12 Months of Climate Action

At the end of 2021 we declared a climate emergency. We knew that as much as we value overseas travel and the importance of being part of a global community, we couldn’t ignore the impact our actions were having on the environment. It was our responsibility to stand up for the planet in the battle against climate change and join others in the industry to deliver effective climate action.

A year has passed since we took that first step and now we’re reflecting on how far we’ve come and planning for the road ahead, because anyone can talk big and make grand claims but we’re about authentic change and genuine action – the sort of stuff that doesn’t happen overnight, but has long lasting impacts that shape the very essence of who we are as an organisation and what we deliver to our teams.

What We Did First

So, after making our intentions public through Tourism Declares, we went onto become a founding signatory and launch partner of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism – a movement which brings together the latest research and global expertise to galvanise climate action.

With new connections established to a support network of likeminded industry experts, we hit the ground running on our carbon reduction journey by partnering with sustainability consultancy, Positive Planet. Together, we gathered data, measured, and analysed our current impact using recognised GHG Protocol Reporting. This helped us to establish baseline measurements and identify the areas within our business that need the greatest attention which in turn, aided the development of our decarbonisation and reduction strategies.

What We Did Next

Equipped with this new knowledge we set about reducing our footprint, which in the first instance included adapting our ways of working to reduce the need for staff travel, and reliance on an energy-consuming central office. But while reducing our own emissions is key and will be an ongoing piece of work for us, we felt it important that we looked at carbon reduction as a holistic approach – considering too those non-direct emissions associated with our expeditions. A big change for us here, was the announcement to remove avoidable aviation from our trips – banning UK domestic flights from our itineraries. We also made changes to the Outlook Programme to consider the ways we can better educate teams on the ways they can reduce their own footprint – both on expedition and beyond.

A key area of focus for us over the last twelve months has been grappling with the concept of carbon offsetting and whether it’s something we should be doing. It’s a term we hear banded about a lot, and through much research, the controversy around the practice and the uncertainness of its credibility in the future made us wary. While there may have been a small part of us wanting to believe offsetting to be the quick fix to win in the battle against climate change, the reality is that offsetting for us, would feel like paying for our sins by pushing the responsibility to someone else.

What We're Doing Now

Carbon removal is at the top of our agenda as we move into year two of our carbon reduction journey. We’ll be seeking out sustainable alternatives to offsetting that have the potential not only to absorb high levels of carbon, but also support communities through the creation of sustainable livelihoods, and environmental education and awareness.

We’re proud of what we’ve achieved in the last twelve months, but we know we’re just at the start of a long and ever-changing, road ahead. We look forward to the new developments and partnerships we’ll make along the way and will always maintain transparency and honesty with how we share and report on our efforts.

Stay up to date with our progress and latest news on our website.