As part of its ongoing commitment to sustainability and playing an active part in helping to fight climate change, leading conservation and ecotourism brand Singita is weaving carbon-neutral stays into its offering with a system that allows guests to seamlessly offset their carbon footprint.
A carbon-neutral levy has automatically been included in every new booking from 30 August 2021, with the funds generated being used to purchase verified carbon credits from accredited service providers in each region.
In line with its commitment to One Planet Living’s Zero Carbon Energy principle, Singita has already made great strides towards using renewable energy and energy-efficient equipment, and building to optimise energy management. While steadfastly continuing with these in future, carbon neutrality – and ultimately, carbon negativity – is an extension of this commitment.
Says Dr Andrea Ferry, Singita’s Group Sustainability Coordinator: “As an ecotourism and conservation brand, we believe we must play our part in fighting climate change. As part of our unwavering commitment to regenerative tourism, we are essentially enabling guests to enjoy a carbon-neutral Singita stay by integrating a carbon emissions offset levy for accommodation. Added to that, we are also starting to offset all carbon emissions from staff business flights.
“We are constantly delighted to discover how likeminded and environmentally aware our guests are. They really do care and we want to make it easier for them to tread as lightly as possible on the planet, while enjoying their time with us. Carbon offsetting is one way of lightening this impact. Many guests choose Singita because our values and purpose to protect wilderness areas resonate with them. Integrating carbon offsetting is a logical step to validate our and their commitment to a thriving planet.”
The funds generated from the levies are rigorously tracked, and the average carbon footprint of one night’s accommodation was converted into a carbon offset cost for every stay. The estimated current cost/tonne of carbon offset is $10/tonne, and the monetary value of the offset will appear on each guest invoice.
The guest levies for accommodation carbon offsets as well as the funds paid by Singita to offset emissions from staff business flights all contribute to Singita’s overarching programme.
Funds generated will be used to purchase verified carbon credits from accredited service providers in each of the regions in which Singita operates. In South Africa, it’s the Climate Neutral Group’s Wonderbag project (VCS accredited) and in Tanzania, Carbon Tanzania’s Yaeda Valley Forest project (Plan Vivo accredited).
In Rwanda, carbon credits will be procured from Carbon Tanzania, and in Zimbabwe, from the Climate Neutral Group – until accredited local offset providers for those countries are identified.
Carbon offset projects not only mitigate carbon, but also provide other various other benefits for local communities.
SOUTH AFRICA & ZIMBABWE – Climate Neutral Group
Project: Wonderbag – a revolutionary, non-electric heat-retention cooker that allows food to continue cooking for up to 12 hours, without using additional energy.
TANZANIA & RWANDA – Carbon Tanzania
The Yaeda Valley Forest project ensures that conservation is an economic imperative for people who need to see tangible benefits from efforts to protect their natural resources.
Carbon mitigation projects offer several advantages, including benefits for local communities and biodiversity. The UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) goals aim to address global inequalities and challenges by 2030, while aiding development and protecting the environment. Supporting carbon offsetting projects that align with as many of these SDGs as possible means that their impact will go well beyond carbon mitigation. 2021 will also see the launch of the Global Goals for Nature, one of which is achieving carbon neutrality.
Singita’s 100-year purpose to preserve and protect large areas of African wilderness for future generations is completely in step with this mindset, and each of the projects benefitting from its Carbon Offsetting Programme was chosen with these goals in mind.
For more information on Singita’s far-reaching conservation and sustainability efforts, please click here.
