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Intuit, Techsoup, Impact Hub Join Goodwings Initiative to Turn 1B Trips Net Zero by 2030

The “1 Billion Green Trips” initiative, by B Corp-certified hotel booking platform Goodwings — now backed by Intuit, TechSoup, Impact Hub and six other partners — aims to remove travel-generated carbon emissions at an unprecedented scale.

Published 3 years ago | About a 4 minute read

Image: The Therasia Hotel in Vulcanello, Italy is one of over 1M hotels that can be booked through Goodwings | Goodwings

Travel and tourism are responsible for nearly 10 percent of global CO2 emissions — aviation emissions have doubled since the mid-1980s, growing hand-in-hand with the tourism industry; aviation alone is expected to account for up to 25 percent of global CO2 emissions by 2050.

Meeting Paris Agreement targets means that this sector plays a vital role in halting global average temperatures, and as zero-emission aviation won’t be the norm within the next 20-25 years, travel emissions must therefore be veriﬁably removed.

The “1 Billion Green Trips” initiative, by B Corp-certiﬁed hotel booking platform Goodwings — now backed by Intuit, TechSoup, Impact Hub and six other partners around the world — aims to remove travel-generated carbon emissions at an unprecedented scale.

Goodwings makes climate-friendly travel easy and affordable by offsetting its clients’ travel emissions — not only from accommodation, but from transfers and ﬂights, as well; once users book a hotel through the site and log how they will arrive, using the Goodwings carbon calculator, the company works out the total carbon footprint from your whole trip. The calculator also shows users how to minimize their carbon footprint by choosing different transportation methods. Once the expected emissions are calculated, Goodwings pays to offset them through the support of nature-based, carbon-sequestration projects. The company focuses specifically on planting forest on degraded grasslands, while also providing ecological and socioeconomic benefits to the local ecosystems and communities.

As travel and tourism slowly resume (not quite) post-COVID, many industry players have been working to reopen in a more conscientious way — with new models including more collaborative offerings with local communities, regenerative models, decarbonized tour options and conscious efforts to mitigate overtourism. Founded in 2015, Goodwings is the ﬁrst and only travel platform that pays to calculate and veriﬁably remove its clients total travel emissions. Its unique business model enables it to cover the high cost of veriﬁed carbon removal on behalf of its clients, as it spends almost nothing on advertising. The company primarily acquires its clients — small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and individuals — through partnerships with other climate-conscious associations and companies, such as Intuit.

”Our company mission, to power prosperity around the world, cannot be achieved without taking substantial action on climate change. As part of our ongoing commitment to creating climate-positive solutions for our employees, customers and communities, we’re helping small businesses around the world measure and reduce their own carbon emissions,” says Sean Kinghorn, Global Sustainability Leader at Intuit. “Our partnership with Goodwings allows Intuit to extend and scale the unique opportunity to mitigate the negative impacts of business travel directly to our small business customers. We believe providing solutions to small businesses — which represent 50 percent of employment worldwide — will play a critical role in driving climate action forward.”

SMEs using the service will have their travel footprint automatically calculated, saving them hundreds of hours on their scope 3 measurement; and once a year, they receive a will receive a net-zero travel certiﬁcate documenting that all their travel emissions have been veriﬁably removed.

“At TechSoup, we are committed to ensuring civil society organizations and social change agents around the world gain effective access to resources needed to design and implement solutions for a more equitable planet,” said Shruti Ramaswami, VP of Strategic Relationships & Strategy at Techsoup*.* “Bringing the Goodwings solution to our members allows us to join forces around the globe to help continue to do our part in the fight against climate change, and the many social and humanitarian issues resulting from this reality.”

“These new partnerships bring Goodwings and our Net Zero Travel solution to millions of businesses and organisations around the world,” said Goodwings CEO and founder Christian Møller-Holst. “We expect this to have a major impact on our business, and our ability to fight climate change at scale.”