CARBON IMPACT REPORTFY 2020/21
" What you do makes adifference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. ”- Dr Jane Goodall,Scientist & Activist
When I co-founded Adventure Tours UK in 2018, it was toshine a spotlight on the UK's wild spaces that I love somuch. But how could we encourage global travel for thebenefits it brings to people and planet, withoutharming either? Responsible travel has been in ourheart from the beginning and our decarbonisationjourney is core to this.We carefully consider every element to deliverauthentic adventures that don't cost the Earth.- Claire Copeman, co-founderWe're taking climate action
we've measured ourcarbon footprintWe worked with carbon consultancy ecollective tocalculate our carbon emissions from 2019 to now. Wemeasured the footprint of everything in our business and divided it by the number of guests to create theaverage carbon footprint per guest:Home WorkingBusiness travelWebsite96kgTour MealsTour AccommodationTour TransfersTour ActivitiesOur vision is for a world where everyone can travel witha smaller and smaller carbon footprint each year. So asour business grows, we'll make sure our average footprintper guest decreases. In FY 2019/20 it was 72kg - this wasabnormally low due to travel restrictions during theCovid lockdowns.FY 2020/21:Our target for FY 2021/22 is 92 kg CO2e per guest.
“Wonderful company, excitingitinerary, lovely people! If youare looking for a fun, lively andhassle-free UK break, thiscompany is your key. TheAdventure North Wales tour wasan adrenalin packed,exhilarating and active holiday.One of the best I have been on." - Alex
2021 2022 2025 2030100 75 50 25 0 WE'RE reducing our impactWe're working hard to reduce our carbon emissions each year to reach net zero by 2030.net zeroMaintaining zero Scope 1 & 2emissions & reducing Scope 3emissions by >50% by 2030Making it easier forcustomers to make bettercarbon choicesWE'RE GOING TO DO THIS BYWorking with our localpartners to join us on adecarbonisation journeyAverage carbon footprint per guest (kg)
>5%WE aim to REDUCEEMISSIONS BY EACH YEAR
WE'VE CREATED sustainable holidaysOur adventures are sustainable by nature. Every part of each trip is designed to have minimal impact on theplanet, from the food you eat on your trip, to the lightswe use in our office.We never knowingly use single-use plastics on our trips.Everyone is given an aluminium bottle on arrival, to usethroughout the trip and beyond. Our packed lunches usepaper bags and other recyclable and reusable wrap.We work with local, independently-owned businesses toensure we support the rural communities we work in. We’vemade a commitment to ensuring at least 80% of the cost ofeach trip remains within the destination.We use sustainable practices in our HQ. As a remote-workingteam, our home offices are totally paperless - there isn't aprinter in sight. We're constantly finding new ways toreduce the impact of our operations, as well as our trips.Our accommodation and catering partners are local peoplewho use local produce, organically produced whereverpossible. Many of our meals are vegetarian, and veganoptions are always available.
A CASE STUDY: WILD WELLNESS RETREATThis 4-day rural escape immerses guests in the peacefulnatural environment around Corwen, North Wales. Almost all activities take place on site and mostingredients for meals are foraged or sourced from thefarm shop only 3 miles away.Daily yoga classes - 0kgStand up paddle boarding - 0kgForaging experience - 0kgStargazing under the dark Welsh skies - 0kg= 22kgPer person8 locally-sourcedmeals, mostlyplant-based 14.9kg3 nights inbeautiful off-grid bell tents0.6kg5.3kgMinibus transferto a localwaterway to SUP+ +(That's 4% of thefootprint of thesame time in aMaldives hotel!)A low-impact holiday by design, it includes:This trip also includes carbon-free activities:
Our priority is to reduce our carbon emissions. Oncewe've done what we can to reduce them, we plant treesto balance the emissions we can't avoid.It's easy to buy cheap offsets that plant trees abroad, butfor us, that just didn't feel right. Founding a local projectthat supports our local community and biodiversity wasreally important to us. We work with the Clwydian Range & Dee Valley AONB toensure that we create a biodiverse habitat, not just amonoculture of trees. This not only absorbs carbon, butalso enriches the local natural environment.In November 2021, we planted 185 trees - a mixture of Birch,Oak, Wild Cherry and Crab Apple, along with a few Hawthornand Holly for shrub cover. Over their lifetime they willsequester around 46,000kg of CO2e - this will mitigate ourcarbon footprint for the last two years (12,000kg of CO2e),more than three times over.Each year we plant a tree for every guest who travels withus - this covers the emissions of their trip (+ some extra),along with enough trees to more than cover our operations.This means we have a net positive impact on the planet andare supporting local wildlife at the same time.WE'RE GROWING A woodlandnature Net positivecreating local woodland
3.8trees planted so far will coverour carbon times over
WHY WE'RE NOT CARBON NEUTRALWe're in a climate crisis and not taking actionisn't an option. That's why the IPCC said we mustreach net zero, and why we must all reduce ouremissions as much as we can.We're committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2030. We're not trying to be carbon neutral. That'sbecause to be carbon neutral certified you don't have toreduce your emissions, you just have to offset them. Thisis not a future-proof solution. There simply aren'tenough carbon offsets to cover current global emissions.Carbon reduction is integral to everything we do atAdventure Tours UK. We've carbon labelled every singleone of our small group tours so that our guests can makeinformed decisions about their holiday choices.We're creating adventures that have a low carbonfootprint by design so that adventuring with us has a positive impact on the planet. A Sustainable solutionmaking travel better for everyone
zeroWE aim to reach net by 2030
THANK YOUThoughts, questions, comments?We love talking about our carbon reductionwork and would be happy to share more details. You can reach us at hello@adventuretoursuk.com We look forward to hearing from you.This pdf had a carbon footprint of 0.6kg CO2e to create.