The Travel Corporation (TTC) has released its first official Impact Report, detailing the progress of its 41 brands against its 11 sustainability goals launched in September 2020. “How We Tread Right (HWTR), TTC’s current five-year sustainability strategy, was built to ensure all TTC’s brands, including Trafalgar, Insight, and Contiki, are advancing their shared ethos to “Make Travel Matter.”

In the 15 months since the launch of its sustainability strategy, the global tour operator says it has been working tirelessly towards its 11 goals, which are anchored to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs). The Impact Report highlights the cumulative progress made thus far as the company seeks to “shape a brighter future for the travel industry, the local people, and communities it visits, the planet and wildlife.”

“This first, and future Impact Reports, enable us to evaluate the progress we’re making as a company as well as individual brands, so we can track our increasing achievements and acknowledge the areas that need more work,” says Shannon Guihan, TTC’s chief sustainability officer.

“Our sustainability strategy, ‘How We Tread Right,’ was carefully designed to enable meaningful measurements with a clear focus on action,” she says. “We are singularly focused on the success of these actions on the issues we aim to address and recognize that our impact can only be understood through measurement and transparency.”

TTC says it recognizes the growing expectation from guests across global markets who want to make responsible choices and travel more sustainably, including supporting local communities and reducing environmental impacts, and that travellers are seeking a meaningful holiday experience with the guidance of a knowledgeable travel advisor.

“With the upcoming Stockholm+50 international environmental conference convened by the United Nations General Assembly, issues including climate change, sustainable food production and animal welfare are global issues which require urgent action,” adds Brett Tollman, Chairman of The Travel Corporation.

“In sharing our blueprint to do better, we hope to engage our industry to join the fight against these critical planetary challenges, as it’s only in working together with clear intent that we can truly make travel a force for good and safeguard our planet for future travellers,” he says.

TTC and its 41 brands address sustainability in two key ways: through HWTR, its sustainability strategy featuring 11 SMART goals; and its Treadright Foundation, which supports the advancement of these goals through giving.

Key takeaways from the Impact Report highlighting cumulative progress against TTC’s 11 sustainability goals from September 2020 through December 2021 include:

Planet

• Developed net zero targets aligned with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), currently under review and will be shared later in 2022.

• Contiki, Radical Travel Group’s HAGGiS Adventures, and Highland Explorer Tours announced their carbon neutral trips as of Jan 1, 2022.

• Sourced 28% of their global electricity needs from renewable sources.

• Switched nine additional properties to 100% renewable electricity.

• Reduced food waste by 39% at 12 Red Carnation Hotels.

• Introduced food waste management systems at 30% of hotels and Uniworld ships.

• Reduced printed brochures by 88% from 2019.

People

• Introduced 554 Make Travel Matter Experiences across TTC itineraries, educational experiences designed to advance the UNSDGs, which positively impact and support the people and communities they visit.

• In 2021, 51% of all TTC itineraries had at least one Make Travel Matter Experience, surpassing the goal set to reach 50% by 2025.

• Offered 65 TTC itineraries visiting 110 developing regions.

Wildlife

• Assessed 400-plus wildlife experiences to ensure 100% compliance with the company’s Animal Welfare Policy.