For decades, World Expeditions Travel Group (WETG) has been recognized as a pioneer in responsible community-based adventure travel. This year, the company took a major leap forward, powered in part by a partnership offered through ATTA’s Membership Sustainability Commitment initiative.
A collaboration between ATTA’s strategic partner ecollective and World Expeditions has allowed the latter to rapidly advance from high-level sustainability aspirations to a data-driven, measurable, and actionable Climate Action Plan.
And behind that progress is the determined work of WETG, whose partnership with ecollective marks a new chapter in how adventure travel brands can meaningfully cut emissions at the source.
From Commitment to Action: Making the Most of ATTA’s Sustainability Partnership
ATTA’s Membership Sustainability Commitment asks members to go beyond pledges and statements, to take tangible, transparent steps toward lowering their environmental footprint. World Expeditions leaned fully into that ethos.
This summer, WETG activated the ATTA / ecollective partnership benefit, gaining access to ecollective’s expert carbon measurement tools and hands-on guidance. The result was immediate momentum.
“We started working with the wonderful Donna,” said the ecollective team. “She absolutely made the most of the ATTA discount.”
Ecollective’s approach is grounded in building strong data foundations. By measuring real emissions from the previous year and drilling down into the carbon footprint of each individual trip, World Expeditions gained clarity on where emissions originate and how to reduce them intelligently.
This data-first approach aligns squarely with ATTA’s belief that sustainability progress must be trackable, comparable, and transparent, not just promised.
A Carbon Label Designed to Inform Travelers and Inspire Teams
One of the most visible outcomes of the collaboration is the rollout of carbon labels across World Expeditions and UTracks trips.
The purpose of the carbon label is twofold:
- Empower travelers with clear insight into the daily carbon footprint of their adventures, enabling them to make more climate-considerate choices.
- Motivate internal innovation, giving WEG trip designers immediate feedback on how itinerary decisions affect emissions, and how to design future trips with even smaller footprints.
The labels represent transparency over perfection. They invite travelers into the process of climate action rather than pretending adventure travel has no footprint.
Donna describes the milestone as transformational:
“The launch of our Climate Action Plan and the rollout of carbon labels across World Expeditions and UTracks marks a critical milestone in our commitment to responsible travel. By giving travellers clear insight into the daily carbon footprint of their adventures, we’re empowering more climate considerate choices and holding ourselves accountable to measurable impact.”
And she emphasizes that more is still to come: “This is just the beginning because all remaining WETG brands will follow before the end of the year.”
Moving Beyond Offsetting to Real Emissions Reduction
One of the most significant shifts enabled by the ATTA–ecollective collaboration is World Expeditions’ move from a traditional offset-based model to actual emissions reduction at the source.
“Our partnership with ecollective has been instrumental in helping us shift from offsetting to actual emissions reduction,” Donna says. “Their expert guidance has ensured our measurements are robust, transparent and actionable. By building strong data foundations, we’re now able to track our progress year-on-year and focus on the real work of reducing emissions at the source.”
That “real work” includes evaluating accommodations, meals, transport choices, energy consumption, and materials used in trip operations - elements that add up to a sizable carbon impact across a global portfolio of adventures.
What the Numbers Show: Adventure Travel Can Be Low-Carbon
One of the most encouraging findings from ecollective’s work with WETG is just how low-carbon a well-designed adventure trip can be. For 2024, World Expeditions calculated an average carbon footprint of just 45 kg CO₂e per customer per night.
For perspective:
- A typical office worker’s daily footprint is around 20 kg CO₂e—without the joy or impact of exploring the world.
- An ocean cruise can average 300 kg CO₂e per person per night, making it one of the most carbon-intensive tourism formats.
Adventure travel, when built intentionally, can be a far more climate-efficient way to experience the world.
A Roadmap for Industry Transformation
World Expeditions’ rapid progress demonstrates what is possible when sustainability commitments are backed by credible partnerships, rigorous data, and internal champions.
It also reveals the importance of ATTA’s member ecosystem. The ATTA–ecollective partnership was not just about cost savings - it accelerated the speed, quality, and depth of WETG’s climate work. It supported a shift away from offsets toward practical emissions reductions, embodied ATTA’s action-oriented sustainability philosophy, and set a precedent for other adventure brands navigating similar transitions.
With all remaining WETG brands scheduled to adopt carbon labels by year-end, World Expeditions is not only meeting ATTA’s Sustainability Commitment, it is helping define what meaningful climate action looks like for the global adventure travel community.