Eco Travel Foundation
Climate Performance Programme
Rigorous enough to trust. Practical enough to use.
We start with a defined property boundary and an honest picture of the available records. We calculate carbon emissions, compare performance in context and help the property identify practical next steps.
The assessment explains what is included, where estimates are used and what the findings can credibly support.
Measurement, benchmarking and reduction concern carbon performance. Local contributions sit alongside that work and are reported separately.
Credibility
Our accounting approach draws on the GHG Protocol, using defined boundaries, recognised emissions factors and documented methods.
Practical tourism experience helps identify the records properties can access, the operational sources that matter and the comparisons that are useful to managers.
Following accounting principles is distinct from independent assurance or certification.
tells us how to account.
tells us where to look.
tells us what to investigate.
tells us what we can credibly say.
The accounting needs to be rigorous enough to trust and practical enough to use.
Methodology
Define the boundary and reporting year, apply appropriate emissions factors and document the methods used.
Prioritise operational records: electricity consumption, fuel volumes, LPG, refrigerant service records, waste information and occupied bed-nights. Identify estimates and explain their basis.
Investigate material sources and gaps. Generators, vehicles, cooking and heating fuels, electricity, waste, logistics and the operating model can all affect a property’s carbon footprint.
Select relevant peers and explain differences in property type, energy supply, activities, occupancy and service model. A benchmark gap prompts investigation; it does not prove inefficiency.
A baseline is a baseline. An estimate is an estimate. Improvement requires comparable evidence over time. Local contributions do not cancel emissions.
01 — Measure
Each assessment covers a defined property and reporting year, usually aligned with its financial year. The boundary focuses on operations under the property’s operational control, with included indirect sources and exclusions stated.
Fuel used in generators, property-operated vehicles and equipment; LPG and other combustion sources; firewood where relevant; and refrigerant leakage.
Purchased electricity and any other relevant purchased energy, using appropriate accounting methods and country-specific factors.
Relevant indirect sources within the stated assessment boundary. The programme approach includes business travel, waste and third-party transport or logistics, with other material categories considered for the property.
Scope 3 coverage and estimates are explained explicitly. An assessment should not be read as a complete value-chain inventory unless its stated coverage supports that. Whether guest flights are included or excluded is always stated.
A lodge and a remote head office are not automatically one reporting unit. Remote administration offices are reported separately, while portfolio reporting can bring the results together with clear boundaries.
Data quality
Properties can provide existing invoices, supplier statements, meter readings, service records and operational logs. Records do not need to arrive in a polished reporting system.
Evidence is reviewed for coverage, reliability and consistency. Where sampling or estimates are necessary, their basis and limitations are documented and priorities for better data are identified.
One occupied bed-night is one guest staying for one night. Two guests staying for three nights create six occupied bed-nights. Complimentary stays are included.
Carbon intensity divides the emissions included in the assessment by occupied bed-nights for the same reporting period.
kg CO₂e per occupied bed-night = assessed emissions in kg CO₂e ÷ occupied bed-nights
CO₂e combines different greenhouse gases into a common carbon-dioxide-equivalent measure.
Intensity helps interpret performance across properties and years. It must still be read alongside occupancy, service levels, the assessment boundary and changes in the business.
Public headline reporting focuses on carbon intensity. The property’s detailed report also examines total emissions and their sources.
02 — Benchmark
Illustrative example — not an actual property result or an established industry target
Your property
1.2 kg
LPG / occupied bed-night
Illustrative peer median
0.9 kg
per occupied bed-night
Illustrative lower-consumption comparison
0.6 kg
per occupied bed-night
Current LPG at 3,000 occupied bed-nights
3,600 kg
Matching the illustrated peer median
2,700 kg
Potential difference
900 kg
25% less LPG
The 25% difference is arithmetic, not a forecast or a guaranteed saving.
A benchmark gap isn’t a verdict. It’s a question worth investigating.
Possible questions
Peer comparisons consider property type, location, energy supply, activities, occupancy and service model. Comparable reporting boundaries are essential.
The relevant cohort, reporting period, sample size and material limitations should accompany the comparison. Where evidence is too limited for a useful benchmark, that limitation should be visible.
Explore ETC Africa’s benchmarking approach03 — Reduce
The assessment identifies priorities for emissions reduction and better data. Actions should have an owner, a timeframe and a way to judge whether they worked.
The first assessment establishes a baseline. Subsequent annual assessments examine changes in total emissions, emissions per occupied bed-night and data quality.
Progress can include better evidence and more detailed records, as well as emissions reductions. A stronger data picture may reveal emissions that were previously missed; that should be explained rather than hidden.
Occupancy, operational changes, reporting boundaries and methods are reviewed so apparent improvement is not simply the result of fewer guests or omitted activities.
04 — Contribute · 05 — Invest locally / Restore
Reducing direct environmental impact remains the first responsibility.
Alongside that, tourism can create recurring resources for locally led conservation, restoration and community initiatives.
Properties can partner directly with local conservation organisations, community groups, schools and enterprises.
In this model, locally directed contributions are managed through the property’s arrangements with its local partners; ETF and ETC Africa do not collect or hold those contributions. The carbon assessment does not verify local project outcomes.
Potential initiatives
These are examples of possible interventions, not claims that every project is currently operational.
Positive contributions sit alongside the responsibility to reduce emissions. They do not cancel operational or guest-flight emissions.
06 — Report
What project, intervention or action?
How much was invested?
Where did it happen?
What difference did it make?
Carbon findings and local project reporting remain distinct. Each statement needs evidence appropriate to what is being claimed.
The assessment summary
Can we trust the picture?
How do we compare?
Are we improving?
Data Quality describes the evidence supporting the assessed footprint. Benchmark places results in a relevant peer context. Trajectory describes comparable changes over time; a first assessment establishes the baseline.
Eco Travel Foundation
Carbon assessment
2025 / 26
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Safari Lodge
Measured. Benchmarked. Tracked.
High
94% of emissions evidenced
Strong
18% below peer median (African lodges)
Baseline established
2025/26 reference year
21.98
kg CO₂e
per guest night
Assessed by
ETC Africa
This is an assessment, not a certification. Figures, units and reporting periods are shown as recorded in the property’s assessment. See the technical notes for how each view is derived.
Technical depth
Concise notes on the accounting choices that shape every carbon assessment.
Record the property, reporting year, operations under its control, included indirect sources and exclusions. Remote offices are reported separately. Portfolio totals require explicit consolidation. Changes in coverage are explained when comparing years.
Match recognised published factors to the activity, fuel, country and reporting year. Sources may include DEFRA, IPCC and appropriate national electricity factors. Record factor sources, versions, assumptions and changes. Estimates do not become measured facts simply because a recognised factor is applied.
Review source coverage, reliability and consistency. Actual quantities are preferred. Documented sampling and estimates may be used where records are unavailable. Spend-based estimates are a baseline-year fallback, with a plan to obtain better activity data for subsequent assessments.
Divide emissions within the stated boundary by occupied bed-nights for the same period, including complimentary stays. State exclusions and explain changes in occupancy, service levels or coverage. A lower intensity does not necessarily mean lower total emissions.
Select relevant comparisons using property type, geography, energy supply, activities and service model. State the cohort, period, sample size and important limitations. Differences in scope coverage must be addressed before comparing totals.
A peer median is a reference point, not a universal target. Investigate differences in operations, equipment and service delivery. Benchmark position alone does not establish inefficiency, sustainability or certification.
Where invoices are unavailable, firewood may be estimated through documented seasonal weight sampling and usage records. Waste may use sample weights or documented volume estimates, distinguishing organic and other waste and disposal routes. Refrigerant service records are checked for relevant re-gassing. Sampling assumptions and limitations are recorded.
Purchased grid electricity reflects actual grid consumption. On-site solar generation helps explain the energy mix. Estimated emissions avoided through solar are reported separately and are not deducted again from the assessed footprint. Any exported electricity is identified and its accounting treatment explained; it is not an automatic offset.
Assessment and certification
An assessment provides a documented carbon inventory and performance interpretation for a stated boundary and reporting year. It is not independent assurance, formal certification or proof of overall sustainability.
ETF leads the programme and ETC Africa delivers technical assessment and benchmarking. A separate formal certification pathway, including independent checks, is under development and is not currently offered.
Take part
You do not need perfect data to start. You do need a willingness to share records, explain gaps and work towards a stronger picture and practical progress.