Sustainability Policy

MISSION STATEMENT

Our company is committed to promote sustainability based on five main actions:

• Awaken a sense of wonder, respect and belonging to the natural world.
• Maximise positive impacts and minimise negative impacts of our operations.
• Participate in the protection and improvement of the environment.
• Take an active part, encourage cooperation with local communities.
• Promote and spread respect for environmental and social values.

This policy applies to all our activities, from management to the executive level of our company. Staff are expected to fully uphold objectives under this policy. We commit to educate suppliers and partners of our policy and encourage them to align operating practices with policy objectives.

This policy outlines what we have already managed, what we are currently doing, and what we hope to achieve in the future. It defines practices at the core of our product development, operations, and external partner relationships. It is a work in progress for everyone in our company.

SUSTAINABILITY IN THE COMPANY

RESOURCES AND MONITORING

• The company ensures designated human resources to improve sustainability practices and to promote sustainability related activities.
• The company uses the Travelife platform to report on our sustainability progress and to monitor and evaluate progress.
• We commit to communicating to the public our sustainability performance every one year.
• We follow all local, regional, national, and international regulations as they relate to human resources, human rights, children’s rights, land rights, environmental management, wildlife, and land use.
• We include a zero-tolerance policy for corruption, bribery, forced labour, and discrimination.
• We work on an adaptive sustainability action plan with clear targets, actions, measures, responsibilities, and time planning.
• We collaborate and engage with stakeholders for collective action towards sustainable tourism.
• We communicate with the staff, public and partners about sustainability steps undertaken by our company.
• We take a feedback mechanism in place to continually improve upon sustainability targets and action.

INTERNAL MANAGEMENT

STAFF AND GUIDES

We recognize that fostering employee satisfaction means building a more engaged workforce and delivering meaningful travel experiences to our customers.

• We comply with national laws in all regards (contract conditions, compensation, health and safety policy).
• We organise periodic staff meetings for feedback, guidance, training and personal development.
• We offer our employees national and international training opportunities in all regards.
• We commit to hiring preferentially local qualified (and licensed) guides or other staff.
• We ensure our employees understand our goals and are accountable for the implementation of our sustainable policies.
• We make sure employees are informed about appropriate behaviours towards customers.

ENVIRONMENT

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT OF OFFICE OPERATIONS

We are committed to managing environmental impact as an integral part of our operations.

ENERGY

• Our office follows a “switch off” policy and all staff are responsible for.
• We use energy saving light bulbs (LED) across the whole office and only switch on lights when really necessary.
• All equipment and lighting are energy-efficient and turned off/unplugged/on sleep mode when not in use.
• We lower the temperature of our thermostat by just a couple of degrees, keep doors and windows closed when heating is on.

WATER

Tap water

• Our office is connected to the municipal water.
• Taps and hoses are regularly checked for leakage and immediately repaired when necessary. We avoid washing up under running taps.
• We replace single-flush toilets with dual-flush We Install rainwater tanks/rain catchments.

Drinking water

• In our office we give preference to tap water.
• Cups, glasses and water bottles are available at the office or brought by the staff themselves.
• For hiking, we enable and empower guests to use refillable bottles at water stations.

Waste water

• Our waste water treatment is part of the municipal system.
• Water disposal is via the state sewerage system.

PAPER

• Most organising work is done electronically. We use a cloud platform and software to enable electronic tickets and invoicing activities.
• The brochures are simple double-sided flyers that link to the website for details and they are reused every year.
• We consider printing companies that have a policy to reduce unnecessary waste and are certified with ISO 14001.
• When paper is not recycled, then we always try to purchase paper carrying the FSC.
• Computers are set to print double sided and black and white as default.
• We use ink efficient printing settings, eco-font size, reducing consumption.

WASTE

• Waste is separated according to national and municipal legislation.
• Procure office supplies locally, seasonally, fair trade, in bulk, with limited packaging, sustainability certified wherever possible.
• We engage with suppliers to encourage them to reduce, eliminate or reuse packaging.
• We use recycled bags, paper bags, cloth/canvas tote bags, or bags made of biodegradable materials (instead of plastic).
• Usage of batteries is kept to a minimum. We give preference to rechargeable batteries.
  We order uniforms once per year, looking for sustainable brand options.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

• The company refers to the Risk Assessment Document guidelines.
• First aid kit is available in the office in a place accessible to all staff.
• Fire extinguisher is available in the office in a place accessible to all staff.
• Safety courses are held on a regular basis.

FOOD

• Catering in mountain huts or in tours is selected based on varied, nutritious and hygienically prepared food.
• Canned food destined for the mountain huts is purchased in bulk mostly once in a season.
• Preference is given to locally produced food, where possible organically grown.
• When using catering, our company attempts to provide packaging with the least impact on landfill. Food waste is kept to a limit.

CLEANING

• Wherever possible, our office is cleaned using only products that are biodegradable. Necessary detergents are used to ensure hygiene and sanitation in the office.
• We minimise the use of harmful substances, including pesticides, paints and cleaning agents, and replace them with safer products.
• Storage, handling and disposal of chemicals (if any) is properly managed.

CARBON MANAGEMENT

We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint and endeavour to reduce the amount we travel as much as possible by:

• Monitoring and measuring carbon footprint with the aim to reduce as much as possible and offset remaining amounts.
• Encouraging remote work whenever possible.

GENERAL SUPPLIERS’ POLICY

• We give preference to suppliers locally owned that are sustainably certified or have implemented a sustainability policy.
• We encourage our suppliers to follow responsible business practices for people and the planet.
• We try to build mutual relationships with our suppliers, proactively collaborating with them on pro-environment practices and processes, providing materials, feedback, discussions and meetings.
• We offer incentives for partners that are actively engaged in sustainable operations giving visibility on our website.

TRANSPORT

We endeavour to measure and compensate for the unavoidable GHG emissions produced from transportation. Compensation costs are either included by default in the package price or compensation is actively promoted to the clients as a booking option.

CLIENT TRASPORTATION

• When selecting transport for guests and business-related travel, we commit to choosing the most environmentally friendly options available for travelling to, from, and within the destination – taking into consideration distance, price, route, journey time and comfort.
• If the customers or tour operators choose to fly, we generally recommend to get an overnight sleeper (and visit) to Rome or other main cities, and to plan a long staying tour of at least 3-4 days in Italy.
• If the customers or tour operators choose to plan a short stay, we generally recommend the use of trains until the nearest useful point to be picked up by our staff.
• Our company generally provides airport/rail station pick-up and transport services for international groups. We generally recommend reaching the nearest useful point to be picked up by our staff.
• We use appropriate and different vehicles for the size of the group when we transport people from and to the airport, such as a minivan.

LOCAL TRANSPORT

Daily hikes

• Our ecotourism products are all about walking or biking. Visitors usually arrive by car and we carpool to the start of the walks. On average it takes no more than 5-30 minutes to reach the start of most walks.
• Our walks follow circular routes where possible to reduce the need for transport.

Multiple-day tour

• We generally recommend reaching the nearest useful point to be picked up by our staff and we use a minivan for local transport.

Backpacking trips

• We design our tours to avoid the use of vehicles between stops, with the exception of recovery by minivan at the end of the tour.

AREAS OF SUSTAINABLE PRACTICE

Our company has developed specific policy guidelines for five main areas where we integrate sustainable practices. These policies fall under the scope of this general Sustainability Policy and are available as separate documents.

Sustainable Accommodation Policy
Sustainable Excursion Policy

For questions and remarks related to our sustainability policy, please contact info@wildlifeadventures.it

This policy was revised on 8 May 2023