Our first team trip happened last month in Lousã, Portugal. We were there to test some suspension and get a feel for the Portuguese dirt.
This was also our first chance to set the table for our CO2 neutral goal for 2020. Following our previous press release, here’s what we were able to do as our first steps with our new goal.
P: Hoshi Yoshida
No plastic water bottles were harmed during this trip
“We’ve had a lot of positive feedback on our plan to neutralize our CO2 for 2020 so we decided to start earlier and apply this to our Portugal team camp last month. We bought a reusable 10L water tank to refill all our CamelBak bottles from riders and staff. That saves us from buying one single use plastic water bottle for the whole week, actually on top of being greener it’s also easier on the shopping side .” – Fabien Cousinié, UR Team Manager
We avoided plastic as much as possible by bringing our own shopping bags and by buying food that is not over-packaged. Our accommodation and guide Wheelers MTB Holidays, was well equipped with recycling so that we could at least recycle the packaging we could not avoid.
Flexitarian
We varied our diet and had 4 days with plant based meals and 3 days with meat. When eating animal products, we prioritize organic products as well as meat with a smaller footprint like chicken.
Did you know that 1kg of beef is the equivalent of driving your car for 63 miles?
Everybody enjoyed trying new things and this red curry recipe was definitely a favorite of the crew.
“A normal week for our team on a camp would include a carnivorous diet for at least two meals per day. We went to Portugal earlier this month and as a group decided that we would eat more plant-based for the week.” –
We got teleported in Lousã
We wish this could be possible, but we still had to fly from different parts of the world to meet down in Lousã. However, we got as many people as possible on direct flights to reduce the emissions. To offset the remaining ones, we have partnered with Climate Care. Over the season, every trip will be entered in a spreadsheet that calculates the amount of CO2 that was generated.
For this team camp in Portugal, the total emissions included everyone’s flight as well as the driving mileage (to and from the airport, shuttling in Lousã, etc.). It came up to 9.55 tonnes of CO2 which means we had to pay 124.74$ CAD to Climate Care to offset through a portfolio they put together. This portfolio is specifically made for individuals or small businesses who want to offset their emissions, but don’t generate enough to make the credits viable for most projects.
Here’s one of the four projects included in that portfolio:
Was our test camp still productive? Yes
Was it hard? No
This showed us how keeping our CO2 neutral goal in sight isn’t so hard. We promise we are not always gonna talk about it all the time, we will just keep you updated on solutions we find and the progress we make from time to time.
Next time you will hear us it will probably be for some riding actions!