Responsible Travel
1Estimated carbon emissions
Pelion aims for low-footprint expeditions by traveling on foot as much and as lightly as possible. Train, sea-plane and overland 4x4 journeys help to cover distance and are also opportunities to learn about the places we travel through. We will be transparent about resource consumption so that students and parents can make informed judgements about the program, and use offsets as an imperfect intermediate mitigation. Flights to and from each term are excluded, under the assumption that our students would otherwise be flying to an international boarding school.
The program
| Term | Weeks | Road km | Rail km | Sea km | kg CO2e per student |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Term 1 · Canada | 11 | 7,450 | 0 | 115 | 310 |
| Term 2 · Nepal & India | 8 | 1,460 | 1,950 | 0 | 120 |
| Term 3 · Japan | 12 | 200 | 2,630 | 2,000 | 130 |
| Term 4 · Namibia, Botswana & Tanzania | 12 | 8,110 | 0 | 450 | 350 |
| Term 5 · Chile & Argentina | 12 | 4,950 | 0 | 0 | 210 |
| Term 6 · Alaska | 6 | 4,660 | 0 | 55 | 270 |
| Program | 61 | 26,830 | 4,580 | 2,620 | 1,380 |
Method and assumptions
- Road: three vehicles, 15 people; 0.209 kg CO2e/vehicle-km (large diesel car), shared equally.
- Rail / ferry / Denali shuttle: 0.031 / 0.019 / 0.039 kg CO2e/passenger-km respectively; shuttle uses the coach factor.
- Walking, kayaking, canoeing, mokoro and skiing: counted as zero.
- Flights: two Term 6 ski-plane legs accessing Kahiltna glacier (no surface access) — the program’s only flights. Each: approximately 110 liters aviation turbine fuel × 2.54 kg CO2e/liter ÷ eight passengers.
- Factors: UK Government GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting, 2026; flat file revised 31 July 2026.
- Rounding: route estimates to nearest 10 km; term emissions to nearest 10 kg CO2e. Program total: sum of unrounded terms, rounded once to nearest 10 kg CO2e.
Term 1 · Canada
| Journey | By | km | kg CO2e per student |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver to Nanaimo | ferry | 55 | 1 |
| Nanaimo to Gold River (Nootka Sound) | road, three vehicles | 250 | 10 |
| Gold River to Comox | road, three vehicles | 140 | 6 |
| Comox to Powell River | ferry | 30 | 1 |
| Powell River to Lund (Desolation Sound) | road, three vehicles | 30 | 1 |
| Desolation Sound by kayak | on foot or by paddle | — | 0 |
| Lund to Vancouver via the Sunshine Coast | road, three vehicles | 130 | 5 |
| Sunshine Coast ferries (two crossings) | ferry | 30 | 1 |
| Vancouver to Whitehorse | road, three vehicles | 2,400 | 100 |
| Whitehorse to the North Yukon (Dempster corridor) | road, three vehicles | 900 | 38 |
| North Yukon by foot and canoe | on foot or by paddle | — | 0 |
| North Yukon to Whitehorse | road, three vehicles | 900 | 38 |
| Whitehorse to Vancouver | road, three vehicles | 2,400 | 100 |
| Student-designed routes in BC (access) | road, three vehicles | 300 | 12 |
| Total, rounded to the nearest ten kilograms | 310 |
Term 2 · Nepal & India
| Journey | By | km | kg CO2e per student |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kathmandu to Phaplu (Solukhumbu road head) | road, three vehicles | 270 | 11 |
| Khumbu on foot | on foot or by paddle | — | 0 |
| Phaplu to Kathmandu | road, three vehicles | 270 | 11 |
| Kathmandu to Sauraha (Chitwan) | road, three vehicles | 160 | 7 |
| Sauraha to Kathmandu | road, three vehicles | 160 | 7 |
| Kathmandu to Raxaul (border) | road, three vehicles | 200 | 8 |
| Raxaul to Mumbai | rail | 1,950 | 60 |
| Mumbai to the Western Ghats | road, three vehicles | 200 | 8 |
| Western Ghats to Mumbai | road, three vehicles | 200 | 8 |
| Total, rounded to the nearest ten kilograms | 120 |
Term 3 · Japan
| Journey | By | km | kg CO2e per student |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Chitose to Niseko (Yotei) | road, three vehicles | 100 | 4 |
| Niseko to Sapporo | road, three vehicles | 100 | 4 |
| Sapporo to Tokyo (Hokkaido and Tohoku Shinkansen) | rail | 1,150 | 36 |
| Tokyo to Kyoto | rail | 515 | 16 |
| Kyoto to Kii-Tanabe (Kumano Kodo) | rail | 200 | 6 |
| Kumano Kodo on foot | on foot or by paddle | — | 0 |
| Kumano to Nara to Kyoto | rail | 250 | 8 |
| Kyoto to Tokyo | rail | 515 | 16 |
| Tokyo to Ogasawara (Chichijima) | ferry | 1,000 | 19 |
| Ogasawara to Tokyo | ferry | 1,000 | 19 |
| Total, rounded to the nearest ten kilograms | 130 |
Term 4 · Namibia, Botswana & Tanzania
| Journey | By | km | kg CO2e per student |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windhoek to Etosha | road, three vehicles | 430 | 18 |
| Etosha to Damaraland | road, three vehicles | 350 | 15 |
| Damaraland to the Skeleton Coast | road, three vehicles | 300 | 12 |
| Skeleton Coast to Swakopmund | road, three vehicles | 350 | 15 |
| Swakopmund to Namib-Naukluft (Sossusvlei) | road, three vehicles | 350 | 15 |
| Namib-Naukluft to Windhoek | road, three vehicles | 330 | 14 |
| Windhoek to Maun | road, three vehicles | 1,100 | 46 |
| Maun to Delta camps (motorboat transfers) | ferry | 60 | 1 |
| Okavango Delta by mokoro | on foot or by paddle | — | 0 |
| Maun to Arusha via Kasane, Lusaka and Tunduma | road, three vehicles | 3,460 | 145 |
| Arusha to Ngorongoro and the Serengeti, and back | road, three vehicles | 800 | 33 |
| Arusha to Moshi | road, three vehicles | 80 | 3 |
| Kilimanjaro on foot | on foot or by paddle | — | 0 |
| Moshi to Dar es Salaam | road, three vehicles | 560 | 23 |
| Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar and back | ferry | 150 | 3 |
| Zanzibar to Pemba and back | ferry | 240 | 4 |
| Total, rounded to the nearest ten kilograms | 350 |
Term 5 · Chile & Argentina
| Journey | By | km | kg CO2e per student |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santiago to Valparaíso, Viña del Mar and Quintay, and back | road, three vehicles | 360 | 15 |
| Santiago to Copiapó | road, three vehicles | 800 | 33 |
| Copiapó to the Puna lagoons and Ojos base, and back | road, three vehicles | 520 | 22 |
| Copiapó to San Pedro de Atacama | road, three vehicles | 870 | 36 |
| San Pedro lagoons (Miscanti, Miñiques) | road, three vehicles | 250 | 10 |
| San Pedro to Salta over Paso Jama | road, three vehicles | 520 | 22 |
| Salta to Mendoza | road, three vehicles | 1,250 | 52 |
| Mendoza to Horcones (Aconcagua) | road, three vehicles | 190 | 8 |
| Aconcagua on foot | on foot or by paddle | — | 0 |
| Horcones to Mendoza | road, three vehicles | 190 | 8 |
| Total, rounded to the nearest ten kilograms | 210 |
Term 6 · Alaska
| Journey | By | km | kg CO2e per student |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage to Denali National Park | road, three vehicles | 380 | 16 |
| Denali park road (park shuttle) | bus | 150 | 6 |
| Denali to Talkeetna | road, three vehicles | 250 | 10 |
| Talkeetna to the Kahiltna glacier and back | ski-plane | 2 flights | 70 |
| Alaska Range on foot and ski | on foot or by paddle | — | 0 |
| Talkeetna to Anchorage | road, three vehicles | 180 | 8 |
| Anchorage to Vancouver (Alaska Highway) | road, three vehicles | 3,600 | 150 |
| Vancouver to Vancouver Island | ferry | 55 | 1 |
| Vancouver Island (graduation venue access) | road, three vehicles | 100 | 4 |
| Total, rounded to the nearest ten kilograms | 270 |
2Community engagement
Pelion’s learning depends on the knowledge, work and welcome of the people we meet. We approach these relationships with respect, curiosity and a commitment to reciprocity. We do not assume that our presence benefits others, or that our educational aims entitle us to their time, knowledge or hospitality.
Working together. We plan activities with our hosts and partners, taking their interests, priorities and capacity seriously. Together, we agree what the exchange involves and what would make it worthwhile for them. We follow community and partner protocols, respect daily routines and boundaries, and adapt our plans when our presence creates an unwelcome burden.
Fair payment. We agree fair fees in advance for teaching, guiding, accommodation and other services we commission. These recognise expertise, preparation, time and costs, informed by local professional rates and relevant sector standards. We record payment arrangements clearly and honor them. Gifts, donations and opportunities to meet our students do not substitute for payment for agreed services.
Consent and choice. People choose what they share and may decline questions or stop an interaction. We recognise that differences in resources and influence can make it difficult to say no, and take care not to mistake politeness for agreement. Photography, recording and interviews require specific, informed permission from the people involved; an invitation to visit or a host organisation’s agreement does not provide that permission on their behalf. Declining these requests does not affect agreed teaching or hosting fees.
Knowledge and sharing. We agree how contributions may be used in students’ learning and assessed work, and respect requests for credit, anonymity or confidentiality. Wider use, including publication and social media, requires separate permission. Research has its own agreement covering the purpose, care and use of material, including how consent can be withdrawn. We respect community authority over shared knowledge and agree how records and findings will be held and shared. We return relevant work in an accessible, useful form and give contributors an opportunity to correct factual errors and attribution before publication.
Care and accountability. Students and staff prepare for the places and people they will encounter, including the inequalities that may shape those relationships. Pelion remains responsible for student conduct, supervision and safeguarding. Partners have a clear route to the faculty lead and program director to raise concerns, including privately. We seek feedback, respond promptly and act on what we learn.