The Future Action Plan
Actions speak louder than words.
As well as having a strong, demonstrable commitment to responsible travel, we ask all prospective members what targets, plans and goals they have set for the next few years which will help their operations to further:
- benefit local communities and minimise environmental impacts
- advance their sustainable development and/or conservation mission.
These short bullet points are listed on their company profile. We will contact every member once a year to discuss how they are progressing with their goals. When they feel they have met one of these goals, on provision of sufficient evidence, we will tick it off the list.
With 'greenwashing' an ever present danger, this helps us and visitors be confident that our members are continually working towards a more sustainable future.
Applicants: some tips for setting the goals:
- Consider all aspects of your operations - energy, water, waste, resource use, travel plans, local environmental protection, sourcing of products and services, local economic, cultural and social issues/requirements.
- Be specific. Try and set measurable targets/goals. For example, rather than simply 'reduce energy consumption/water usage', how much energy/water you want to save, and by when. Having a specific goal will help you meet it. It also helps us monitor the goals.
- Lots of small, easily achievable goals can make a big difference.
- Do also include larger projects and new initiatives you want to develop, even if they may take several years to implement fully. Please try and provide a target date for completion/launch.
- Every member is different. They should be specific to your operations and the needs of your local area.
- Making these goals can help focus your responsible travel/sustainability strategy.
You may feel there is very little you can do to improve right now. That is great, feel free to say that!
If you are not sure what to do, our sustainability best practice guidelines may give you some ideas of things you could work on. We are also happy to chat about this to help you set your goals.
We also have an approachable 1 hour phone sustainability consultancy service. Together we can look at ways to cut cost, go greener and write a detailed sustainability policy for your business.
