The Karma Score©
Explanation of our greenhouse gas quantification protocol
Tourism is responsible for around 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, making it one of the industries most affected by global warming.
This observation implies adjustments to the business model, as tourism professionals strive to be more adaptable.
It is with this desire to act in favor of more responsible tourism that we have chosen - at Yogascope - to calculate and display the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions induced by the yoga retreats we sell. The aim of this GHG quantification protocol is twofold:
Raising the awareness of our retreat participants about the impact of their travels on the planet
Improving the carbon footprint of our pensions
To do this, we called on the low-carbon transition consulting firm Globethik. Globethikwith whom we developed a protocol for quantifying the GHGs associated with our retreats. The calculations were carried out using Bilan Carbone®, an Excel spreadsheet that can be used to calculate the carbon footprint of an organization, an event or any product or service.
This file is based in particular on the public database of emission factors Bilan Carbone® and Agrybalise (an emission factor is a coefficient used to convert activity data into GHG emissions. Example: a 14.1-inch laptop emits 202 kq.eq CO2).
Difference between quantification protocol and Bilan Carbone® (Carbon Balance)
The Bilan Carbone is a method for assessing the quantities of GHG emissions, based on three categories of emissions:
Direct GHG emissions (or SCOPE 1): emissions from sources owned or controlled by the organization (fossil fuel combustion, ruminant emissions, nitrogen fertilization, etc.).
Direct GHG emissions (or SCOPE 2): indirect emissions associated with the production of electricity, heat or steam imported for the organization's activities.
Other indirect emissions (or SCOPE 3): emissions indirectly produced by the organization's activities that are not accounted for in 2 but are linked to the complete value chain (purchase of raw materials, employee travel, upstream and downstream transport of goods, waste management, use and end-of-life of products and services sold....).
At Yogascope, we have chosen to focus first and foremost on the emissions generated by our yoga retreats, which represent the largest share of our total emissions. This approach therefore only includes SCOPE 3.
Another point: the information gathered by Globethik, the company that assisted us in this quantification process, is partially incomplete for certain data. We have collected the data that certain chefs, owners and operators with whom we work have agreed to share with us, but not all of them have replied.
Although we have tried to include as much information as possible in our calculations to highlight the carbon footprint of each retreat, we cannot use the term Bilan Carbone®. For this reason, we have established a GHG quantification protocol that comes as close as possible to the Bilan Carbone® method.
Order of magnitude
Today, the carbon footprint of a French person is estimated at 9.9 tonnes eq. CO2 per year (to find out more about the carbon footprint, click here). This is five times higher than the maximum annual budget we would need to achieve to comply with the Paris Agreements, i.e. 2 tonnes eq. CO2 per person.
So that you can compare the carbon footprint of each of our retreats with this maximum annual budget, we have decided to display the carbon footprint of each of our retreats and the percentage it represents in relation to this maximum annual budget on our retreat descriptions.
Example for our pensions in Avignon: 47 kq.eq CO2, i.e. 2% of the annual budget not to be exceeded.
Our GHG quantification protocol
The quantification protocol developed enables us toexpress the carbon footprint of each retreat in kilograms of CO2 equivalent per person per retreat day. Please note that Globethik's calculations take into account the average number of participants and the average number of retreat days on each retreat.
1/Transport
Our calculations took into account all the GHG emissions generated by the various means of transport used during the retreats. For journeys made by private car (including cabs), we chose a petrol engine. Why did we do this? Because the leading category of new private vehicles sold in France (source ADEME 2022) are gasoline-powered vehicles.
Four sub-categories stand out in our calculations:
Transport to and from the retreat venue.
Transport to and from the retreat venue for yoga leaders and teachers.
Round-trip transfers for participants, on-site yoga leaders and teachers for transportation to the retreat site (from train station or airport).
Local transfers by participants, leaders and yoga teachers for activities.
Transportation to and from the retreat venue for participants
For all the retreats (France, Europe and Worldwide), participants departed from Paris.
For retirements in France, the most direct public transport journey between Paris and the nearest station to the place of retreat has been taken into account (generally by TGV). Where journeys are not direct, other journeys made by public transport have been taken into account. For example, for the Landes retreat : Paris-Bordeaux by TGV, then Bordeaux-Labouheyre by TER.
For retreats in Europe (with the exception of the Tuscany retreat , where 80% of participants travelled by train) and the rest of the world, the most direct flight between Paris and the nearest airport to the retreat location was taken into account. In cases where journeys are not direct, the other journeys made by plane have been taken into account.
Transport to and from the retreat location for yoga leaders and teachers
For retreats in France, a journey by private vehicle or public transport (depending on the mode of travel chosen) between the home town of the yoga leaders and teachers and the retreat location was considered. In cases where journeys are not direct (particularly if they are made by public transport), the other journeys made by public transport have been taken into account.
For retreats in Europe (except for the retreat in Tuscany, where the yoga teacher travels by train) and the rest of the world, a flight from the departure airport closest to the yoga leaders' and teachers' homes to the arrival airport closest to the retreat location has been taken into account. Where journeys are not direct, other journeys made by plane have been taken into account.
All the GHG emissions generated by the transport used by the yoga leaders and teachers to get to the retreat site have been equitably distributed among the average number of participants in each retreat.
Round-trip transfers for participants, leaders and yoga teachers to the retreat venue (from train station or airport).
For expeditions in France, Europe and the rest of the world, the GHG emissions generated by theuse of a cab or shuttle from the arrival station or airport to bring participants, leaders and yoga teachers (if applicable) to the retreat venue have been calculated. Please note that an average number of four people per cab or shuttle has been considered for participants (usual average number on each retreat). An individual cab or shuttle has been taken into account for yoga leaders and teachers.
All the GHG emissions generated by the transport used by yoga leaders and teachers to get to the retreat venue from the arrival train station or airport have been equitably distributed among the average number of participants in each retreat.
Local transportation provided by participants, leaders and yoga teachers for activities
For each retreat, an average of the kilometers travelled by cab for on-site activities was taken into account.
An average number of four people per cab was considered for the participants (usual average number on each retreat). Emissions from cab journeys were therefore divided by four. Example for the Flumet retreat : average kilometers driven for activities = 35 kilometers; equivalent to 7 kg.eq CO2; equivalent to 7/4 people per car = 2 kg.eq CO2 per participant.
All the GHG emissions generated by the transport used by the yoga leaders and teachers for the activities have been equitably distributed among the average number of participants in each retreat.
2/ Feeding
Yogascope has chosen to offer only vegetarian meals for each of its retreats, with one brunch and one dinner a day. A morning snack is also offered, as well as tea and coffee. Emissions taken into account for meals :
Emissions linked to car journeys made by chefs to purchase food products. Unlike the transport category, it is the precise model of car that has been entered into the Base Carbone.
For tea and coffee: emissions linked to 1 cup of tea and 1 cup of coffee per participant per day.
For vegetarian meals, Globethik averaged the emissions of the total food products purchased for the retreats in Mimizan and Hossegor and approached an average vegan meal as calculated by the ADEME.
The results show thata meal offered by Yogascope is equivalent to an average of 1 kg.eq CO2 per participant. This figure was multiplied by 2 (number of meals per day for all retreats), then by the average number of days of each retreat.
The GHG emissions generated by the meals eaten by the chefs and yoga teachers staying at the retreat site have been equitably redistributed according to the average number of participants per retreat.
In the event that a feed was not included in the Bilan Carbone® excel file, Globethik used the Agribalyse database to make these estimates.
We are aware that the food and beverage programs are not complete, and that complete shopping lists are needed for all pensions. We'll be working on this in the near future.
3/ Accommodation
To calculate the GHG emissions attributable to housing, Yogascope needs energy bills from the owners of the houses rented for yoga retreats. However - except for retreats in Spain and Portugal - we have not received this data.
In addition to the two pensions mentioned above, our calculations are based on the carbon footprint attributable to the housing of a French person. According to statistics from the French Ministry of Ecological Transition and the low-carbon transition consultancy Carbone 4, these emissions amount to 1,900 kilos of CO2 equivalent per year. This figure takes into account electricity, gas and fuel oil, water and waste, as well as construction. That's 5 kg CO2 equivalent/day/French. This is the emission value we have used for each pension. This value is multiplied by the average number of days of each retreat.
The GHG emissions generated by the yoga leaders and teachers staying at the retreat site have been equitably redistributed according to the average number of participants per retreat.
As with food, we are aware that this figure is not representative of emissions from rented accommodation. Pending the return of the data requested from landlords, we have decided to use this figure. The same applies to pensions abroad, even though we know that the energy mix is not the same as in France.
4/ Karma Score©
The final point in this protocol for quantifying the GHGs of Yogascope retreats is the introduction of a rating based on the carbon footprint of each participant per day of retreat (expressed in kg.eq CO2). The Karma Score® is therefore a rating system indicating the pollution level of your retreat. The rating is divided into five thresholds, with a starting value of 5.5 kg eq. CO2.
Why this figure? Quite simply because it's the maximum daily carbon footprint per French person required to comply with the Paris Agreements (2 tonnes eq. CO2/year).
That's why we've decided to set the first threshold between 5.5 kg (a zero-carbon trip simply doesn't exist) and 12 kg eq.CO2. This threshold represents the most eco-friendly yoga retreats in our catalog.