9 Travel Companies for Eco-Conscious Travellers
The sustainability editor at Condé Nast Traveller, Juliet Kinsman, sums up travel companies using their businesses as a force for good.
Conscious consumers are on the lookout for signposts to help them make more responsible spending decisions. Being B Corporation certified means that a company has gone through a rigorous assessment to earn that distinction on its website or products. What’s the big deal about this badge? The accreditation means that a business considers the impact of its decisions on workers, customers, suppliers, community and the environment – a helpful indicator, it gives a score out of 200 possible points. […].
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Score 121.5
Responsible practices have been woven into every aspect of this lodge in Costa Rica since it opened in 2010. Keen to have this validated by a third party, it’s the only surf camp or yoga retreat with the B Corp seal of approval – and it’s keen for others to catch up. Bodhi's Service and Surf programme in the Ballena Marine National Park shares knowledge and resources with community members, especially the young, in exchange for community service and beach clean-ups.
Score 97
This Switzerland-based host of the NOW Track and Book tool aims to help travellers check into EarthCheck-certified hotels, resorts and lodges while offsetting these escapes. Co-founder Alexa Poortier recognises a crisis of trust in our world and the need for much more accountability and transparency. She works hard to promote the significance of observing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and stresses the need for more businesses to reach net zero.
Score 96.2
The first accommodation platform in the UK to achieve B Corp accreditation, Bristol-based Sawday’s group (which includes glamping directory Canopy & Stars), was founded on principles of social and environmental responsibility. The company is structured in such a way that it's been majority employee-owned since 2018, with a quarter owned by a charitable trust. It aims to plant a million trees by 2025 as part of a drive towards being a carbon-neutral office, plus it ranks high for staff wellbeing and happiness and for making an impressive contribution to local communities.
Score 93.7
The first global volunteer travel specialist to become B Corp certified, this New Zealand-based organisation offers projects in more than 50 destinations, focusing on delivering impact for local communities, wildlife and the environment. It manages and governs the business in a way that has seen it increase its B Impact Score in each audit undertaken since 2015.
Score 87.6
A small bespoke, high-end travel designer set up in 2017, specialising in personalised itineraries. Joro tries to make travelling more sustainable for its clients by communicating the carbon footprint implications of every step, prioritising electric vehicles for transfers, direct flights and the right accommodation choices. It has also founded the Conscious Travel Foundation to support conservation and community projects and to drive change.
Score 86.4
‘The concept of putting people and planet before profit is the future of how we should all be doing business,’ says Paul Cripps, managing director of this Peruvian travel company. ‘It is not easy to become a B Corp but so worthwhile. Every year we strive to get better, especially as you need to recertify every three years with a higher score – it’s not a one-off certification, but an evolving one.’ Having arranged Machu Picchu-pegged itineraries for three decades, Amazonas aims to work only with like-minded hotels and suppliers, and it’s taking all its tours carbon neutral by offsetting into a carbon sink in Manú National Park in southern Peru.
Score 82.7
The world’s largest adventure travel company, which has its headquarters in Australia, was the first global travel firm to achieve B Corp status. James Thornton, its CEO, recognises that although there are hundreds of certification schemes in travel, few take a holistic view of impact in the way that B Corp does. ‘It took us three years to become certified, a painstaking process that has fundamentally changed the way we do business,’ he says. ‘But having that certification means that people who travel with us trust that we’re fully committed to benefitting people and the planet.’
Score 81.5
Socially responsible sub-Arctic explorations in Canada’s North, where the cast of characters includes polar bears and beluga whales, with a backdrop of the Northern Lights.
Score 81.2
Spain, Portugal and Latin America await via this Brighton-based travel operator. It also measures the carbon footprint of your entire foray, which is offset through reforesting in the poorest part of Nicaragua.
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This is an excerpt from an article originally written by Juliet Kinsman and published by Condé Nast Traveller.
