Carbon Footprint and Tourism:

An overview

Mahmoud Hewedi
Faculty of Tourism and Hotels
Fayoum University

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Aims of this snapshot presentation
Is to high light and focus on the followings:
1- The concept and its definition
2- The interrelationship among the different
sustainability dimensions
3-Examples of carbon footprint of buildings,
water, hotels, restaurants,

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Carbon Footprint Reduction
 Important to make it fact!!
If you are in tour please make sure to

• ‘take only photos, leave only footprints’

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 Greenhouse Gases
Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) can be measured by recording

emissions at source by continuous emissions monitoring or by

estimating the amount emitted by multiplying activity data (such as

the amount of fuel used) by relevant emissions conversion factors.

These conversion factors allow activity data (e.g. litres of fuel used,

number of miles driven, tonnes of waste sent to landfill) to be

converted into kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).

CO2e is a universal unit of measurement that allows the global

warming potential of different GHGs to be compared

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 What is a carbon footprint?
• Carbon footprint (FP): is “the total set of GHG
(greenhouse gas) emissions caused directly
and indirectly by an individual, organization,
event or product”
(UK Carbon Trust 2008).

• Everyone in this room has a FP

Let’s determine your C-FP
 Carbon footprint
• The concept of carbon footprint was put forward firstly
by the Science and technology office of Parliament of
Britain and British Sky Broadcasting, but different
definitions to carbon footprint have been given by
different organizations from their own angles. As for the
corporation, carbon footprint are the
• total greenhouse gases generated in the lifecycle of a
product. It is very hard to calculate the carbon footprint
of a product in our daily life. Properly, we can not do
that, especially the whole lifecycle of the

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 Conversion factor
Greenhouse gas (GHG) conversion factors
are used to calculate the amount
of greenhouse gas emissions caused by
energy use. They are measured in units of
kg carbon dioxide equivalent**. In order to
convert 'energy consumed in kWh' to 'kg of
carbon dioxide equivalent', the energy use
should be multiplied by a conversion factor.

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 Conversion factor examples
• To convert from litres of petrol to kg CO2
emissions multiply by 2.331, so for example:

200 litres petrol = 200 x 2.331 = 466.2 kgCO2e

• Carbon emissions are usually quoted in kg
CO2 / kWh.

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 Carbon footprint and tourism
• What the research shows is that in 2009,
7.9% of the total Dutch carbon footprint is
attributed to tourism. Calculations in the
report for domestic and international
holidays (short and long-haul) raise many
questions about the impact of these forms
of travel on the environment in relation to
the carbon emissions.

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 Carbon footprint and holidays
• Other innovative features of this report include the
analysis of eco-efficiency (i.e. the carbon footprint of a
holiday compared to holiday spending). The analysis by
trip type and destination highlights the implications of
eco-debates for domestic and outbound tourism
(including modal travel type). The discussion of trends in
the carbon footprint of holidaymakers 2002–2009
indicates that Dutch CO2 emissions have decreased by
3.1% while holiday emissions increased by 16.5%. This
is alongside a growth in greater total travel distances and
a small increase in the volume of holidays.

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 Carbon Footprint – 3 Scopes

Carbon Footprint
Scope 2:
Scope 3:
Scope 1: Indirect
Other
Direct Emissions
Indirect
Emissions (Purchased
Emissions
energy)

Remember: there are three levels (scopes) to a

June 2, 2009 green house gas/carbon footprint calculation. 13
 Scope 1: Direct Emissions
• Relatively easy:
– Combustion Sources
– Site owned vehicles
– On site electrical generation
– CFC and HFC losses from
refrigeration equipment
– Sulfur hexafluoride losses
from electrical equipment

June 2, 2009 14
 Scope 2: Indirect Emissions – Purchased Energy

• Emissions from
consumption of purchased
utilities:
– Typically electricity
– Could be steam or high
temperature hot water
– Could be negative (ex:
electricity from landfill
gas)

June 2, 2009 15
 Scope 3: Other Indirect Emissions
• Can be very difficult:
– Transportation of purchased material or
goods
– Employee business travel
– Employee commuting impacts
– Outsourced work
– Emissions from finished products
– Transportation of waste
– Vegetation & Trees
• Scope 3 has various challenges
– Boundary issues
– Can be a magnitude higher than Scope
1 and 2
– Costly value chain analysis
June 2, 2009 16
 Food
• The CO2 footprint, i.e. the climate change
impact of food, is arguably one of the most
important issues in improving the
environmental responsibility of the food chain
and also the most intensively discussed
worldwide at the moment.
• Farmers, industry, trade and consumers are
all keen to reduce climate change impact but
currently they lack the means to address the
problem adequately.

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 Food
• Therefore, the primary challenge for science is to
provide those involved in the food system with the
necessary information and tools to understand and
influence key issues such as the potential for carbon
sequestration and the mitigation of carbon footprints,
including reducing the negative impacts of poor
farming techniques and consumer choices.

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 Buildings
• Buildings make a considerable contribution to global
environmental impacts. The most significant burdens
stem from primary energy consumption with
consequent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions arising
from different services and activities in operating a
building over its long lifespan. The building sector
produces 20 - 30% of the global carbon footprint, with
a prediction for future growth.

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 Buildings
• The operational carbon footprint of a commercial building
is predominantly associated with energy consumption in
the form of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning
(activities known as HVAC2), use of elevators (activities
known as vertical transportation), use of electric
appliances and lighting the building.

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 Buildings/Hotels

• In the hotel sector these activities may account for up

to 85% of the total energy use. Among these, air-
conditioning often represents a significant share,
especially as regards the building stock in warm
climates.
• Evidence shows that in hotels, air-conditioning
systems may increase the annual energy use by 29% -
77%.

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 Buildings /Hotels
• Other operational burdens of the building stock arise from
cooking in catering facilities, refrigeration, water supply,
water heating, laundry, wastewater treatment and solid
waste generation.
• Due to the poor quality of data, waste issues are usually
beyond the scope of analysis in environmental
assessments of buildings, including hotels. As for other
operational activities, there are different estimates of their
contribution.

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 Buildings/Hotels
• The share of hot water production, for example, is
estimated as high as 40% and as low as 3% - 3.5% of the
total energy use and GHG emissions generated during the
lifecycle operations of a hotel. This may be a result of
variations in hotel organization. Laundry in hotels, for
example, can be either in-house or outsourced; in-house
laundry may significantly increase the final energy
requirements of a hotel.

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 Buildings/Hotels
• The share of hot water production, for example, is
estimated as high as 40% and as low as 3 - 3.5% of the
total energy use and GHG emissions generated during the
lifecycle operations of a hotel. This may be a result of
variations in hotel organization. Laundry in hotels, for
example, can be either in-house or outsourced; in-house
laundry may significantly increase the final energy
requirements of a hotel.

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 Buildings/Hoels
• Residential buildings in the existing building stock, are
responsible for 2/3 of the total energy consumption and GHG
emissions in the building.

• Specific types of commercial buildings are often

characterized by more intense energy use practices.
Hotels, for example, are one of the most demanding energy
consumers among all categories of the building stock. This
is due to their 24-hour-based operation, the variety of
facilities and functions provided and often reckless energy
use habits of occupants

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 Buildings/Hotels
• In Greece and Spain hotels are the principal energy
consumers among commercial buildings, being responsible
for about 1/3 of their total energy demand;
•
• In France, the UK and USA the share of hotels is lower, but
yet significant, 18%, 16% and 14% respectively
•
• It is believed that large portions of energy utilized in hotels
are wasted, thus presenting opportunities for energy
conservation

• Given that energy use is closely linked to GHG emissions,

energy conservation will result in a significant reduction in the
carbon footprint from hotels
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 LCEA (Life cycle energy analysis) of
two hotels in Poole, Dorset (UK)
• Evidence shows that energy and, consequently,
environmental performance of hotels varies depending on
their class, types of energy used, diversity of services and
facilities provided to the hotel guests.

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 Why it is important?
• We are all consumers – of food and drink, personal travel,
household products and travel tourism. As such, we are
accountable to some degree for the pressures which our
consumption puts on the environment.
• CO2 emissions associated with imported goods and
services consumed

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 Greenhouses Gases
Greenhouse gases are made out of:
 Water vapour
 Carbon dioxide
 Methane
 Nitrous oxide
 Ozone
 Chlorofluorocarbons
They are all natural gases, but extra greenhouses gases can be made
by humans polluting.
 How to calculate YOURS!

There is many ways of how you can do this you can

complete it by going onto websites.
 Here it will ask you a series of questions about your
lifestyle.
 It will then give you a number or an answer to how bad
your carbon footprint is.
 It may then give you some tips of how to change
 A good website for students to use is
http://www.cooltheworld.com/kidscarboncalculator.ph
p?
 What Is Your Water Footprint?

• Take a water tour with us through your home, yard, diet,

energy, and consumer choices then, pledge to cut your
water footprint and help return more water to rivers,
lakes, wetlands, underground aquifers, and freshwater
species.

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 Water and climate
• Climate change and other stresses are limiting the availability
of clean water and affordable energy. A large amount of energy
is expended to supply, treat and use water, meaning that water-
oriented strategies can result in significant reductions in energy
use and greenhouse gas emissions.

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 Water and carbon footprint
• In the UK, we use approximately 150 liters of water per person
per day in our homes. Our previous research indicates that when
household and water company emissions are considered together,
around 90% of these emissions (35 million tons CO2 per year)
can be attributed to ‘water in the home’. This includes energy for
heating water but excludes space/central heating. The remaining
10% of emissions originate from abstracting, treating and
supplying water, and subsequent wastewater treatment. For this
reason, it's important to better understand the effects of water use
on domestic CO2 emissions.

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 Water and carbon footprint
• The study identifies a number of key findings both for
existing households and new build dwellings as well as for our
own water use behavior in the home.

• In a report on the tool on the BBC website they mention that 89%
of the footprint of domestic water use is caused by heating it. That
leaves 11% of the impact from cleaning and supplying the water

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 Water and carbon footprint
• In the past few years, the EU has accelerated efforts to curb the level
of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from energy intensive firms. As
of Jan. 1st, 2012, all commercial airline carriers flying in the
European airspace will be obliged to incur charges for the carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions of their flights. The latter measure falls
under the European Emissions Trading Scheme which constitutes
the cornerstone of the EU climate policy intended to combat climate
change. Other carbon demanding industries include shipping and
power generation plants. Before devising strategies to lower their
CO2 emissions, commercial organizations first need to accurately
directly measure or estimate their carbon footprint. This step is a
prerequisite for complying with the legislation

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 Water and your carbon footprint

• Everyone has a 'carbon footprint' - it is the measure of how much

carbon dioxide (CO2) is created by your actions.

• Many businesses are conscious of their carbon footprint and are

actively trying to reduce it. While saving energy is an obvious
strategy – saving water is also really effective. This is because of
the energy that’s used in treating your water and other activities'

• The following diagram represents how the demand for water has
an impact on carbon dioxide emissions.

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 Water and your carbon footprint
• When we refer to carbon or carbon dioxide (CO2) we mean the
six recognized greenhouse gases which are Carbon (CO2),
Methane (CH4), Nitrous Oxide (N2O), Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC),
Perfluorocarbons (PFC) and Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).

• **Strong evidence shows that human emissions of greenhouse

gases are changing the world's environment. The main
greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO2), produced when we
burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas for energy.

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 Saving water saves energy

• There’s no question that energy and water are related. In

the U.S., more than 13% of our electrical energy goes to
heat, treat and pump water supplies.

• On the flip side, our nation’s electrical production

represents 49% of the withdrawals from our rivers,
wetlands and fresh water resources.

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 Saving Water Saves Energy

• Additionally, carbon emissions related to our use of

water is estimated at 290 million metric tons annually, or
5% of all carbon emissions in the U.S. This is equivalent
to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of 53 million
passenger vehicles or emissions from the electricity use
of over 40 million homes.

• To start some of the work both mitigating and adapting to

climate change,

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40
Saving Water Saves Energy

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• Water is essential for many aspects of daily life
including restaurant operations and is necessary for
generation and service of properly produced, safe
food. However, water is becoming more scarce and
expensive due to climate change, infrastructure
needs, governmental budget constraints, and shifting
water source.

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• Water usage in restaurants is an area that has not
been studied academically Restaurants typically are
a small segment of the population of water users in
the commercial and industrial segment and are
segmented into categories dependent upon the style
of service, per-person check average ,whether
alcohol is available, what percentage of sales are
derived from beverage sales, and other’s.

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• In analyzing 87 operations from California, Colorado,
and Florida, Dziegielewski et al. (found, on average,
each restaurant used more than 2.8 million gallons of
water annually.

• This translated to 7,700 gallons daily and 16 gallons

for each meal served. When only using indoor water
sources, discounting water used for irrigation,
Dziegielewski et al. (2000) established that 7.64
gallons of water were used for each meal served.
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• The study found that Asian restaurants
consumed more than 15,000 gallons per day
and quick-service operations, 4,000 gallons
per day Dziegielewski, et al., (2000).

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• In a segmented analysis of water use throughout
California it was found that 6% of total water usage
in the commercial and industrial sectors took place in
kitchens with restaurants being the largest user
(Gleick, et al., 2004). This is water designated only for
preparation ,cooking, and sanitation (Dziegielewski,
2000) and does not include water for serving to
customers or bathrooms.

• Dziegielewski et al. found the areas of largest use

were sanitation ,approximately half, followed by
preparation, cooking, and ice machines (2000).

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• Restaurants in California used 53.1 billion
gallons (201 million cubic meters) of water in
2000 and the NRA’s Conserve website (2011b)
estimated that energy is 30% of a building’s
yearly operating costs and that restaurants
used five times as much energy as a normal
building and 25 times more when focusing on
the kitchen area.

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• Decreasing the amount of water used ,
whether it be through training or new
equipment, is directly correlated with
decreasing utility costs (AH&LA, 2001 and
NRA, 2011).

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• The final cost of water includes a direct
correlation with the amount of energy an
operation consumes (EPA, 2011k) and the
hospitality industry is a large consumer of
energy AH&LA, 2001; Alonso & Ogle, 2010;
Paton, 2008; and Deng & Burnett, 2002).

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• One segment of the hospitality industry,
restaurants, expended five times more energy
per square foot than the average commercial
business (NRA, 2011).

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15 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

• Buy organic and local

• Pay attention to packaging.

• Ditch bottled water

• Energy-proof your home.

• Go native.

• Window shop

• Take a direct flight

• Switch water heaters to vacation mode

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15 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

• Unplug it!

• Keep your car.

• Chuck your microwave.

• Use cold water

• Have the family over

• Make time for errands.

• The Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

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• Check the central heating timer setting –
• Remember there is no point heating the house after you have left for
work
• Fill your dish washer and washing machine with a full load - this will
save you water, electricity, and washing powder
• Fill the kettle with only as much water as you need
• Do your weekly shopping in a single trip
• Hang out the washing to dry rather than tumble drying it
 Environmental Information and
Sustainability Mission

MANAGE NATURAL
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RESOURCES INFORM
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DEVELOPMENT
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GUIDE MARKETPLACE
54
DECISIONS
12 Categories of Sustainable Action
Making Sustainable Tourism Happen

Business
Operations

“Stuff
Happens”

Traveler Public
Behaviors Policy
Trying to find ways to. . .
• Not fill our landfills

• Conserve water use

• Limit our waste production

• Reduce our Greenhouse Gas Emissions

• Lessen our carbon footprint

• Create a great community sense of place

• And to share with others how to do the same.

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 Mitigation options for the Tourism Sector
◘ Reducing energy use / Conservation:
» changing transport behaviour (e.g. shift to rail
and coach instead of car and aircraft, choosing
closer destinations), changing management
practices (e.g. videoconferencing for business
tourism)
◘ Improving energy efficiency:
» use technology to carrying out the same
operation with a lower energy input
◘ Use of renewable or carbon-neutral energy:
» substitute fossil fuels with energy sources that
are not finite and cause lower emissions, such as
biomass, hydro, wind, and solar energy
 MITIGATION MEASURES
Land Transport
- Cars contribute more than 80% emission of the land
transport (but only 15%-20% for tourism purpose)
- Key emissions abatement options for car transport:
Development of more efficient vehicles.
• Abatement potential up to 30% of emissions
Adoption of cleaner fuels.
• Develop a very low emissions car powered by
electricity, fuel cells or hydrogen
Promoting changes to consumer behaviour
reduction.
• Up to 15% of carbon emissions could be
reduced
 MITIGATION MEASURES
Air Transport
- Acceleration of fleet renewal with more fuel efficient planes.
• More than 11% of the current world fleet are older than 25 years.
• Possible abatement potential of CO2 saving: >7%
- Reduce infrastructure inefficiencies in airspace management.
• Up to 12% of CO2 emissions can be reduced
- R&D innovation to develop new long-term technology which
could further reduce emissions
 Airframe Technologies
 Engine Technologies
 Alternative Fuels
 New Research
• Preparing the Tourism Sector for Climate
Change
• National vulnerability analysis
• Development of adaptation tools
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