EXO Travel engages with Nexus Carbon offset program
Carbon offset program is often directly connected to tree replantation activities. EXO is already contributing to Tree Planting and offers travelers to ‘Plant a tree’ in various destinations. Thus, it decided to tackle the second main cause of deforestation; household use of fuel and wood for cooking and boiling water. EXO also wished to add a social benefit to the environmental one, by supporting three social enterprises developing ceramic water filter systems in Cambodia, Laos & Indonesia, where water remains one of the main cause of disease and poverty..
Water treatment solutions contribute to reduce CO2 emissions, health hazards while reducing the pressure on forests, it also saves households money by decreasing fuel purchases, while it creates new rural employment opportunities, through local production and distribution.
In Cambodia 25% of the population do not have access to safe water and 58% to proper sanitation, waterborne disease is the second cause of death of children under 5. EXO Travel investment in Cambodia Hydrologic water filters will support:
- 44 water filters produced and in use
- 43 tons of emission reductions
- More than 75 tons of wood fuel saved in 1 year
In Laos 80% of households boil their water to make it safe to drink. Terra Clear’s goal is to provide 100,000 locally made purifiers by 2019. EXO Travel investment in Terra Clear water filters will support:
- 33 water filters produced and in use
- 43 tons of emission reductions
- 4.6 hectares of avoided deforestation
Nearly one out of two Indonesians lacks access to safe water, and more than 70 percent of the nation’s 220 million people rely on potentially contaminated sources. EXO Travel investment in Nazava water filters will support:
- 130 water filters produced and in use
- 43 tons of emission reductions
* Water filter projects based in different countries generate different amounts of carbon savings due to different fuel usage rates for water boiling (biomass vs. gas). In Cambodia one filter results in 0.98 tons of CO2e saved, Laos is 1.32, Indonesia is 0.33
NEXUS is a cooperative composed of eight development organizations from seven countries, that are committed to using carbon finance to tackle poverty and climate change and supporting project developers. They select and follow up social enterprises working in providing technical easy solutions to rural households such as improved cooking stove, water filters, biogas projects.
