Environmental responsibility is becoming an increasingly important factor for conscious travelers. Luxury resorts are undergoing a green revolution, with Solmar Hotels & Resorts, Majestic Hotel & Spa and Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts leading the way.
Environmental responsibility is becoming an increasingly important factor for conscious travelers. Luxury resorts are undergoing a green revolution, with Solmar Hotels & Resorts, Majestic Hotel & Spa, and Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts leading the way. Forget the outdated image of luxury travel harming the environment – these resorts are proving you can have an unforgettable experience while minimizing your carbon footprint. Here are five ways these resorts are making every day Earth Day:
1. Endangered Species Conservation: Resorts are actively contributing to wildlife preservation. For example, Solmar Hotels & Resorts in Baja California participate in sea turtle protection programs, while Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts in the Dominican Republic focuses on reforestation and native plant restoration. These efforts ensure a healthy environment for future generations.
2. Waste Management and Reduction: Responsible waste management is paramount. Initiatives like recycling programs (including Solmar‘s unique Plastic Bottle Cap Bank that benefits children with cancer) and partnerships with certified waste disposal companies are becoming standard practice. These programs demonstrate a commitment to minimizing environmental footprint.
3. Third-Party Sustainability Certifications: Luxury goes beyond aesthetics. Resorts such as Barcelona’s Majestic Hotel & Spa hold certifications like ISO 14001, an internationally recognized standard for environmental management systems. These certifications provide independent verification of a resort’s commitment to sustainability.
4. Sustainable Operations Beyond Guest Areas: Environmental responsibility extends beyond the immediate guest experience. Solmar Golf Links’ Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program certification exemplifies how even golf courses can be eco-friendly. This program ensures courses are designed and maintained with minimal environmental impact while offering exceptional playing conditions.
5. Environmental Education and Community Engagement: Spreading awareness is critical. Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts‘ environmental education programs target guests, staff, and local communities. These initiatives foster a culture of sustainability that has a lasting impact beyond the resort itself.
By prioritizing these key initiatives, luxury resorts can offer guests an exceptional experience while safeguarding the environment for the future.
Bespoke travel specialist Audley Travel firmly believes that carefully planned travel creates local jobs, supports conservation projects and shares stories – which all contribute to memorable travel experiences for clients.
Audley’s Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Framework (launched in 2021) has guided many of the business’ actions in the past year – and will continue to do so. Audley was delighted to receive the silver World Responsible Tourism Award for Decarbonising Travel & Tourism at the end of 2022, which acknowledged its efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
Audley’s ESG Framework
The ESG Framework identifies five key areas (the environment, workplace, communities, market place and governance) in which the business has set 36 goals and annual targets which are either aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals or with Audley’s internal priorities. The targets form a long-term journey where small sustainable steps over extended periods of time continue to deliver change to benefit the communities in Audley’s destinations.
2022 progress
Building on 2021’s achievements, Audley has made strong progress against its 2022 ESG targets with 33 of the 36 met, and the remaining three being a continued focus for 2023. Highlights of the achievements include:
Responsibleproduct – Audley continued to review its offering to identify sustainable product that goes beyond above and beyond to give back to local communities and the environment, with 133 additional accommodation and experiences meeting the operator’s assessment criteria and having a particularly positive impact (taking the total to 158). Audley’s goal is to use this work to offer clients more sustainable choices to make the most of the positive impact they have when they travel.
Employee volunteering – Employees dedicated over 2,296 hours to volunteering in 2022 with 57 per cent of staff donating at least half a day (exceeding the target of 40 per cent).
Insight – As part of its commitment to a goal to support education for all, Audley’s Insight initiative uses the knowledge of employees and suppliers to support young people exploring career opportunities in the travel industry. Two sessions were run in Boston as well as two in London and one in Witney (UK) as reaching 112 students from populations historically shut out of the industry.
Long term carbon strategy – Audley’s long term carbon reduction work continues, with the operator taking on its biggest challenge yet: calculating the carbon footprints of clients’ trips. The bespoke nature of Audley’s trips meant this wasn’t an easy task. Working closely with carbon reduction consultant, ecollective, Audley calculated that 98.4 percent of its total carbon footprint comes from Scope 3 emissions and roughly 90 percent of total emissions come from client travel. With ecollective’s support, Audley has identified ways to reduce emissions with a goal of reducing the carbon footprint of an Audley trip on a per person, per night basis. Audley has also submitted carbon reduction targets to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
Heather Magnussen, Responsible Travel & Sustainability Manager at Audley Travel, says: “Responsible travel has always been part of Audley’s DNA and we remain committed to preserving and restoring the environments and communities our clients visit. This is a long-term journey for us and we will continue to develop and build on the progress made so far throughout this next year, and beyond.”
SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA (April 22, 2022)—Sonoma County Tourism (SCT), as part of its continued commitment to fostering sustainable practices within its destination, is unveiling several stewardship initiatives in recognition of Earth Day.
“Commemorating Earth Day through the launch of these initiatives is just another step in building Sonoma County as a sustainable tourism destination,” said Claudia Vecchio, CEO, Sonoma County Tourism. “We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with Sonoma County Regional Parks and Leave No Trace as well as introduce new programs that help ensure Sonoma County is a pristine destination for generations to come.”
Leave No Trace Partnership Elevated
Sonoma County Tourism and Sonoma County Regional Parks announce today its joint Sonoma County Leave No Trace Coalition Toolkit. The toolkit, developed in collaboration with the national Leave No Trace organization, contains physical and digital assets for land managers and hospitality businesses to promote practices designed to prevent environmental impacts in parks, preserves, and other outdoor recreation locations. Additionally, Sonoma County Tourism and Sonoma County Regional Parks have released its Leave No Trace Five Year Stewardship Action Framework. The framework describes the imperatives of the initiative and outlines the activities required to achieve key priorities, along with a set of outcomes to monitor progress.
Sonoma County Tourism, which entered its partnership with Sonoma County Regional Parks and Leave No Trace early last year, is extending its license with Leave No Trace to the neighboring counties of Marin and Mendocino. This new three-county group will work with Leave No Trace to address coastal trash and litter – developing shared goals and a uniform message to apply along the Northern California coastline.
Rewards For Rubbish Launched
Sonoma County Tourism announced the launch of a litter collection program in cooperation with the Russian River Confluence. The program, titled “Rewards for Rubbish” incentivizes volunteers to collect litter in exchange for treats and prizes. Participating businesses issue volunteers supplies to collect litter. Volunteers then pick up trash, returning the filled bags to the business in exchange for a small reward. Sonoma County Tourism provides all materials and incentives. Businesses interested in joining the Rewards for Rubbish program are encouraged to email [email protected].
Adopt-A-Road County-wide Adoption
Sonoma County Tourism’s commitment to litter reduction extends to its adoption of five one mile stretches of road throughout Sonoma County. Its three-year agreement with Sonoma County Transportation and Public Works sees SCT hold a minimum of 10 roadside cleanups a year spanning all five supervisorial districts. An Earth Day roadside cleanup will be held at SCT’s adopted road in Penngrove.
Carbon Offset Calculator Now Available
To contribute to the vital work of global climate action, SCT is inviting visitors to help the destination reach carbon neutrality by offsetting carbon emissions from their Sonoma County experience. Sonoma County Tourism has partnered with Sustainable Travel International (STI) to integrate its new carbon calculator on sonomacounty.com. After determining the carbon emissions from their trip, visitors can easily acquire carbon offsets from Sustainable Travel International. Doing so provides visitors with a personalized certificate verifying the amount of CO2 offset, with their dollars going towards meaningful climate projects that meet the most rigorous standards for carbon offsetting.
Upcoming Projects
Sonoma County Tourism’s involvement with Sustainable Travel International extends to an upcoming documentary series in association with Sublime magazine and Zinc Media Group. Filming this spring, Sonoma County will be featured in “Sustainable Travel: Where Next?” an immersive documentary series that investigates the real impact that tourism has on the destinations and communities people visit, showcasing stories of conservation, regeneration, and empowerment. The series will make its debut on World Tourism Day in September 2022.
As previously reported, Sonoma County Tourism recently joined the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC®). Membership with GSTC® provides Sonoma County Tourism with valuable resources as it moves through its destination master plan. Sonoma County is currently undergoing an extensive assessment from GSTC, the results of which will help Sonoma County on its path to become a certified sustainable destination.
Stewardship and Sustainability remain at the forefront of everything Sonoma County Tourism does. As the nation’s first Destination Stewardship Organization, located in the most sustainable wine region in the world, SCT strives to create and adopt best practices aimed at protecting and preserving our destination for generations to come. To learn more about SCT’s commitment to sustainability, visit sonomacounty.com/sustainable.
Xigera Safari Lodge, part of TTC’s Red Carnation Hotel Collection, is powered by a Tesla solar-hybrid system which supplies more than 95% of the lodge’s energy needs.
The Travel Corporation is celebrating Earth Day 2021 with a declaration that TTC and its family of brands are implementing a five-step Climate Action Plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, and support their continued efforts to achieve the organization’s sustainability goals.
To further support the transition to a low-carbon future, TTC and its TreadRight Foundation are investing in two nature-based carbon removal solutions, Project Vesta and GreenWave. TreadRight has also launched a new Impact Hub in an effort to be transparent as to progress made at TTC and its family of brands against the groups’ 11 sustainability goals, while also providing tips to travelers on how they can help.
“As members of the global travel industry, The Travel Corporation (TTC) recognizes its role and responsibility in creating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through its trips and operations. The need for both travelers and businesses to take action to address GHG emissions and climate change becomes clearer and more urgent every day,” the company stated.
Climate change is directly linked to an increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the atmosphere, of which globally, a reported 51 billion tons of GHG emissions are emitted annually. TTC’s Climate Action Plan addresses Goals #1 and #2 of its five-year sustainability strategy, How We Tread Right, which target the carbon footprint of its business.
Respectively, the goals commit to becoming carbon neutral by 2030 and to sourcing 50% of electricity from renewable sources across the organization by 2025. This includes TTC’s 20+ offices, 18 Red Carnation Hotels, 13 Uniworldships, six accommodations/facilities, 500+ vehicles and more than 1,500 itineraries operated worldwide by its 40 award-winning brands including Contiki, Trafalgar, Insight Vacations and Uniworld.
Since the launch of its first sustainability strategy in 2015, TTC has invested in energy conservation and reducing its environmental impact across its portfolio of brands. This new Climate Action Plan builds on TTC’s progress made to-date and its commitment to continual improvement. Advancements to date include the installation of solar panels in 2020 at the Uniworld head office in Encino, California, the implementation of a 400kW Tesla plant supplying over 95% of Xigera Safari Lodge’s energy, which opened December 2020 as part of the Red Carnation Hotel Collection and the recent shift to 100% renewable electricity by Contiki’s Chateau De Cruix and Haus Schöneck as well as Red Carnation Hotel’s Ashford Castle, which sits on a 350-acre property.
Looking forward, TTC has committed to carbon neutral offices and business travel beginning January 1, 2022, through its partnership with offset provider South Pole. On the same timeline, Contiki will move a step ahead to become a completely carbon neutral business, meaning unavoidable emissions from all trips departing as of January 1, 2022 will be offset going forward.
“Our TTC Climate Action Plan is not marked by one quick fix, because there isn’t one. It is marked with the need to act now, to learn and adapt as technology and innovation support our need to transition to a low-carbon business,” stated Brett Tollman, Chief Executive of The Travel Corporation. “There is much debate as to the right approach when it comes to decarbonizing travel and tourism, and our position is that this must be a process that begins now and commits to evolving as the solutions continue to improve and become available to us.”
The Travel Corporation’s Climate Action Plan consists of five points:
Measure – Measure the emissions from our business and trips.
Reduce – Build on reduction efforts and set ambitious reduction targets by mid-2022.
Remove – Through our TreadRight Foundation, invest in new technology and nature-based solutions to remove excess carbon from the atmosphere.
Offset – Purchase carbon credits to offset unavoidable emissions, including phasing in carbon neutral trips between 2022 – 2030.
Evolve – Continue to learn from others, invest in new technologies and support strategic alliances that enable us and the industry to move to a low carbon economy.
TTC’s TreadRight Foundation will action step three of its Climate Action Plan in 2021, through an investment of $100,000 USD into two developing permanent carbon removal projects. Project Vesta aims to accelerate the natural process of weathering to permanently store carbon into rock. GreenWave is studying how kelp can be added to soil to increase its carbon storage potential, while decreasing harmful nitrous oxide emissions on regenerative farms.
“Carbon removal and carbon capture technologies are deeply promising and showing signs of acceleration,” noted Shannon Guihan, Chief TreadRight & Sustainability Officer of The Travel Corporation. “It’s important now, more than ever, that we support science-based pilot projects to explore every possible solution, in addition to reducing our emissions and purchasing verified carbon offsets from our partner South Pole,” she added.
To share its sustainability strategy, efforts and impact, as well as to guide consumers and travelers on addressing their own carbon footprint, TTC has launched a new sustainabilityImpact Hub. Learn more at Impact.TreadRight.org.
Contiki Holidays is marking Earth Day 2021 with the announcement it will be going 100% carbon neutral by 2022 – as part of its new five-point Climate Action Plan which also commits to carbon reductions and evolving to support the transition to a low-carbon future.
A leader in youth travel since 1962, Contiki recognizes the need for both travelers and travel businesses to take action on climate change and address its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and has appointed a new Sustainability Officer, Tasha Hayes, to lead the way.
About her new role, Tasha Hayes says, “With our How We Tread Right sustainability strategy, the evolution of Contiki Cares, and now becoming carbon neutral it made sense to have a front person for Contiki’s great sustainability initiatives. During my time with Contiki I’ve always championed sustainability and looked at ways we could do better both on the road and in the office. Contiki becoming carbon neutral is massive, and it’s the perfect opportunity for me to support this direction, as someone who can oversee and monitor to make sure we stay on track to achieving the ambitious goals we have set out.”
As the world prepares to open up to begin traveling again, Contiki Holidays lights the way forward for the travel industry, committing to being carbon neutral by January 1, 2022; this will include investing in carbon credits from offset provider South Pole. This means that all Contiki trips from 2022 will be carbon neutral trips. And travelers won’t need to reach into their own pockets to fund the carbon credits: the cost to offset every trip is being covered by Contiki.
Contiki’s five-point Climate Action Plan is being announced in celebration of Earth Day 2021, as part of its sustainability strategy, How We Tread Right. The Climate Action Plan supports Goals #1 and #2 of the strategy, which targets the carbon footprint of the business – seeing Contiki commit to becoming carbon neutral by 2022, and also to sourcing 50 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2025.
To further support the transition to a low-carbon future, Contiki is investing in two developing, nature-based carbon removal solutions, Project Vesta and GreenWave.
“Carbon removal and carbon capture technologies are deeply promising,” notes Adam Armstrong, Contiki CEO. “It’s important to us that we support the science developing around every possible solution, in addition to reducing our emissions and purchasing verified carbon offsets. It’s equally exciting to have Tasha on board to lead this for us, the next phase of Contiki Cares.” he added.
The five points of the Climate Action Plan include reducing emissions and setting ambitious reduction targets by mid-2022; and offsetting unavoidable emissions by partnering with leading offset provider, South Pole, to purchase carbon credits from a combination of three meaningful carbon offset projects. These offsetting projects include Gold Standard and Verified Carbon Standard projects to guarantee carbon reductions are made, while offering co-benefits that positively impact local communities: Forest Conservation in Australia, Biogas Energy in Thailand, and Renewable Energy in the USA.
The idea of sustainable and conscious travelisn’t new to Contiki – the new Climate Action Plan builds on progress made to date and its commitment to continual improvement. Since the launch of its first sustainability strategy in 2015, Contiki has invested in energy conservation and worked to actively reduce its environmental impact. Now, Contiki’s Chateau de Croix and Haus Schöneck properties are powered by 100% renewable energy and it uses the most fuel-efficient Euro 6 coaches throughout Europe, while coaches in other regions meet or exceed efficiency standards. This year has seen the launch of more ‘staycation’ trips that remove the need for long-haultravel, alongside lower-carbon footprint ‘by rail’ itineraries, a new vegan itineraryand options for lower-emission vegan and vegetarian meals on all trips. Contiki is also working with partners to increase the use of local food productsto reduce food transport emissions and is assessing the use of biofuels for coacheswithin Europe.
“Our TTC Climate Action Plan is not marked by one quick fix, because there isn’t one,” said Melissa DaSilva, President. “It is marked with the need to act now, to learn and adapt as technology and innovation support our need to transition to a low-carbon business. There is much debate as to the right approach when it comes to decarbonizing travel and tourism, and our position is that this must be a process that begins now and commits to evolving as the solutions continue to improve and become available to us”.
“Ignoring the climate crisis won’t make it go away. Our Climate Action Plan is our commitment to learn and adapt as the world moves closer to a lower carbon economy, a goal we care passionately about,” said Tasha Hayes, Sustainability Officer. “It’s in keeping with our philosophy that travelling sustainability and consciously, matters – and we know young people are conscious of and care about sustainability more than ever. Young people will always want to travel – it’s their rite of passage – so it’s our responsibility as a leading travel provider to provide experiences that respect the people, planet, and wildlife that our travelers encounter along the way, and align with our own sustainability goals. This is why it’s so important for Contiki to be making this commitment from 2022 onwards to offer only carbon neutral trips. I’m so proud of our team who has made this a reality, and I’m hopeful that we’re finding ways for the next generation of travelers to continue to travel responsibly”.
To share its sustainability strategy, efforts and impact, as well as to guide consumers and travelers on addressing their own carbon footprint, Contiki has published its Climate Action Plan on its website, http://www.contiki.com
