The most often quoted definition of sustainable comes from the UN World Commission on Environment and Development: “sustainable meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
We all agree it’s an important cause that needs more adaptation in industry, government and with responsible consumption by individuals to improve the planet’s environment beginning today and every day into the future.
Many of us may believe in the concept of being eco-friendly but have not found a way to put it into practice. For me, it happened last Earth Day when I read an article on suggestions we all can implement to lessen our footprint on planet Earth.
The one suggestion that stood out to me was to be plastic-free. I immediately purchased a large cloth bag when I visited my local grocery store, and declined the plastic bag at checkout. Not only was it better for the environment to carry home my groceries in a green cloth bag, but psychologically I felt better knowing I was doing something positive and not polluting my local beach and ocean.
Following up this small step for the environment I decided to make a much bigger change for the environment by trading in my gasoline guzzling 2019 Honda Acura for an e-bike. And I don’t regret the change or miss the car at all.
After all those changes it was time for a vacation. I began planning a late summer vacation after the CDC lowered its Covid guidelines allowing the vaccinated public to go maskless outdoors for the first time in over one year. And during my research, I learned about a company Flygrn.com which is a flight search engine that offsets a flight’s CO2 emissions for free, by planting trees or by investing in solar energy.
Another company I found online was Intrepid Travel. They are a B corporation, which is short for a Certified B Corporation, the term used for any for-profit entity that is certified by the nonprofit B Lab as voluntarily meeting higher standards of transparency, accountability, and performance. They are the largest travel company in the world and follow sustainable business practices.
Another company worth checking out is Responsible Travel. I quote their website, “Our holidays are more enjoyable because they do good. They support communities & preserve nature - which gets you closer to both. The above two companies provide international tours all over the world, but the next company offers tours only in Miami Beach, Florida.
This article was written by Bruce Scher, President of www.sustainablemiamibeachfoodietours.com who also volunteers to clean up Miami’s beaches by removing seaweed and trash from it's shoreline.
Member City of Miami Beach Plastic-FreeMB Initiative, and uses edible cutlery on it's food tours.
Sustainable Miami Beach Foodie Tours has not received any compensation from Flygrn.com intrepidtravel.com or responsibletravel.com
