparency is just the start. We’re also using this information behind the scenes, helping our trip designers understand where emissions come from and what we can do about them.
By crunching the numbers, we’re able to focus on key areas that help reduce emissions and improve trip design such as:
- Identifying high-impact activities and transport modes that contribute most to a trip’s footprint
- Comparing emissions across different itineraries to spot patterns and opportunities for reduction
- Rethinking meals, especially in meat-heavy destinations — exploring more plant-forward options and encouraging travelers to eat more like locals
- Evaluating transport frequency and distance, helping us understand when, where, and how often movement adds to the overall carbon footprint
We believe this kind of data should become standard across the travel industry because the more we know, the more we can improve. For us, this is the first step.
What about flights?
We know flights are usually one of the most carbon-intensive parts of travel — especially long-haul journeys. For many of our travellers, flying is the only practical way to reach a destination. And while it isn’t included in our carbon label (since flights are booked separately and vary widely), it’s still a big part of your overall footprint.
That’s why we provide a benchmark estimate for round-trip airfare from your home country's capital airport to the trip’s starting point — giving you a consistent reference to factor into your decision-making.
We also want to be clear: the emissions from a single long-haul flight can far exceed the footprint of the trip itself. For example, a round-trip economy flight between Northern Europe and Southeast Asia can emit upwards of 2,000 kg CO₂e per traveller, compared to an average of 289 kg CO₂e for an entire Tripmates adventure on the ground.
We’re not here to tell you not to fly — but we are committed to giving you the tools to make informed choices. That includes:
- Providing carbon estimates for flights alongside trip details
- Designing itineraries that reduce the need for short-haul or internal flights
- Prioritising overland transport wherever possible
- Being mindful of trip duration, encouraging longer and less frequent travel where possible
- Sharing knowledge and encouraging slower, more intentional travel
Flights are just one piece of the picture, but understanding their impact helps us all see the bigger one more clearly.
What’s Next?
Tripmates is just the beginning. But our goal is to extend carbon labelling across more of KILROY’s experiences in the future. We have already started working on calculating emissions for other segments, which we aim to publish in spring 2026.