WorldStrides Canada’s Choose Earth Program Provides Carbon Neutral Travel Experiences with help from Carbonzero

WorldStrides Canada's Choose Earth Program

Carbonzero and WorldStrides Canada have teamed up to deliver the Choose Earth program, which allows student travellers the opportunity to offset the carbon emissions associated with their educational travel experiences. WorldStrides Canada and Carbonzero work together to measure the carbon footprint of student travel, inclusive of international air travel, North America air travel, and North America motorcoach trips.

WorldStrides Canada is committed to educating and serving communities worldwide. Their commitment is fueled by the passion of their team members and partners to make experiential learning accessible, while also being socially, environmentally, and ethically responsible. Together, they accomplish this by investing in initiatives to promote inclusion, diversity, and sustainability. With this in mind, they have committed to matching each and every offset purchased by their program participants as they believe it is only by working together as one that true impact can be made.

“We are very proud to have partnered with Carbonzero to offer our clients a quality carbon offset at a very affordable price,” says Alexis Biron, Director of Sales at the WorldStrides Canada Montréal office. “Being in the educational travel industry, it is important for us to lead by example. By dividing the price of the offsets 50/50 through our Choose Earth company matching program, we are showing the world that we care about our planet and are invested in developing sustainable tourism.”

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The Choose Earth program allows travellers to mitigate their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from their educational experiences through the purchase of high-quality and third-party verified carbon offsets. Carbon offsets help mitigate climate change by compensating for, or “offsetting”, an emissions-producing activity that is difficult to reduce (i.e., air travel) by investing in projects that trap, destroy, or avoid greenhouse gas emissions.

For those participating in the Choose Earth program, WorldStrides Canada matches the carbon offset purchase on behalf of its travelers to neutralize emissions created by the travel portion of their trip through a carbon offset project from Carbonzero. WorldStrides Canada has chosen to support the San Antonio El Sitio Wind Power Project, which is a renewable wind power project located in the Los Llanos village of Guatemala. Through its partnership with Carbonzero, WorldStrides Canada is offering its travellers a tool to help mitigate the emissions of their trips that not only benefits the environment, but also strengthens communities.

"Carbonzero is excited to be partnering with WorldStrides Canada to deliver its Choose Earth program for carbon neutral travel," says Dan Fraleigh, CEO of Carbonzero. "As a global leader in educational travel experiences and through the use of high-quality carbon offsets, WorldStrides Canada is well positioned to help strengthen sustainability in the travel industry with their new program."

The San Antonio El Sitio Wind Power Project

The first wind project ever located in the Guatemalan region, the San Antonio El Sitio Wind Power Project consists of 3.45 MW units of wind turbine generators that provide an annual average of 135.66 gigawatt hours (GWh) of green electricity to the region’s grid, enough to power 20,000 homes each year. This contributes to an approximate reduction of 81,392 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year through reducing dependency on the traditional burning of fossil fuels for energy. This project not only supports meaningful outcomes for the environment, but also for the local community. The San Antonio El Sitio Wind Power Project provides job opportunities in the region, empowering the local community and contributing to broader socio-economic development. Furthermore, this project embodies three Sustainable Development Goals, namely Affordable and Clean Energy, Decent Work and Economic Growth, and Climate Action.

About WorldStrides Canada

Education and personal growth are the heart of WorldStrides’ mission — and they have been since the beginning. Founded in 1967 by a middle school social studies teacher from Chicago, the company has since grown to become a leader in experiential learning for students of all ages throughout their lifetime learning journey. Today, WorldStrides Canada offers a broad range of programs, helping students to see beyond the classroom and to see the world — and themselves — in new ways.

About Carbonzero

Carbonzero was founded in 2006 and has risen to become a leader in the design and implementation of corporate carbon reduction strategies and solutions in the emerging low carbon economy. Carbonzero helps transform organizations by aiding them in assessing, reporting, and reducing their emissions. Our approach, tools and services ensure that our clients can cost-effectively meet their carbon auditing reduction commitments while developing the framework for implementation of reduction activities.