Airbnb, the world’s biggest accommodation-sharing site, has advanced sustainable tourism, but the demand for more ecological travel is growing. Whilst the site features categories such as ‘Plus’ and ‘Family’, it is missing something essential: a category for sustainable accommodation.
Hoping to gently provoke Airbnb into adding the essential category, Neste, the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel and the ‘second most sustainable company in the world’ is introducing Zerobnb.com. It is a site where people can list sustainable alternatives for holiday accommodation. The site will be live only until Airbnb creates a sustainable category of their own.
What is Zerobnb?
Zerobnb is a website that displays sustainable housings for travel accommodation from private owners. Released on International Day of Climate Action, 24 October, it taps into the sustainability requirements of the modern globetrotter. With the demand for more sustainable travel growing in recent years* and tourism causing almost a tenth of global greenhouse gas emissions**, it’s time to make every journey a journey towards zero emissions.
“The demand for more sustainable travel is growing, but when you are not an expert, it can be very demanding to evaluate whether a certain accommodation is sustainable or not. This is why it is important to make sustainable alternatives more accessible for everyone. Our goal is to provoke discussion and we are hoping that this will inspire Airbnb to add a sustainable accommodation category onto their site,“ says Sirpa Tuomi, Director of Marketing at Neste.
The accommodation options displayed on Zerobnb are chosen according to their sustainable aspects. Listings can climb the sustainable ladder by adding features such as a proper recycling area or by encouraging guests to minimize plastic waste through house rules. The surrounding neighbourhood should naturally feature sustainable services, transportation options and restaurants.
A part of Journey to Zero initiative
The Zerobnb project is a part of Neste’s Journey to Zero initiative, where Neste focuses on finding sustainable solutions for building a fossil free future. The company’s prior Journey to Zero executions include the Zero Island and Nolla cabin campaigns. Nolla, a cabin with minimal to zero emissions, was enlisted on Airbnb and sold out in minutes – making a compelling case for the need of sustainable tourism.
* https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/06/travel/where-sustainable-travel-is-headed-in-2017.html
For more information visit
