A typical medium-sized family car generates around 24 tons of carbon dioxide over its entire lifetime, according to a report by the UK’s Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership. Meanwhile, an electric vehicle only produces around 18 tons. Although switching to an environmentally-friendly vehicle helps reduce your carbon footprint, your emissions can still add up when hitting the open road for your next vacation. It’s probably not possible to completely eliminate your carbon emissions, but there are ways to drastically reduce it while traveling this summer. Here’s how to get started:

Offset Your Carbon Emissions

Travel booking engine Expedia reports that a typical round trip flight produces about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per passenger. Driving may reduce your footprint over flying, but it still negatively impacts the environment. If you can’t eliminate your emissions, purchase carbon offsets from a reputable company like CarbonFund.org, which supports technologies for cleaner air like planting trees and contributing to windmill farms. Instead of reducing your own emissions, you’re eliminating the same amount of emissions somewhere else in the world by funding various environmentally-friendly projects.

Find a Pedestrian-Friendly Destination

Plan your trip to a pedestrian-friendly destination so you can park the car while you’re vacationing. New York City, San Francisco, Washington D.C. and Chicago all offer alternative transportation like subway and streetcar services, which burn cleaner fuels and transport more people than a single vehicle can. Public transportation can also be significantly cheaper than dealing with parking fees, gas and toll roads.

Or if you want to get back in touch with nature, pick a destination to go hiking and pitch a tent or stay in a cabin to further reduce your carbon footprint.

Get New Tires

The type of tires you use can make a big impact on the environment. Switch to Continental Tires’ ProContact ECOPlus to help boost your car’s efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint. You can order these from TireBuyer.comfor easy shipping and installation. The tires are designed with durable treads and responsive handling to maneuver in inclement weather. Better handling can also help reduce your need to brake and accelerate heavily, which helps with your gas consumption, emission production and potential car accidents.

Once you choose the perfect tires, remember to keep them well maintained and in good shape. Simply keeping your tires well inflated can save you $50 per year on fuel costs, according to Environment America. And CarbonFund.org claims that you can save up to 700 pounds of CO₂emissions with well-inflated tires. Regular maintenance is a good rule of thumb for your entire car to help keep everything running efficiently and reduce the amount of fuel you burn.

Team up With a Friend

Instead of driving solo across the country, ask a friend or family member to pick a joint-destination vacation. This way you reduce your carbon footprint and save money on everything from fuel to lodging. Rent an electric or hybrid car together to further reduce your emissions. Use a site like ChargePoint to find electric fueling stations across the country. Many cities and public parking lots also offer free charging stations for electric vehicles, saving you time and money to charge while you enjoy your vacation.

Thanks to Cherie from Social Monsters for this post. If you have any article that you think  might be of interest to our viewers please email gavin.munro@efergy.com