PARTNER
SUSTAINABILITY HUB
As The Travel Corporation (TTC) and our portfolio of brands continue to move towards achieving our collective sustainability goals, we wouldn’t be able to progress without our partners, who are critical in supporting our journey and enabling us to provide the incredible travel opportunities that we do. We believe that you can support our sustainability journey, and we hope we can support yours, to ensure positive impact in the industry. As a partner of TTC, we appreciate your review of our sustainability goals and efforts to support our commitment where possible.
The following resources are a mix of resources we provide our own teams and resources we have created our partners, to help them easily address sustainability within their own businesses.
CLIMATE
Climate change is directly linked to an increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the atmosphere resulting from human activity. It is all of our responsibility to reduce our emissions as much as possible, and support the global transition to a low-carbon future.
OUR GOALS + GUIDANCE:
GOAL 1: Achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2050
GOAL 2: Secure 50% electricity from renewable sources by 2025
See how we’re doing it:
♦ Climate Action Plan: Guiding our journey to net zero
♦ Carbon Methodology: how we measure our footprint
♦ Partnering with destinations like VisitScotland: jointly addressing trip emissions
♦ Climate Change Handout: distributed to our accommodations partners
HOW YOU CAN HELP US:
Measure the carbon footprint of your business and begin to take steps to reduce it. This may look like:
♦ Securing 100% renewable electricity – talk to your electricity provider to see if this is available in your area or consider installing solar panels
♦ Using the most energy-efficient appliances
♦ Saving on energy – turn off the lights or air conditioners when not in use
♦ Using low-carbon fuels or electric vehicles where possible
♦ Sign the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism
Learn how to measure and reduce your carbon footprint from our partners at VisitScotland.
FOOD
Food is a universal form of sharing that’s central to the travel experience. Unfortunately, the production and disposal of food make up one of the biggest contributors to our global carbon footprint, and at TTC we want to ensure ingredients are both sourced and disposed of in a manner that benefits a region and the world.
OUR GOALS + GUIDANCE:
GOAL 3: Reduce food waste by 50% by 2025
GOAL 4: Increase use of local and organic products across our supply chain by 2025. At TTC we define “local” as any food sourced within 30-50 miles of where it is prepared.
See how we’re doing it:
♦ Uniworld’s Leanpath initiative was featured by the The United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Zero Waste. Learn more here.
♦ Watch this video to see how Leanpath works onboard our Uniworld ships
HOW YOU CAN HELP US:
Reduce food waste at your own business:
♦ Conduct a review of plate waste
♦ Identify the reasons for plate waste
♦ Work with your team to take steps to reduce food waste overall
♦ Find local small scale producers to feature on your menu
♦ Feature seasonal items on your menu
♦ Reduce your menus’ food miles
Learn more about food waste and how you can reduce it
WASTE
The products we purchase and use, and the way in which we generate and dispose of waste is a serious issue. No matter where in the world we are, we must identify ways to reduce our impact, including reducing the use of single-use items such as plastics.
OUR GOALS + GUIDANCE:
GOAL 5: Reduce printed brochures by 50%
GOAL 6: Eliminate as many unnecessary single-use plastics from our operations & itineraries by 2025
See how we’re doing it:
♦ Sustainable Procurement Policy: Guiding responsible purchasing decisions
♦ TTC Tour Brands + AAT Kings are saying ‘no’ to branded merchandise
♦ Single-Use Plastics Handout: distributed to all partners
HOW YOU CAN HELP US:
♦ Offer recycling points and safe water refill stations for travelers
♦ Implement a Sustainable Procurement Policy to ensure you’re supporting local and responsible businesses
♦ Refuse to giveaway branded merchandise that’s often ordered in bulk and wasted
♦ Remove unnecessary single-use plastics from your business and replace them with suitable alternatives
EXPERIENCES
Travel can be life-changing, and those who have the privilege of exploring can gain knowledge, empathy, and understanding for the many ways of living around the world. Travel also has the power to be just as beneficial for the communities, and places we explore, and it is on all of us to ensure that it is.
OUR GOALS + GUIDANCE:
GOAL 7: Include at least 1 MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience on 50% of our itineraries by 2025
See how we’re doing it:
♦ MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Criteria: how we qualify experiences
♦ Watch our MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences come to life in these videos with examples from Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and Ireland.
♦ MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences Handout: distributed to all experience providers
HOW YOU CAN HELP US:
♦ Educating our travelers on sustainability within your destination
♦ Offering immersive impact experiences designed to positively benefit the local community as well as our travelers
DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION
Diversity is the foundation of meaningful travel – we travel to meet different people, hear new perspectives, and experience unique cultures. Embracing and empowering diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is something we must all make a conscious effort towards.
OUR GOALS + GUIDANCE:
GOAL 9: Increase employee & market sentiment regarding diversity & inclusion across our brands
See how we’re doing it:
♦ Our DEI Strategy: addressing our People & Culture, Products & Experiences, and Marketing & Communications
♦ Learn about our internal employee resource group, TTC IDEA
HOW YOU CAN HELP US:
Create a safe and inclusive place for your own workforce and our travelers
♦ Implement a zero-tolerance policy for harassment and discrimination
♦ Promote diversity and eliminate bias
♦ Use inclusive language
♦ Create your own DEI Strategy to cover your workplace, operations and marketing
WILDLIFE
Travel provides unique opportunities to see and learn about the diverse wildlife of our world. However, making educated choices is critical in protecting wildlife and ensuring our travel experiences don’t come at the cost of their wellbeing.
OUR GOALS + GUIDANCE:
GOAL 11: Ensure all wildlife experiences across our brands adhere to our animal welfare policy
See how we’re doing it:
♦ Animal Welfare Policy: based on the Five Domains of Animal Welfare
♦ Bi-annual reviews to ensure all wildlife experiences adhere to our animal welfare policy
♦ All wildlife experiences receive a copy of our Animal Welfare Policy to ensure adherence
♦ Animal Welfare Handout: distributed to all partners
HOW YOU CAN HELP US:
♦ Offering wildlife experiences that are in line with the latest framework for animal welfare, The Five Domains, and in line with our Animal Welfare Policy, based on this framework
♦ Ensure travelers keep a safe distance from all animals and direct interactions do not take place
♦ When on safari remind travelers to not post live locations of wildlife sightings so as to deter poachers who are using social media to locate their targets
Learn more about the optimal conditions for animals using the Five Domains of Animal Welfare
OUR PROGRESS
Our annual Impact Report details progress made by The Travel Corporation’s family of brands against the 11 goals of our 5-year sustainability strategy How We Tread Right, launched in September, 2020. Learn more >
#MAKETRAVELMATTER
MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® is a trademark of The TreadRight Foundation, registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions, and is being used under license.