Concept

WHAT IS GOING GLOBAL ?

Lifestyle, Adventure and Sustainability are not mutually exclusive. By making the right choices, we can live exciting and fulfilling lives while minimizing our environmental footprint.

GOING GLOBAL is a carbon-neutral motorcycle adventure with a green mission: promoting sustainability along the 16,000 kilometer-long Silk Road between Beijing and Istanbul.

Crossing 8 countries in 80 days, we aim to raise awareness and funds for solutions to Climate Change while empowering people to make a difference.

GOING GLOBAL'S MESSAGE:

We believe that the current limited success of environmentally friendly policies results from a prevailing lack of awareness about environmental issues, and where such awareness exists, the fact that people are not willing to make radical changes to their lives in order to substantially reduce their impact on the environment.

Simply put, people are not willing to give up their comfort and lifestyle in order to stop  harming the environment

One can blame humankind for its lack of social responsibility, but pointing fingers won't make a difference. We cannot ignore, dismiss or wish away human pursuit of comfort and leisure any more than we should rely on rely on technology to solve our planet's environmental woes: this is both naive and dangerous... so are we doomed? We don't think so!

We believe that, in addition to the current efforts to reduce emissions from the world's most polluting industrial assets as mandated by the Kyoto Protocol, we must convince INDIVIDUALS to make SMALL CHANGES to their lives, changes which, if carried out by a critical mass, will have a substantial positive impact!

This philosophy underlies our decision to set out on this motorcycle journey despite the emissions we know it causes. Instead of sacrificing a significant lifestyle decision, we will direct our efforts to reducing the use of resources, to minimizing our negative impact and to compensating for the remainder through positive contributions to the world's sustainability.

We look forward to enquiring about how the local people we come across are experiencing Climate Change, sharing with them our belief and promoting the message that:

NO MATTER HOW SMALL, EACH OF OUR INDIVIDUAL EMISSIONS MOST CERTAINLY DO MATTER

Ultimately, we hope that by discussing Climate Change, its impact and possible solutions with the population along the way and by encouraging the privileged among us (ourselves included) to take the environment into consideration when indulging in luxurious lifestyles, people will start to make small changes in their lives, which, when taken as a whole, will not only out-weigh the negative environmental impact of our journey, but more importantly, reduce emissions from individuals in a long-lasting and sustainable manner.

HOW IS GOING GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE & WHAT SMALL CHANGES ARE WE MAKING?

Defined by the Brundtland Comission in 1989, Sustainability means "to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs", or with regard to the environment: "using the earth's resources at a rate at which they can be replenished".

Although we are unfortunately unable to replace the fossil fuels we consume, GOING GLOBAL tends towards sustainabilty for the following reasons:

• WE ARE AWARE OF AND READILY ADMIT TO OUR IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT
   
• WE ARE COMMITTED TO MINIMIZE, OFFSET AND COMPENSATE FOR THIS IMPACT
  
  We are striving to minimize and mitigate our emissions by:
  
  
  • Having purchased relatively fuel-efficient motorcycles among the limited range availabe on the Chinese market
     
  • Endeavoring to ride in a fuel-efficient manner, thereby minimizing fuel consumption and resulting emissions 
     
  • Using the most ecological fuel available at all times, though this might mean increasing the cost of the trip
     
  • Purchasing carbon credits to offset our emissions 
       
  • Raising funds through corporate sponsorships and individual donations, which will be donated to the Sindicatum Climate Change Foundation and used to finance education and research projects in the field of Climate Change

Furthermore, since we believe it is too easy for privileged people to pay for "the right to pollute" and because such "right" does in and of itself not lead to sustainability, we will also be holding forums along our way, discussing Climate Change and related issues with local people, particularly children and students, empowering them to make a difference.

Finally, contrary to common belief, modern, roadworthy (not racing) motorcycles are amongst the more fuel-efficient motor vehicles around. Since we must head back to Europe at this time, were we not riding motorcycles, we would be flying home, a choice of of transportation that would yield substantially greater emissions. Therefore, simply by taking the time to ride home across the world, we will have reduced the emissions of our return journey as compared with the "business as usual" scenario that air travel represents.

We are very conscious that motorcycle riding is not the most environmentally friendly of activities. However, for all the reasons above, we are confident that GOING GLOBAL strives towards sustainability in a way that few other adventures of its kind do.