Our Commitment to the Environment

At Outfitter Bicycle Tours we are aware of, and concerned about, the carbon footprint created by guests who join us for tours.  While cycling itself is a carbon-neutral activity, we are acutely aware of the environmental impact of traveling great distances on airplanes to join one of our tours, using fossil fuel-burning vans for land transport during tours, general electricity usage, and the replacement of large amounts of burnt calories by food that may not have been locally farmed.

How can a cycling tour company help the environment?  We do this by calculating our carbon footprint and offering our clients the option to buy carbon credits to offset the carbon created during a tour.  An average tour with us has been calculated to create approximately 4.5 tons of carbon emissions per person.   Through our relationship with 3Degrees Group, a leader in renewable energy credits and carbon credits, we offer guests the opportunity to offset their own carbon footprint at $67.50 per tour.  This offer is a part of the tour registration process.

So, where does the money go?  To projects that result in real, quantifiable, permanent and additional greenhouse gas emission reductions that are third-party verified against objective, credible and transparent standards*.  Verified reductions manifest through carbon mitigating projects that would not exist but for offset programs.  Offset funds from Outfitter Bicycle Tours guests support the Corinth Coal Mine Methane project as well as others. Specifically, the Corinth project consists of a methane capture system in an abandoned coal mine in rural Illinois. This system collects methane, a potent greenhouse gas, that would have otherwise escaped into the atmosphere.  The collected methane is injected into a nearby interstate gas pipeline, from which it is distributed to customers.

What else? We take it an additional step by offsetting our own corporate operations. Every year, we calculate our companywide output of carbon and purchase offsets accordingly.  We realize that this does not eliminate all of the pollution that our tours create, but it is an important step in the right direction.

* – For more information please visit: http://www.3degreesinc.com/products/carbon-offsets

Email Icon Email Icon