With their energy efficient light bulbs, home-grown vegetables and bikes for hire, Ross and Janet Anderson are at the forefront of an environmental revolution sweeping through Scotland’s tourism industry.

The couple, who own East Lochhead Country House and Cottages in Renfrewshire, have been working on their green portfolio for the past 10 years. Now the rest of the industry is scrambling to catch up with them and an ambitious campaign by VisitScotland to make the country the world’s first carbon-neutral tourist destination.

The term carbon neutral — a buzzword that has earned itself an entry in the 2007 New Oxford American Dictionary — is the balance between polluting and safeguarding the environment and is measured in units of carbon dioxide.

Increasingly, people talk about reducing their “carbon footprint” in relation to domestic energy use and waste, but the issue is most fervently discussed in relation to travel. Tony Blair tried to highlight his green credentials last week when he announced he would offset carbon emissions from his holiday travel.

But Peter Lederer, chairman of VisitScotland, believes that by going a step further in seeking greener solutions, Scotland could gain a competitive advantage.

“It is more of an aspirational challenge at the moment,” he says. “We are asking tourist businesses what they are doing about their carbon emissions and attempting to start a debate on the topic.”

Ross Anderson is happy to assure his more cautious colleagues their efforts will be rewarded.

“It’s a win-win situation,” he says. “While we attempt to reduce our impact on the environment, we attract more guests. Our turnover has doubled in the past five years.”

VisitScotland insists it will not fly the carbon neutral banner until “it is closer to being a reality”, but work is underway to make it happen.

The Green Business Tourism Scheme, which has 700 members in Scotland, and the Sustainable Tourism Partnership started the ball rolling. Hotels, visitor attractions and tour operators now win points for using low-energy electrical appliances, menus boasting local produce or staff car-share schemes.

“Many businesses have already been awarded a place in the GBTS. However, we need to increase this green growth rate and expand on it,” says Lederer, who is also managing director of the five-star Gleneagles Hotel. “To my mind, tourism is one of the best-placed industries to influence the bigger green picture, because it is present in almost every corner of Scotland.”

There is, though, one glaring contradiction in the plan. How can a country strive towards carbon neutrality while at the same time encouraging more tourists to visit? Among VisitScotland’s objectives is a 20% rise in visitor numbers over the next eight years. Encouraging more people across the border is hardly a recipe for reducing the country’s carbon footprint.

“There does seem to be a hypocrisy in using the status of a carbon neutral country to attract visitors when this would naturally increase energy usage and carbon emission impact,” admits Jen Marsden of New Consumer, the green campaign magazine.

Duncan McLaren, chief executive of Friends of the Earth, agrees. “If VisitScotland is serious about its mission then it must address the transport issue. I would like to see it encouraging tourists to come here on trains and buses rather than planes and cars.”

Lederer, however, insists air travel will continue to be important to Scotland’s tourism industry and he is not about to call for a boycott. Instead, he supports the aviation industry’s efforts to reduce its environmental impact by developing cleaner aircraft and fuel.

He says his organisation has also contributed towards a study looking into the feasibility of providing tourists with the opportunity to offset carbon emissions created by travelling here. Rather than using quick-fix, tree-planting schemes, the study aims to deliver a programme of renewable energy projects.

It’s a vague concept and McLaren is dubious.

“I guess it remains to be seen how all these promises will pan out,” he says. “Carbon emissions are hard to balance out even in one’s own domestic context. But the idea that carbon neutrality is on the agenda has to be a good thing.”

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