The HI Sustainability fund has been supporting hostels to realise their sustainability goals for over 7 years now! While the challenges of this year mean we had to put a pause on the fund for 2021, we thought this would be an ideal opportunity to celebrate the successes of the fund over the years
What is the HI Sustainability Fund?
The Hostelling International Sustainability Fund (HISF) was initiated in 2013 as a step to facilitate the implementation of the HI Sustainability Charter (2010).
The HISF encourages the participation of HI hostels across the network in contributing to reducing CO2 emissions and advancing sustainable development and initiatives. Its goal, is to promote a sustainable mindset across HI’s key stakeholders; our member associations, global community of travelers and partners, while progressing towards achieving carbon neutrality across our diverse network.
Through donations, the HISF provides our guests with the opportunity to offset their overnights and reduce the carbon footprint of their stay.
The Achievements
Over the last 7 years, more than £170,000 has been raised through generous donations made by conscientious hostellers, supporting 23 projects in realising their plans for advancing sustainable practices, and reducing CO2 emissions by close to 670 ERU/year (Emission Reduction Unit) to date, this is the equivalent of flying from Amsterdam to Rome 1742 times or roughly 33,500 trees growing for one year!
* 1 ERU = 1 Tonne of CO2
The HISF would not survive without the support and generosity of our global community of travelers. Throughout the years over 65,000 members of the HI community voted for their favorite projects and helped decide the annual winners of the fund. Here are some of our favorite comments:
Wow-what an exceptional idea David Attenborough would love this!
A futuristic step for the sake and welfare of mankind.
It is praiseworthy that such environment-friendly initiatives are being undertaken by such a responsible organization like Hostelling International.
Very good initiative to keep mother earth safe and secure for future generations, all the best for such good work, I extend my heartfelt support to such activities in future also.
This one simple project could change the thinking of a whole generation of plastic users to the benefit of our shared environment.
