10 ways to travel like an eco-warrior

By Juliet Kinsman

June 19, 2023

Sustainability expert Juliet Kinsman shares her ten essential tips for travellers.

Exceptional surrounds and hosting are a given at Mandarin Oriental, but knowing its hotels approach hospitality with a sense of responsibility is just as heartening. The word ‘responsible’ might sound as if it’s part of a plan that scrimps on fun, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Doing the right thing, as Torsten Van Dullemen – group director of sustainability, vice president of operations and general manager of Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London – always puts it, is also a fantastic generator of joy when it comes to travel.

A child looking out across snowy Chamonix

Be curious

Travel opens our minds and hearts, inviting us to engage with new and unexpected perspectives that can elevate our understanding of people, geography and history. When Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them,” it’s as if he had one eye on a lobby bar, humming with international thought-leaders. Let’s delight in different outlooks, listening and learning when we land somewhere new. Every exchange is a chance to widen our world views.

Mandarin Oriental’s bamboo toothbrush on a bathroom counter

Ditch disposables

Next time you take a trip, think twice about throwaway goods. Mandarin Oriental hotels are 99 per cent free of single-use plastic and, behind the scenes, every department avoids the purchase of single-use anything in its operations, meaning as little as possible is sent to landfill. Join the mission to minimise what we leave in our wake – just say the word, and you’ll be lent a refillable water bottle.

The chef picking fresh herbs in the garden at Mandarin Oriental, Lago di Como

Eat greener

Piling plates with more of what’s grown rather than reared is better for us and for the planet, with animal and dairy farming contributing to around 15 per cent of all global emissions. Sustainable fishing matters, along with shopping lists that favour smaller, more local suppliers and producers. For a masterclass in feelgood fine dining, book a table at Amber in Hong Kong. Along with two Michelin stars, it’s now the proud recipient of a Green Star, thanks to its exacting ethical and environmental standards.

Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, Abu Dhabi, meanwhile, has its own desert vegetable garden, with a water-saving drip-irrigation system and hand-picked seed varieties, known for their tolerance to heat. Mandarin Oriental, Marrakech also has a thriving organic garden, which keeps its kitchens and cookery classes well-supplied.

The tranquil pool at Mandarin Oriental, Marrakech at dusk

Respect water

Wherever we are in the world, it makes sense to minimise our use of this most precious of natural resources. Water scarcity is a challenge from Asia to Africa, while Europe’s not immune, with Venice’s canals reaching record lows. Mandarin Oriental’s teams are constantly monitoring and measuring water use, but it’s always good to remember that everyone is in this together. Laundering less and showering instead of bathing are both part of considering our water footprint. Small changes can have a big impact: when Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, Dubai installed water-saving taps in all restrooms, it cut water consumption by 50 per cent in a month.

A hiker admiring the view from atop a mountain

Walk it

It’s tempting to take a buggy or elevator when it’s in front of you, but walking is the key to cutting carbon emissions and staying healthy. Instead of hailing a taxi or hopping on a subway, sometimes figuring out the route on foot can be most efficient. Neuroscience tells us it’s good for our cognitive health, too. Sure, not all streets were created equal, but walking can be a simple and enlightening way to get a feel for your destination. At Mandarin Oriental Bosphorus, Istanbul, combine a jog with seeing the sights. Pick up a map from the concierge, then choose your route: along the waterfront to Bebek, perhaps, or around Kuruçeşme Park.

A paddleboarder paddling across a tranquil pool, her phone left by the water’s edge

Take a digital detox

Smile. Connecting with the humans around us is food for the soul. Shake off that keyboard slouch, sit up and strike up a conversation. Our addiction to devices can deprive us of the most precious part of travelling: disconnecting from our everyday lives. Another big sustainability win from switched-off travel? Sending and storing less data. Data storage seems invisible, but it’s all anchored in energy-intensive hardware somewhere. Deleting snaps, videos and uploads taking up space on the Cloud is a great way to declutter and decarbonise.

A guest meditating at a Mandarin Oriental spa

Press pause

Action-packed schedules and a busy way of life have turned us from ‘human beings’ into ‘human doings’. What’s good about how things are going is that we can blur the lines between work trips and pleasure. Instead of keeping it strictly business, tack on extra time to just be. Stay another day, look up an old family friend or ask the concierge about a special show, creating precious memories to take home.

Lanterns for sale in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar

Celebrate the local and handcrafted

Ask the concierge where to pick up handmade mementoes and sustainable souvenirs. Artisanal crafts not only share a much more meaningful story and demonstrate more thought, but they put money in local pockets and, in some cases, help to preserve dying-out skills passed down through generations. At Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, the Spa has partnered with SEP Jordan to make beautiful, handstitched bags and pouches, crafted by 60 refugee artists.

Visitors relaxing by the Albert Memorial in Hyde Park, London

Stop box-ticking

While we often travel with a bucket list, that’s not always how memories are made. Sometimes, just people-watching from a park bench is the best way to spend an afternoon – and both London’s Hyde Park and New York’s Central Park are on Mandarin Oriental hotels’ doorsteps. Rather than ticking off sights and museums, embrace the ordinary, authentic moments that feel like your own discovery, and step out of your culinary comfort zone with food that has a real sense of place. Minutes from Mandarin Oriental, Paris, visit the Marché Saint-Honoré for slivers of cheese and charcuterie and punnets of strawberries to snack on.

A family enjoying a picturesque hike in Geneva

Be kind

Kindness is key to being a more considerate traveller, along with the desire to leave the world a better place. In a dream scenario, we don’t merely maintain the status quo, but instead help people, places and those in need to do better. If every traveller treated the destinations they visited as they do their own home, with a care for the bigger picture, we’d see better balance in the world. Whenever you’re at a decision-making crossroads, there’s a danger of feeling paralysed in pursuit of perfection. Break it down to being kinder, fairer and just doing the right thing. That’s the most reliable navigation.

It’s certainly the guiding principle at Kind by M.O. at Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, Dubai, a trailblazing concept store stocked with small-scale, ethical brands.

All offers and experiences available at time of publication. Please contact the relevant hotel team for more information.

About the Author

Juliet Kinsman

Juliet Kinsman is a sustainable luxury travel writer, Condé Nast Travellers’s first sustainability editor and author of our Sustainability Report. The driving force behind the Evening Standard's sustainable travel channel and host of their award-winning podcast, she's written and edited many guidebooks for London and beyond.