From 2021 onwards, Boat Bike Tours will be carbon neutral. And we’re happy to explain how we got here. To do this, we go back to 2018, when Sea Going Green carried out a pilot study to determine our footprint.
The study covered our head office and three boats in our fleet: large, medium and small. The survey measured the estimated impact of all aspects of our tours including consumption of fuel, energy, water, meat, food, straws, paper placemats, towels, bedlinen and office supplies; and waste produced such as carbon emissions, garbage, recycling and grey/black waste water.
Main forms of impact
The study confirmed the three biggest areas of impact on our tours:
– fuel consumption to power boats and provide electricity on board (when shore power is not available)
– meals, in particular meat consumption
– energy, shore power for lighting, appliances, air conditioning, charging e-bike batteries, etc
The data from the study was converted into an ecological footprint, which amounted to 266 kg of carbon emissions per guest per week in 2018.
In 2019, the study was extended to the entire fleet. The average emissions per guest per week amounted to 243 kg of CO2. You can read the SGG report 2019 and learn more about the working method.
In 2020, due to the pandemic, some ships did not sail, some only sailed for a few weeks and a large part of the fleet only carried out half their planned tours. This made it unrealistic to repeat the 2019 measurements. Based on the number of guests, Sea Going Green estimated emissions in 2020. The figures for 2019 were extrapolated for 2020. Due to the fact that ships operated with far fewer guests per tour, the average emissions per guest were much higher than in the previous year. You can read SGG Report 2020 here.
Also season 2021 only started in June with a lower occupancy rate, therefore it was decided to calculate the figures for 2021 based on 2019 as well. SGG Report 2021
season ships weeks kilo CO2 per guest Total emissions CO2 incl. the office
2019 19 421 243 3,830 ton KwH
2020 16 153 303 1,434 ton KwH
2021 18 184 326 1,878 ton KwH
Boat Bike Tours sustainability strategy
Based on our pilot study, we came up with a three-step sustainability strategy:
- The 2019 measurement for all ships amounted to 243 kg of CO2 per guest per week. That is 3.800 tons kWh for the entire fleet, including the office.
- Due to the pandemic, occupancy was low during the 2020 and 2021 seasons, resulting in higher emissions per guest than in 2019.
- By 2022, we aim to reduce CO2 emissions by turning to bio-diesel, serving fewer meals with meat and sailing slower.
- For the CO2 emissions that we can’t (yet) reduce, we are compensating through our collaboration with Justdiggit. Having signed an agreement for 2021 and 2022, Justdiggit will now compensate 10,000 tons kWh over two years.
For more information and progress see on our offset partnership page.
