from shuttle busses to whale-watching catamarans, travel throughout Southeast Alaska largely runs on diesel. Each tour emits greenhouse gases that are a major contributor towards climate warming.
In order to counter the issue the Sitka-based Allen Marine Tours launched a new program earlier this month to cover the cost of heat pumps in communities in which they operate. Electric heat pumps allow homeowners to change fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. In order to spread heat pumps throughout this region Allen Marine is collecting small amounts of donations from thousands tourists who travel through Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan during whale watching and glacier excursions each year.
Allen Marine’s director of guest experience Caitlyn Ellis believes that the program will eventually result in hundreds worth of donations.
span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”That’s quite a number of heating pumps. This is a significant portion of our community which could reconsider how we heat our buildings in an environmentally sustainable and renewable manner,” Ellis said.
Allen Marine is one of the biggest tour companies in the region that offers hundreds of boat excursions across Southeast Alaska each season. Allen Marine is among the first tour operators in the region that have adopted the carbon offset program.
Carbon offset refers to the idea that a business or individual can offset their carbon dioxide emissions in one location by paying to cut emissions elsewhere. In this instance heat pumps are powered by renewable hydroelectric power instead of heating oil. Therefore, installing them cut down on the need for fossil fuels in homes, to compensate for the carbon fuel used in Allen Marine tours.
Carbon offset programs place the price of carbon emissions. While it’s not an exact scientific method, the aim is to figure out just how much money is required to eliminate a specific amount of CO2 out of the atmosphere. This program will cost around $2 per visit.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”So that if each donor gave $2, it could make the carbon footprint that is created on the board” Ellis said.
Any donations from visitors up to $25,000 will be then matched with Allen Marine. Although the program has high-minded targets, it’s only raised approximately $3,000 since it began in the month of June. This is due to the fact that not everyone donates.
The money is gathered in two ways. The second option is one is an “opt-out” system. If you are an independent traveler and you book on the internet The donation option is the default choice at the time of checkout.
The other option takes place at the helm. On each Allen Marine boat, there’s the kiosk, which offers local food options and free coffee. There’s a small signboard that states “Ready to cut down on carbon footprint ?”
span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”It’s something like a grocery store round-up,” Ellis said.
However, instead of contributing money to food pantries or animal shelter, the visitors can contribute towards Renewable Juneau, a region-wide non-profit organization that has partnered in partnership with Allen Marine to install heat pumps for families with low incomes.
In the brief time the program is up and operating, the opt-out method has brought in more revenue. However, the vast majority of travelers don’t book on their own. Instead, they use cruise companies. This means that a large portion part of their success will depend on the advertising they display onboard.
For Allen Marine, the new problem is to bring up greenhouse emissions and climate change without negatively impacting guest experience.
span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”We do not want to overload them with information while they’re having a blast,” Ellis said.
For certain tour guides, speaking to guests about the cost of fuel, instead of emissions, seems to be more effective.
It’s a style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”We’re living in communities in which all our fuel is shipped into,” Ellis said. “And it’s something the guest will be able to comprehend. .”
Ellis stated that marketing to promote the initiative will be redesigned as they recruit and train tour guides in the future. Additionally, Allen Marine hopes to pursue discussions with cruise lines to broaden their donation options for opt-outs.
Although the money has trickled into the company so far, Ellis said the company is confident they’ll be able to cover the cost of one heat pump, which is about $7000 — in the coming year.
