As part of its ongoing commitment to sustainable travel, adventure travel specialist World Expeditions has expanded its carbon neutral travel initiative to include every trip across its global range.
From 1 November, 2019, World Expeditions travellers will be travelling sustainably on each of the company’s hundreds of itineraries, with the company pledging to absorb the cost of credits to offset emissions as its commitment to being part of the solution to the climate crisis.
Since late 2018, World Expeditions has mitigated emissions produced on its Asian range and the new, expanded ‘positive impact’ initiative fulfils the company’s ambition to have the entire range carbon neutral by 2020.
World Expeditions’ active adventures have long tended to have a light environmental footprint because the company minimizes carbon emissions in the product development phase by designing trips that travel less by road and air and more under travellers’ own steam, with low carbon accommodation preferred.
World Expeditions Responsible Travel Manager, Donna Lawrence, said the Positive Impact Travel initiative is consistent with the company’s commitment to adhering to the highest standards of sustainable travel on every level of operations.
“We’re delighted to directly support positive impacts in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” Ms Donna Lawrence said. “With the UN Climate Summit occurring on 23 September, this is the perfect time to be making the announcement,” she said.
World Expeditions has purchased credits in the following projects: Bac Lieu Wind Energy project, Vietnam, which produces clean and affordable wind energy; Myamyn Conservation Project, Tasmania, which protects ancient forest and ensures biodiversity in Victoria’s lowland forests; Kariba REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) and forest protection, Zimbabwe, which conserves forest and protects wildlife; and Huoshui Grouped Small Hydropower, China, which provides clean energy for remote mountain communities.
These projects deliver real benefits aligned with the aims of the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Together, these projects address Sustainable Development Goals #1 No poverty; #4 Quality education; #5 Gender equality; #6 Clean water and sanitation; #7 Affordable and clean energy; #8 Decent work and economic growth; #13 Climate action; and #15 Life on land.
World Expeditions is committed to ensuring its entire adventure travel range has a positive global impact and is well known for its work bringing tourism to impoverished communities in various regions as a way of reducing poverty. It is the only company, for example, to operate Nepal’s Great Himalaya Trail, a 150 day traverse across Nepal which brings tourism dollars to remote communities, who have no access to income from other sources.
The company regularly introduces new trips to disaster-affected and impoverished regions, such as Kerala in South India, remote Peruvian communities and to countries like Jordan and Ethiopia, where employment opportunities through tourism can make an enormous difference to standards of living.
World Expeditions is the founding partner of 10 Pieces, a litter minimization and education lobby, which helps supports SDG #13 Climate Action, through traveller engagement. It’s Rebuild Nepal Program continues to support the redevelopment of classrooms across remote mountain communities affected by the 2015 earthquakes.
World Expeditions’ Youth Brand, World Youth Adventures, provides service leaning programs for schools across the globe, arming students with experiential learning opportunities that shape them into global citizens and the charity brand, Huma Challenge, has raised more than $6 million dollars for charity.