Tips for Making Your Vacation Eco-Friendly

Julie Starr • May 30, 2022



When you’re on vacation, it’s easy to let your eco-friendly habits slip. You might not think about recycling when you’re on a beach in the Caribbean or turning off the light when you leave your hotel room for the day. But there are plenty of ways to enjoy your vacation while still being environmentally responsible. This blog post will give you tips for making your holiday more sustainable. We’ll cover everything from transportation to accommodations to food and drink. So read on, and start planning your next green getaway!

Overtourism:

Overtourism is a massive problem in many popular tourist destinations. If you’re planning to visit a place known to be crowded, do your research ahead of time and look for ways to avoid the worst of the crowds. This might mean visiting during the shoulder season or staying in a less-crowded area.

Use Efficient Modes Of Transportation:

One of the best ways to make your vacation more sustainable is to use efficient modes of transportation. If you’re flying, try to offset your carbon emissions by planting trees or investing in renewable energy. You can also offset your emissions by taking direct flights whenever possible and packing light to avoid weight penalties. Plan your route ahead of time to avoid wasting gas and carpool whenever possible if you’re driving. And if you’re taking public transportation, be sure to recycle any materials you can.

Stay In Green Accommodations:

Your accommodations can also have a significant impact on the environment. For example, if you’re staying in a hotel, look for a certified green one . This means that the hotel has reduced its environmental impact by using energy-efficient lighting and appliances, recycling, and composting. You can also look for sustainable practices in hotels, such as solar power or green roofs. If you’re staying in a rental home or apartment, ask about the property’s sustainability policies. You can also take steps to be more sustainable in your accommodations, such as turning off the lights when you leave the room and recycling any materials. 

Support Local Businesses:

One of the best ways to reduce your environmental impact on vacation is to support local businesses. This means eating at locally-owned restaurants, shopping at local stores, and using local services. When you support local businesses, you’re helping reduce transportation emissions and supporting the local economy. You can also look for certified green businesses that use sustainable practices. You can l earn more about sustainable local business here.

Packing light:

One way to be more sustainable when you travel is to pack light. This will help you avoid overweight baggage fees, and it will also reduce your carbon footprint. In addition, when you pack light, you’ll use less energy and resources to transport your belongings, generating less waste. So next time you’re packing for vacation, leave some space in your suitcase for souvenirs and travel light!

Stay and Explore:

When planning your vacation, try to choose a destination that you can explore over a more extended period. This will help you avoid the environmental impact of flying, and it will also allow you to experience the place you’re visiting. If you can, take a road trip or take the train instead of flying. And once you’re at your destination, take some time to explore the area. For example, rent a bicycle or walk instead of taking taxis or buses everywhere. By staying and exploring, you’ll be able to immerse yourself in the culture of your destination and avoid some of the environmental impacts of tourism.

Eat Sustainable, Local Foods:

When you’re on vacation, it’s easy to eat out. But did you know that the food you eat can also be eco-friendly? To make your holiday more sustainable, try to eat locally sourced foods . This means eating foods that are grown or produced near your vacation destination. Local food is fresher and tastier, but it also has a smaller carbon footprint than food that’s been shipped from far away. You can find local restaurants by doing a quick Google search or asking your hotel staff for recommendations.

Drink Responsibly:

You can also make your vacation more sustainable by drinking responsibly. This means avoiding single-use plastic straws and cups and opting for reusable ones instead. It also means being aware of the water you’re consuming. If you’re in a country with limited access to clean water, drink only bottled water that’s been certified safe. And if you’re staying in a place with unlimited access to clean water, try to avoid bottled water altogether. You can also reduce your impact by drinking local beers and wines with a smaller carbon footprint than imported ones.

In conclusion, there are many ways to make your vacation more sustainable. By offsetting your carbon emissions, staying in green accommodations, and eating locally sourced foods, you can help reduce your environmental impact. And by packing light and drinking responsibly, you can further reduce your impact on the planet. So next time you travel, remember to consider the environment in all that you do!

By Julie Starr August 9, 2025
Running an online business can feel like a constant balancing act. You’re trying to grow, keep customers happy, and still have time for yourself. The trick to making it all work long-term is to build habits and systems that last. You don’t need a complicated plan or endless resources to do it either. Here are five straightforward ways to make your business more sustainable without overcomplicating things. Focus on long-term customer relationships If you want your business to last, you need customers who keep coming back. That doesn’t just happen because you’ve got a good product or service. It’s about making people feel valued every time they interact with you. Simple things like remembering their name, following up after a purchase, or sending a quick thank-you email can make a huge difference. People are far more likely to support a business they feel connected to, so keep those relationships personal and genuine rather than purely transactional. Make your marketing work smarter A big part of sustainability is making sure your marketing isn’t draining your time or money. You want it to be efficient and get results. This is where working with seo consultants can help. They know how to make sure people can find your business online without you throwing cash at random ads. Even if you can’t hire someone right now, you can start by focusing on keywords, improving your website’s loading speed, and posting valuable content that answers the questions your customers are already asking. Streamline your products or services It’s tempting to try to offer everything to everyone, but that’s rarely a good idea. The more you offer, the more time, money, and resources you’ll end up using. Instead, focus on the things you do best and make them as good as they can be. When you streamline what you’re selling, you can put all your energy into perfecting it, which makes it easier to maintain quality over time. Customers notice when you consistently deliver something great, and they’ll trust you more for it. Keep an eye on your finances No matter how much you enjoy the creative or customer side of your business, the numbers are what will keep you going long-term. That means knowing what’s coming in, what’s going out, and where you can cut costs without cutting quality. Set yourself a monthly check-in to look at your spending and profits. If you spot something that’s not working financially, don’t leave it for months, hoping it will improve. Tackle it early and you’ll avoid bigger problems down the road. Look after yourself You can’t run a sustainable business if you’re running yourself into the ground. Burnout isn’t just bad for you, it’s bad for your customers and your bottom line. Make sure you’re setting boundaries, taking breaks, and switching off when you can. That might mean scheduling a full day without work every week or turning your phone off after a certain time. The more balanced you are, the better decisions you’ll make, and the easier it will be to keep your business moving forward without constantly feeling like you’re in survival mode. Sustainability in business isn’t about doing one big thing; it’s about making intelligent, consistent choices that build over time. Start small, keep checking in on your progress, and before you know it, your business will feel a lot steadier and more future-proof than it did before.
By Julie Starr August 8, 2025
Are you hoping to build a heavy industry business? It’s the kind of company that can have globally sweeping positive and negative effects. On the one hand, you’re contributing to the industry, ensuring there’s enough supply to meet demand, and you can do your best to operate in a sustainable way that prioritizes the environment. But on the other hand, the heavy industry has long been the most significant business polluter in the world. Despite advancements in industry technology and usage, their ranking relative to other sectors, such as food and beverage , and shipping and logistics, has remained unchanged as of 2025. Requiring extensive use of large, heavy, and expensive machinery, the fumes produced by heavy-duty factories in sectors like mining, aerospace, nautical, and metal production regularly cause harm to both human and animal life. It’s why anyone interested in investing or scaling within an industry like this needs to focus on their company’s carbon footprint. There are various ways to ensure you’re limiting your harmful output and waste, and you’ll want to use as many as possible within your operation. Check out our recommendations below. Work with Green Suppliers No matter what stage you sit at in the hypothetical supply chain, you’re likely to source at least part of your overall production material from a supplier. If that’s not the case, you’ll still need to work with companies that provide machinery and equipment, as well as replacement parts for these industrial items. All in all, to make as sustainable a choice as possible, you’ll want to commit to working with a ‘green’ supplier who makes eco-conscious choices at every step. Eco-friendly suppliers will strive to both implement sustainable practices within their production line, as well as provide sustainably made and/or extracted materials. The products and/or parts they send out are likely to be recyclable when they reach their end-of-life period, or they’ll run a scheme where you can send old or broken parts back to them. Offset Your Carbon Emissions Offsetting carbon emissions converts the waste output from your operations into something more positive. If you’re interested in programs like this , you can use official government platforms or climate charity websites to contribute. You’ll be able to find a variety of projects that have been undertaken to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, and they’ll be located in various regions across the world. You can choose to patronise as many of them as you wish, but if you want to focus on specific types, you’ll also be able to do so. When approaching a program like this, it’s usually best to offset month by month, as this helps you stay on top of your carbon footprint. Be sure to invest in as much carbon removal per tonne as your business has potentially contributed to the atmosphere in the last month. But before you go any further, there’s one thing you need to keep in mind here: Carbon offsetting is just one sustainable practice you can turn to, but it’s not the only one your business will ever need to use. Yes, it’s one of the most sustainable practices a heavy industry business can invest in. But that’s only true when it’s partnered with real-time carbon-lowering efficiencies within day-to-day operations. Repair, Rather Than Throw Away Repairing is the best option if a repair is possible. This should be the first step when evaluating old or broken-down equipment. If it can be salvaged, it should be. Otherwise, you’ll have to replace the equipment in question. Not only is that expensive, but it also means more waste to manage. And not all heavy industry tech can be recycled. Sometimes it’s potentially hazardous and needs to be disposed of carefully, and this could have harsh impacts on the surrounding environment. Repairing is your best bet, at least 80% of the time. You can get back up and running faster, and you don’t need to account for a large investment at short notice. And more equipment can be repaired than you might think. It’s not just small, singular parts that can be pulled out. Entire internal systems in even large vehicles, such as freighter ships, can be replaced by secondary parts. A marine logistics provider or deep-sea fishing operator would save a lot of money just by ordering a Cummins Rebuild Kit for one of their vessels. Deciding to put the ship out of commission and eventually scrapping it will contribute to the large-scale waste common in companies like this. Aiming to repair and limit environmental damage will get that same boat back onto the waters in seaworthy condition. Operate with Lower Emission Logistics Shipping your products to businesses and markets always generates a carbon footprint. Unless you’re operating only within the local area and you’re able to transport products back and forth on foot, this is an unavoidable issue. And seeing as you’re a heavy industry business, that’s not very likely. But some shipping options are better than others. Indeed, there are low-emission choices to be made, and you’ll want to look into these logistic partners only. You’ll likely find that air travel is a total no-go zone. Alternatives to this are long-haul road transportation or a traditional shipping company that operates via sea. Yes, even trucking your products over land generates a lot less carbon waste that can damage the environment than flying something! Staying Green as a Heavy Industry Player Working sustainably within the heavy industry is a career-long project. You’ll need to continually make moves to consider what could be streamlined into something greener and less consuming next. In the end, this can help your long-term costs decrease and stay low. Fewer risky investments, fewer fees from environmental bodies, and more productive time within your business. So, it’s not going to be easy, but it will be worth it