Responsible tour operator Intrepid Travel, a
certified B Corp that has been carbon-neutral since 2010 and aims to become
climate positive in 2020, has released an open-source document called A 10-Step
Quick Start Guide to Decarbonize Your Travel Business.
Intrepid created the guide as part of its #RebuildResponsibly advocacy work
— which has become a focus while international travel is halted, thanks to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The
new complimentary resource
is meant to provide an easy-to-follow action plan for carbon reduction and
offsetting for tourism businesses, to encourage the industry to rebuild more
sustainably amidst the pandemic.
“The COVID-19 crisis has brought our sector and the global economy to a halt
this year and we would be remiss to not let it be for something good,” said
Intrepid CEO James Thornton. “We shouldn’t be aspiring for things to go
back to
normal
— but rather redefine what normal means and use this period of travel stagnation
to focus on rebuilding our businesses more ethically and sustainably, so that
our earth is preserved for future generations to explore.”
In the months leading up to the coronavirus outbreak, the tourism industry’s
growth was on a steep upward trajectory. But this exponential growth was also
unsustainable; thanks to the pandemic, global tourism imploded practically
overnight. As of April 24, the WTTC
estimated the
pandemic would be responsible for approximately 100.8 million lost jobs and
US$2.7 trillion of GDP.
Intrepid, the world’s largest adventure travel company with a focus on
sustainable travel, says it’s been using this time to think about how we can
rebuild better itself — and use its tools and insights to encourage other
industry operators to emerge from this crisis as more responsible businesses.
Advocating for net zero emissions by 2030 is one of the key areas that Intrepid
has identified as critical to a responsible re-emergence of global travel; along
with ending exploitative wildlife
tourism,
establishing stronger governance and compliance, and empowering communities and
supply
chains.
In the weeks and months ahead, Intrepid says it will continue to roll out
several other initiatives and partnerships to support these areas.
The Quick Start Guide provides a low-barrier way for other travel companies to
get started on their carbon journey by offering straightforward steps — from
understanding how climate change is impacting your business to developing a
carbon management strategy — and using real-world examples from Intrepid to show
how others can implement similar strategies within their own organization.
Learn more about and download A 10-Step Quick Start Guide to Decarbonize Your
Travel Business here.
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published Jul 28, 2020 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST