5 ways to limit your environmental impact while traveling

By Charlotte Deprez Published 09/05/2018

As a traveler or a digital nomad, you can’t help it: you’ll pollute more than by staying at home your whole life. Here are a few hands-on tips and tricks if you want to limit your CO2 emissions while traveling and discovering our wonderful world.

1. Use your legs

As far as we know, walking is still one of the less polluting ways to go from point A to point B. Nothing beats discovering a country or a city by foot; it allows you to take your time, get lost, observe a lot and connect more to local people. It only has advantages: it’s good for your wallet, the environment and your health.

2. Bring a reusable bag with you

Tote bags are everywhere, they’re in style and can be used hundreds of times, unlike plastic bags. It takes up very little space in your luggage and it’s always useful. When you go to the grocery store, just refuse the plastic bags and unsheathe your reusable bag. Same when you go to the beach, when you need a dirty laundry bag, when you need an extra piece of hand luggage… See? It’s ALWAYS useful.

3. Try coliving instead of a hotel or Airbnb

If you’re planning to stay in the same place for a few months, you should definitely consider the coliving option. The main differences between coliving and a classic flat for rent are the sense of community and the practical aspects. Instead of staying by yourself in a hotel or airbnb, you’ll meet tons of like minded people from all over the world. On top of that, coliving places usually provide you with very interesting additional services, such as furniture, weekly cleaning or even groceries. Yep, you basically get the best of both worlds. 

4. Bring a reusable water bottle

You’re in a foreign country, everyone tells you not to drink tap water and you end up spending insane amounts of money on water bottles. Sounds familiar?  So we figured: why not invest in a reusable bottle that filters water? These bottles are practical, they will save you money and you’ll be doing a little something for the environment.  

5. Cut out the meat

That’s actually something you can do all the time! Whether you’re roaming the planet or staying home. It’s not a secret anymore: meat is one of the most polluting industries on the planet. If there’s ONE thing you can do on a daily basis to limit your CO2 footprint, it’s to start eating less meat. Why? Because the total amount of water used to produce one kilo of ready to eat beef meat is absolutely insane: around 15 000 liters. 

About the author Hello there! I'm Charlotte, based in beautiful Brussels and passionate about traveling, food and photography. Follow me @thetinynomad!