Free Carbon Calculator For Australian Holidaymakers

A free online Carbon Calculator is now available – developed by the Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre (STCRC).

A recent study from Roy Morgan Research showed that while 62% of Australian holidaymakers are interested in participating in a carbon emission offset scheme for their holiday and leisure travel, only 4% have actually participated in the past.

Info from the Department of Climate Change as well as international flight emissions data allows Australian holidaymakers to calculate the carbon emissions of their holiday.

A Simple Four-Step Process

The STCRC calculator provides a simple four-step process which runs through areas such as transport, accommodation and holiday recreation, and provides users with a simple overview of where their emissions come from.

The online tool also provides a number of tips on how to further reduce your holiday’s impact and enjoy a more sustainable break. The calculator also links through to a list of carbon offset providers.

The calculator shows that staying in hotel or resort accommodation creates almost 18 times more carbon emissions than camping, so if a family of four on a 10 day holiday chooses to camp for even half of their trip, they would save 113kg of carbon emissions. Other findings from the calculator show that if holidaymakers choose the vegetarian option for half of their meals, they can save 1.5kg of carbon emissions each per day.

NB: STCRC will soon launch a carbon calculator for small tourism businesses.