Indagare Is Carbon-Neutral: What That Means For You


Indagare is proud to announce that as of April 2nd, 2023, the entire organization operates as a net carbon neutral entity. Read below for more information surrounding our offsetting process.

Contact Indagare or your Trip Designer to learn more about Indagare Impact and to plan a trip that not only inspires and empowers you as a traveler, but also helps support the destination you’ve visited.

What does carbon offsetting mean?

Carbon offsetting allows an organization or individual to compensate for the emissions they create by reducing emissions elsewhere. This is done by purchasing a carbon credit—one metric ton of carbon traded on a voluntary marketplace. The credit goes towards a certified project aimed at either sequestering carbon or preventing its emissions. These projects, using their operational budget needs, can calculate the precise cost of sequestering one ton of carbon. This usually costs between $10-20 per metric ton.

What is Indagare doing to offset its carbon emissions?

Indagare buys carbon credits through a partnership with Sustainable Travel International, investing into vetted carbon sequestration projects. Sustainable Travel International then retires these purchased credits, so that no other organization or individual can purchase them. This ensures that the ton of carbon being emitted by Indagare is then sequestered by the project to which we’ve made a donation.

Why did you partner with Sustainable Travel International?

We chose to work with Sustainable Travel International due to the organization’s rigorous quality assurance processes. Each project is independently certified by at least one of six prestigious institutions (WWF’s Gold Standard; Verified Carbon Standard; Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standards; Plan Vivo; Climate Action Reserve; or the American Carbon Registry). Furthermore, the assessment is ongoing, ensuring that a project continues to provide all the benefits it said it would. Read more about verification criteria, and how Indagare Travel and Sustainable Travel International are ensuring our carbon projects are legitimate at sustainabletravel.org.

Does that mean Indagare members’ travels have no emissions?

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as emission-free travel, and there won’t be until the advent of long-haul capable airplanes that run on renewable energy. Until then, Indagare seeks to plan itineraries with the lowest emissions possible, and use carbon offsetting to account for any emissions that can’t be avoided. Travel makes up eight percent of overall global emissions.

What are Indagare’s emission sources?

At Indagare, our emission sources include a small carbon footprint from staff operations, as well as a larger carbon footprint from activities of our members. These break down into Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions.

  • Scope 1 Emissions are defined as emissions created through the direct operation of company-owned sources. This type of emissions is particularly relevant for manufacturing and transportation industries. Indagare’s Scope 1 emissions are generally zero, as we do not own any means of production.
  • Scope 2 Emissions are defined as emissions created in the upstream generation of power for a company’s use. Indagare’s Scope 2 emissions come mostly from power used for our team’s home offices (we no longer have a centralized office), as well as server use for our online offerings.
  • Scope 3 Emissions are the Scope 1 and 2 emissions owned by other organizations within our value chain. For Indagare, this encompasses all staff- and client-travel booked through Indagare. (For example, when Indagare books a flight to Paris for a member, the emissions created by burning the fuel in the plane owned by the airline would be that airline’s Scope 1 emissions, while the percentage attributed to the Indagare member on-board member would be Indagare’s Scope 3). Scope 3 emissions make up roughly 97 percent of Indagare’s total carbon footprint.

How does Indagare track its carbon footprint?

Indagare uses a proprietary, custom-built carbon calculator to manually track emissions from every aspect of our business, including staff office operation, flights booked for both staff and members, hotel bookings, vehicle transfers, yacht charters, rail travel, meals and more. Sources used for carbon accounting purposes include the Environmental Protection Agency, the International Civil Aviation Organization, Cornell and Johns Hopkins Universities, among others.

I’ve heard carbon offsetting is controversial. Why is Indagare doing it?

Carbon offsetting can be controversial, as some projects claim to offset credits but have not actually tied the price to a specific amount of carbon, or they may sell credits to multiple organizations such that some emissions are not actually offset.

By attaching a cost to emitting (and then offsetting) a ton of carbon, organizations who sign on to these marketplaces should be encouraged to reduce their actual emission to avoid having to purchase as many carbon credits. However, some organizations that use carbon offsetting do treat it as a license to continue to pollute more.

Indagare, however, only purchases credits through a partnership with Sustainable Travel International, whose managed portfolio of projects is independently certified by at least one of multiple prestigious carbon accounting organizations, such as WWF’s Gold Standard; Verified Carbon Standard; Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standards; Plan Vivo; Climate Action Reserve; or the American Carbon Registry.

What projects does Indagare support for carbon offsetting?

Currently, Indagare donates to two projects, the Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve and the Trocano Araretama Conservation Project. Together, these two projects sequester over 10 million tons of carbon per year.

Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve is conserving a biodiverse peat swamp forest in Indonesian Borneo that had been slated for conversion to palm oil plantations. Along with protecting this carbon rich ecosystem, the project supports the reintroduction of critically endangered orangutans into their wild habitat. Rimba Raya is the first REDD+ project to be validated under the Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard for contributing to all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, and is otherwise verified by the American Carbon Standard and the Climate, Community, and Biodiversity Alliance.

Trocano Araretama Conservation Project is located along the Madeira River, protecting a vast area of the Brazilian Amazon that is under imminent threat of deforestation. By improving living conditions and strengthening environmental monitoring and awareness, this project will conserve this critical ecosystem while improving quality of life for local communities. Trocano Araretama is certified by the Natural Forest Standard.

How does Indagare plan itineraries with the lowest emissions possible?

Decarbonizing the Indagare value chain is an important part of reducing the emissions caused by travel. The first major step is educating members on how to travel sustainably. Indagare promotes sustainable hotels through our Indagare Index, showing which hotels abide closest to our Indagare Sustainable Hotel Standard, itself based on the standards of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. More information on the Sustainability Index, as well as Indagare’s policies on crafting the most sustainable itineraries possible, will be added here soon.

How can I help?

When you join Indagare, a portion of your annual membership fee directly contributes to the Indagare Impact Fund and our carbon neutrality efforts. Learn more about joining Indagare here.

Contact Indagare or your Trip Designer to learn more about Indagare Impact and to plan a trip that not only inspires and empowers you as a traveler, but also helps support the destination you’ve visited.

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