Organization to purchase carbon offset credits to balance emissions from air travel

Tourism Vancouver has committed to "greening" all of its air travel with the purchase of carbon offset credits through Uniglobe Travel's Green Flight program, the only program of its type in Canada. Tourism Vancouver is the first destination marketing organization to commit to offsetting all of their flights through the program.

In 2007 Tourism Vancouver will offset approximately 220 metric tons of emissions resulting from the organization's air travel through investing in sustainable green energy projects in Western Canada that have been approved by the federal government. The organization will not only offset flights taken by staff traveling for sales and marketing business, but also those flights purchased to bring travel influencer clients, customers and media to Vancouver.

"The staff at Tourism Vancouver felt very strongly about joining this program," said Tourism Vancouver president & CEO Rick Antonson. "Having such a spectacular destination means that we're no strangers to getting out and truly enjoying our environment, and we understand that we need to make a commitment to preserving it."

"Given the nature of our business, the tourism industry has often been at the forefront of environmental responsibility. This is the right thing to do for the environment. We encourage all of our industry colleagues and partners to take similar steps in this direction."

Through Tourism Vancouver's partnership with Uniglobe Advance Travel, the organization will also be offering the opportunity to purchase carbon offset credits to all convention delegates coming to Vancouver for conferences and meetings, further extending the impact of the program. To find our more about this program and how you can implement it for your next meeting in Vancouver, contact our team.

Fast "Green" Vancouver Facts

• The international environmental organization, Greenpeace, was founded in Vancouver in 1971. Greenpeace now has national and regional offices in 41 countries worldwide, all of which are affiliated with the Amsterdam-based Greenpeace International.
• David Suzuki, chair of the David Suzuki Foundation and an award-winning scientist and environmentalist was born, raised and currently lives in Vancouver. He was also a professor at the University of British Columbia (1969 - 2001).
• The Vancouver Parks Board maintains more than 200 parks and 11 miles of beaches in Greater Vancouver. More than 12 new parks have been added to the city in the last 10 years.
• More than half (58%) of the city's waterfront is public. The longest continuous stretch is 23 kilometres stretching from Crab Park to Kitsilano Beach Park.