Charlie Cotton is the founder of Ecollective whose strapline is the rather satisfying “common sense climate action.” Ecollective helps travel companies measure their carbon footprint. Once measured, it uses the results to find the smartest way to reduce their carbon footprint going forward. It does this not through offsets but by making changes to a business that make people happier whilst also emitting less CO2.
What are you taking responsibility for?
“Holidays often have a massive carbon footprint; for most people, it’s the single biggest purchase in terms of CO2 emissions each year. I don’t believe the onus should be on the individual. Instead, I’m taking responsibility by making businesses take the lead, not by offsetting but by helping those travel companies create trips that generate far less CO2 in the first place. The challenge is not only to reduce the tourism industry’s emissions but also to reduce the emissions of a growing industry. I don’t want to live in a future without holidays, tourism brings so many positives to people and biodiversity but we do need to do better. The good news is that we can, the companies we work with are reducing their footprint whilst growing their revenue. Low carbon hotels, transfers and activities are available; we just help you find them.”
Why are you doing this?
“I used to design and sell holidays, but after some basic research into my suppliers, I realised those adventures weren’t having the positive impact on the planet I had hoped for. It became my obsession to be the best at designing trips that are better for the Earth while remaining products that people actually buy. In 2019, I started Ecollective to help travel companies do exactly that. I’ve seen how better suppliers and smarter design can reduce a holiday’s footprint by 35% whilst still going to the same destination. Whislst this kind of change is great, companies only need to reduce their emissions by ~7% to be a leader in this space.
“I also feel so many people see sustainability as a cost. This is wrong. When done right, sustainability is all about being more efficient, using less while making people happy. A great example in the travel industry is hotels. So many hotels have no idea how much electricity and fuel they use. You can’t really see this energy, but for many hotels, it creates significant pollution and high costs (with prices expected to rise). But a 20 bedroom hotel can save up to £30,000 every year by getting to grips with this. With this in mind, it is madness that only 3% of hotels know their carbon footprint. This is why we built a free carbon calculator for hotels, to determine their footprint, see how they compare and find ways to reduce it.”
What are you doing?
“We start by measuring the carbon footprint of every part of a business. For tour operators, that means looking at every hotel, activity, transfer, and flight, everything (even their website). We then identify opportunities to reduce CO2 whilst making the trips better, whether that’s through sales team training, finding the best suppliers or highlighting easy sustainable swaps. For the results, we focus on one key metric: “The average carbon footprint per customer per day”, with the goal of bringing that number down by 5-10% every year.
“We only measure to support the much more important part. “How can you improve your impact?”. We do this by focusing on hotspots, the parts of your business that produce a significant amount of CO2 and then work out ways to reduce it that make customers and employees happy. A business typically implements around 3 small changes each year, keeping them on track with their climate targets.
“Far too many companies measure and then offset their emissions. Whilst this is better than doing nothing, I think it is crazy to offset when there are so many ways to reduce your emissions in the first place. Not to mention our process is also cheaper.
“My favourite part of my job, however, is training. Working with teams to make people see how they can have an impact at their work. There is no shortage of good intentions but so many people are hesitant about where to focus that energy. We step in to show them the facts they need to know and ideas to make sure they are successful in making the world a better place.”
What is the impact?
“We work with hundreds of companies to reduce the carbon footprint of their business. Less CO2 is good news for the planet but I must be frank, we are so far behind where we need to be, we need more businesses trying imperfectly rather than a handful working with us. My aim is to grow our impact each year whether that is through our clients or helping the industry with ready to implement ideas.
“Some people worry about the impact this work may have on their business. Putting a carbon label on a cruise to Antarctica could deter potential customers. Sadly (for me) this has not happened. Customers still pick trips based on price and what they want to do. However the impact is often far more noticeable with employees. Employees are re-ignited with a passion for what we do, if we can send people on amazing adventures that are better for the planet, that is going to make you feel good. And it is those employees I see driving the positive impact but it all starts with giving them a starting point so they can see what they need to improve.”
Watch ICRT global founder Harold Goodwin’s video interview with Charlie Cotton:
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