Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex

The Duke of Sussex supports conservation groups in Africa and says he really became an environmentalist during a trip in 2012 to the Caribbean when a 7-year-old boy told him that England’s environmental impact was damaging the coral reefs. After that interaction, he was inspired to start Travalyst (“travel” and “catalyst”), a nonprofit that provides people booking travel with emissions and other sustainability data so they can consider the lowest impact options. The aim is to help make a dent in the industry’s carbon footprint; tourism makes up about 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Travalyst worked with Google to create the Travel Impact Model, a free, publicly available methodology launched in 2022 that predicts per-passenger CO2 emissions produced by upcoming flights. Travalyst’s coalition of partners, representing a combined market value of $3 trillion, includes top tech companies used by tourists like Booking.com, Expedia Group, Mastercard, Skyscanner, Tripadvisor and Visa. On Sept. 12, Travalyst announced that its flight emissions data has appeared in 65 billion searches worldwide.  

Prince Harry has stressed that sustainable travel also means travel that boosts local economies and supports tourism businesses that hire local talent. He summed up Travalyst’s mission at its fifth anniversary celebration on Sept. 24 during Climate Week: “As I sought solutions to some of the world's most pressing conservation challenges, I quickly realized just how profound an impact the travel and tourism industry has…together we are proving that travel can be a force for good. So let’s continue this journey together and make sure that travel benefits everyone everywhere.”