As seen on
YellowWood Adventures Declares a Climate Emergency
We firmly believe in the benefits of Responsible Travel; an opportunity to be educated, to contribute directly to local communities, and to appreciate and be inspired by the wonders of the world and the diversity of individuals within it.
As a small company practicing Responsible and Sustainable Travel, we are proud of the choices that we have had the flexibility to make, in how we run our itineraries: Small groups, camping or small hotel accommodation, use of eco resorts, local restaurants, and including learning about local projects and charities as part of our itineraries. There is however, always more that can be done and our Climate Emergency Plan is to continue to improve and to more accurately measure our Carbon Footprint.
We fully acknowledge the fact that, in offering mouth watering itineraries in remote destinations, we are actively promoting flying as a form of transport and this is a serious area of concern for us, as it will be to our partners in the Travel Industry. Aviation currently contributes about 2% of the world’s global carbon emissions (IATA figures).
We would like to join Tourism Declares, launched in January 2020, to come together with other organisations working within the industry, to declare a climate emergency and with those partners, to make the following commitments:
- Develop a Climate Emergency Plan, to be adopted within 12 months.
- Share our Public Declaration and updates on progress against our targets each year.
- Cut Carbon Emissions: We accept current Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) advice stating the need to cut global carbon emissions to 55% below 2017 levels by 2030 to keep the planet within 1.5 degrees of warming.
- To Work Together and Share Best Practice, and actively participate in the Tourism Declares community.
- To Advocate for Change, both within our industry and further afield.
Climate Emergency Plan
- To increase our awareness of best practice and strategies in the industry that may enable us to cut carbon emissions, through membership of Tourism Declares, as well as personal research and networking. To watch and learn from the larger partners in the industry, but not being afraid to forge our own way forwards, as small operators often have more flexibility to do.
- Trees remove CO2 from the atmosphere and reverse global warming. Global Deforestation is a serious contributor to climate change. YellowWood Adventures promotes the restoration of forests for the benefit of the climate, people and the planet overall. We commit to making a donation to WeForest for each of our clients, that will see 15 trees planted and maintained/client or YellowWood guide undertaking international flights.
- We recognise the need to more accurately measure our Carbon Emissions, so as to be able to transparently demonstrate and inform our clients, and our partners, as to the impact of our itineraries. We will research and implement a sustainable system of measurement in 2020.
- We will continue to offer itineraries with a lower carbon footprint by using smaller, locally run accommodation and eco resorts, plus camping options. We will continue to prioritise restaurants that use locally sourced food.
- We will continue to focus on itineraries where our legs do a lot of the travel… we will promote walking and hiking as a way of experiencing a country!
- We will develop and launch a European itinerary in 2020 and will actively promote over-land transport as a means of travel to that destination.
- With our local partners, we will in turn, analyse each of our itineraries with a focus on making improvements that will cut carbon emissions.
- We commit to continue to promote and practice Responsible Tourism through the style and content of our adventure itinerary and by being true to Our Ethos.
- We will further develop the work we have just begun on Worthwhile Travel – facilitating our clients being able to learn more about the issues facing the country they are exploring, and being able to give something back through the support of local charitable organisations and projects.
- We commit to reducing single use plastic on our adventures, working with Pure Hydration to introduce our clients to Reusable Water Filtration System bottles that provide healthy clean water whilst also benefitting the environment.
- We, and our local ‘in country’ partners will work with our clients to educate them on how they can reduce the impact of travel, through taking personal responsibility. We will facilitate an increased awareness of local environmental and socio-cultural factors.
- We will publish a bi-annual Newsletter that shows our progress towards the targets stated here.
“To do good, you actually have to do something.”
