By Cindy Fan

When you travel, have you ever considered how much plastic you use? Asia has some of the world’s top travel destinations. Those who have travelled there might have noticed how vendors and stores will provide plastic bags for everything, even small, trivial items such as a pack of gum at 7-Eleven or a kebab at the night market.

Earlier this month, we asked our members and partners to share how they’d be celebrating Earth Day (April 22), and received many responses from around the world about exciting grassroots activities. While “every day is earth day” for many of you who are ecotourism supporters and sustainability advocates, the worldwide celebration of Earth Day / Earth Month is a great occasion for all of us to join, gather, share and find hope and inspiration for a more sustainable future of our world.

By Cindy Fan

In Laos, former logging elephants have found new employment and a healthy, peaceful life at camps such as The Elephant Village, 15 kilometres outside of Luang Prabang. At its stunning location overlooking the Nam Khan River, visitors can get up close and personal with Asian elephants, the planet’s second-largest land animal, whose mass is surpassed only by the African elephant. Travellers learn that despite an elephant’s hefty size, it is a remarkably gentle, sensitive and agile creature.

According to the UN World Tourism Organization, the tourism industry accounts for 5% of global CO2 emissions. The hotel industry alone contributes 23% of that total 5% and only trails car and air travel. It might not sound like much but if we take into account that the CO2 emissions produced could increase by as much as 150% by 2030, the future starts looking bleak. What would happen if all hotels went green? We set out to answer that very question and came up with an alarming, albeit hopeful, data visualization called “The Future of Hotels is Green”.

By Leanne Haigh, Project Development Manager at Acacia Africa

Voluntourism has generated a new wave in travel, the growing feel good factor creating opportunities for the everyday traveller and not just the career minded charity worker. But the question remains, can you make a difference when you’re a short-term tourist?

This holiday season, turn your gift-shopping experience into a unique opportunity to support innovative businesses that embrace sustainability practices and to promote fun and practical eco-friendly products – as well as sharing some holiday cheer with your loved ones. You can also use your holiday gift giving as a way to educate your friends and family about eco-friendly practices, inventive use of sustainable materials, and creative ways to reuse and recycle used items and help divert waste from landfill.

By Melanie Jae Martin

If you want to see great apes in the wild, Sumatra’s rainforest is one of the most accessible places to do just that. However, you need to know how to visit them responsibly or you could introduce illnesses, since they share over 97 percent of our DNA. Less than 7,000 Sumatran orangutans live in the wild, and they’re an essential part of the rainforest ecosystem, helping seeds to germinate and even pruning the canopy.

Global Vision International (GVI) runs responsible volunteering programs in over 40 countries around the world, and is one of the largest and most respected volunteer abroad organisations in the world. Guided by a unique commitment to volunteers and partners, GVI run almost all of their own operations. This unique ground up approach to volunteer travel allows GVI to run sustainable long-term projects that volunteers can join and contribute on for short periods of time, from two weeks to two years.

By Aaron Smith, Founder, GoVoluntouring

Thinking about Volunteering on your trip? Sure you’ve given it enough thought? Some of us look for opportunities that balance more contemporary comforts within their experiences, while others look for more ‘iconically’ representative options, which can be hosted in more challenging and/or intimate environments. Either way, there are only two pillars of decision making, and they are based on how an organization’s philosophical and operational standards match with your personal needs and interests.

Projects in Kenya, Peru, Sri Lanka and Brazil have been announced as the winners of the first Travel2change idea challenge. Since its launch late April 2011, over 500 members joined the travel2change online community, and submitted around 60 innovative project proposals. The submitted ideas were evaluated based on creativity, effectiveness, impact, feasibility and sustainability. The four winning projects were awarded on July 17, 2011 by a jury of experts and will be realized in the coming months, thanks to the support of the travel partner Kuoni.