Make Holidays Greener, the annual campaign led by ABTA in partnership with Travelife for Hotels & Accommodations is returning for the summer. Launching today (1 July), the campaign will run throughout the summer until the end of August. 
Holidaymakers are being encouraged to make a sustainable holiday pledge before they travel. The 15 sustainable pledges cover all aspects of a holiday from taking care of the local environment to supporting local communities in holiday destinations and include simple actions like eating local food to saying no to plastic. There is also the option to design your own. By making a pledge, holidaymakers will be entered into a prize draw to win a GoPro camera.

Make Holidays Greener is about encouraging all holidaymakers, travellers and tourists to take positive social and environmental action whilst on holiday. Last year, over 700 sustainable holiday pledges were made. Recycling water bottles, reusing hotel towels and using local transport were among the most popular pledges. In addition, almost 2,000 people collected over 6,000kg of rubbish as part of 125 beach cleans in 23 countries. 

Throughout the summer, the travel industry will also be making Greener Holiday pledges, such as running beach cleans in popular holiday resorts to support the campaign. Details of these will be shared on ABTA and Travelife's social media channels.

Nikki White, Director of Destinations & Sustainability, ABTA said: “Taking positive social and environmental actions whilst on holiday, not only contributes to you having a great holiday, but also help to ensure your chosen destination is looked after. Simple steps like making a sustainable holiday pledge can really add up and make a difference. I would encourage all holidaymakers to join in with Make Holidays Greener.”

Pledges can be made at www.makeholidaysgreener.org.uk.

The 15 holiday pledges are:

1. Holiday clean up: to keep holiday destinations beautiful take part in a local clean-up or organise my own. 
2. Eat local – drink local: to enjoy the real ‘taste’ of my holiday destination by eating and drinking local produce.
3. Buy local souvenirs: to buy locally-made handicrafts and products or an authentic souvenir from my holiday. 
4. Talk to the locals: to talk to the locals in the local lingo. 
5. Respect local customs: to learn about local customs and dress codes before I go and explore the local way of life.
6. Reduce, re-use, recycle: to reduce, re-use and recycle waste during my holiday. 
7. No to plastic: to say no to plastic.
8. Carbon offset: to take climate action by offsetting my carbon emissions for my journey.
9. Local transport: to go green and use better methods of transport such as hiring bikes, taxi pooling or renting a hybrid car whilst on holiday.
10. Switch me off: to switch off by turning off electrical appliances when I leave my hotel room. 
11. Every drop counts: to help save water and reuse my towels and bed linen.
12. Protect children: to support local community projects and refrain from giving money to begging children or visiting orphanages, which can have unintended negative effects. 
13. Tell the world: to tell the world about my positive holiday experiences and leave an honest travel review. 
14. Look for the Travelife logo: to stay at a hotel that cares for the environment and its staff such as Travelife certified hotels.
15. Free choice: get creative and do something new. If you would like to organise an activity that is special to your holiday, let ABTA know your plans.