Traveling green doesn't take much green

Mahatma Gandhi said we must be the change we wish to see in the world. Who knew that change could cost as little as $12?

In her Providence Highway office, Colpitts World Travel Vice President Jeanne Johnston types in a round trip flight from Boston to Los Angeles into a carbon calculator linked to her travel agency's Web site.

Such a cross-country flight would yield 1,552 pounds of carbon dioxide, an amount Johnston called "quite a bit."

Colpitts, however, is one of the first agencies trying to do their part to mitigate carbon emissions, she said.

By using the TerraPass Carbon Calculator on their site, for instance, travelers can chose to pay to offset the carbon footprint they will leave by flying.

According to the calculator, it would take a donation of $11.90 to offset a round-trip flight from Boston to Los Angeles.

One can buy their offset from TerraPass who, in turn, passes the money along to those who help the environment, like wind farm organizations and landfill gas capture projects, by either creating renewable energy or capping harmful engine emissions.

"Some companies are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on this," said Johnston.

Since implementing their "green travel" program in June, Johnston said the agency has received great interest from business travelers.

"The carbon calculator is getting lots of hits," Johnston said.

Her agency, she added, will also suggest green hotels - lodging that has passed strict certification tests by environmental agencies and hotel associations.

Many companies will suggest their employees stay at green hotels within walking distance of their destination when they are away on business.

Recently, big companies like John Hancock, Fidelity Investments and Prudential have been holding "green meetings," said Johnston. They fly in employees to Boston - making sure to offset the carbon emissions used during the flight - and hold the meeting in a certified green hotel, she explained, along with making simple changes, like using bio-degradable coffee cups.

According to the Green Hotels Association, the Boston metropolitan area has many so-called green hotels, including Hyatt Regency in Boston, the Lenox Hotel and the Seaport Hotel.

"It's a good step to becoming green," Johnston said.

Hotels benefit financially from being green as well, she said, as such hotels are becoming increasingly in demand.

A green movement started years ago in hotels with management placing signs in rooms asking patrons to reuse towels to conserve on water and detergent, Johnston said, and has led to the May opening of the Fontainbleau Resort in Miami - the nation's first fully green hotel.

With extensive conservation efforts, the Florida resort is able to completely offset its carbon footprint.

Colpitts agents are well aware of which hotels are green in particular areas, said Johnston, calling them the agents a "reference point."

"We have a lot of things at our fingertips," she explained.

Green travel is not yet as prominent in leisure travel as it is in business trips, said Johnston, but she says that will begin to change.

Travel agents are just now "getting it out there," she said.

Johnston did say there is an awareness factor involved. When employees see their companies being environmentally conscience they are more likely to follow suit in their personal lives.

"It's like a domino affect," she said.

Colpitts itself received the American Society of Travel Agents' "Green Member" certification by cutting down on paper products - giving customers electronic brochures rather than thick manuals, recycling more and ergonomically designing the office layout.

Colpitts, headquartered in Dedham, has passed on their green travel plan to their Edinburgh, Scotland and Nashua, N.H. offices, as well as their 20 smaller satellite locations.