A Commitment to Sustainability

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  • #MakeTravelMatter

At Inspiring Journeys, we’re committed to having a positive impact on the people and communities we visit, to help protect marine and wildlife, and to care for this incredible planet we call home.

We're privileged to call the magnificent ochre sands of Australia's outback and the soaring peaks of New Zealand's Southern Alps home. These landscapes, the cultural abundance of their First Nations peoples and the unique wildlife found on these shores are what inspire us to explore far and wide, and seek to protect our planet for generations to come.
An Inspiring Journeys tour of Australia and New Zealand is not only an immersive experience full of vibrant characters and money-can't-buy encounters, but an adventure that has sustainability and the protection of our planet at its very core.
As part of The Travel Corporation's (TTC) family of brands, we are proud to be a founding partner of the not-for-profit TreadRight Foundation, established almost 15 years ago with a mission to protect the world as we know it. 

THE TREADRIGHT FOUNDATION

How We Tread Right

 

Launched in 2020, How We Tread Right (HWTR) is Inspiring Journeys’ five-year sustainability strategy. It is the sustainability blueprint for us and our sister brands under our parent company The Travel Corporation (TTC). 

Our strategy consists of 11 sustainability goals anchored to the United Nations’ Global Goals, which guide the way we are addressing climate change, sustainable food production, waste reduction, travel experiences, diversity and inclusion, and wildlife: the six main issues that we are currently focused on as a business. 

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Our Commitment With Treadright

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Our Commitment With Treadright

PEOPLE.

Community support and cultural preservation by targeting overtourism through the inclusion of new MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® experiences, the creation of a standalone strategy to encourage greater diversity and inclusion at Inspiring Journeys, and our global give-back efforts.

PLANET.

Sustainability and conservation by targeting climate change, sustainable food production and responsible consumption through carbon management, renewable energy, the food cycle, waste reduction, and the elimination of single-use plastics.

WILDLIFE.

Conservation and protection by targeting animal welfare and conservation, and ethical wildlife experiences through TreadRight’s Animal Welfare Policy.

Learn more about how choosing Inspiring Journeys means choosing a travel company that puts sustainability and the planet at the core of everything we do.

Discover How We Tread Right (HWTR)

MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences


Inspiring Journeys has committed to implementing MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences (MTM) into our incredible trips and itineraries. As a company of travel lovers, we know what makes an impactful travel experience that benefits the places we explore – but we wanted our community of travellers to be sure. So, we created an online tool to help us measure the positive impact MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences have on the traveler and communities we explore.

Our proprietary assessment tool, developed by our TreadRight team and endorsed by industry experts, is exclusive to Inspiring Journeys and our sister brands. When you choose an MTM Experience you can be certain you are directly advancing global efforts to achieve the United Nations Global Goals.

We have introduced MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® logos on our tour pages to indicate which experiences fall under this category.

Climate Action

OUR ROAD TO NET ZERO: 

Since the launch of our sustainability strategy, global action on the world’s response to climate change has continued to advance. We have matched that advancement through our decision to commit to net zero.  

Our Climate Action Plan outlines how we will reach net zero GHG emissions across the value chain by 2050 from a 2019 baseline year, with accompanying short-term and long-term targets that are validated by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi). 

Our primary focus is to decarbonize, the most effective means to address climate change. 

To enable that, our parent company The Travel Corporation has established the following science-based reduction targets, validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi):   

 

Net Zero Target: Our Sustainability Goal 1 
  • Reach net zero GHG emissions across the value chain by 2050 from a 2019 baseline year 

 

Short Term Targets (2030) 

 

  • Reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 46.2% by 2030 from a 2019 base year 
  • Reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods and services, business travel, and use of sold products 27.5% within the same timeframe 

 

Long Term Target (2050) 

 

  • Reduce absolute scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions 90% by 2050 from a 2019 base year 

 

To cement our commitment to decarbonize, in 2022 we launched a Carbon Fund – a fund dedicated to financing initiatives to reduce the carbon emissions of our business. 
This fund is a bold step towards prioritizing the planet and will be used solely for initiatives that contribute to our net zero journey and help restore our planet. Progress made by this fund will be reported on in future Impact Reports. 

 

To further support our journey to net zero, our TreadRight Foundation will prioritize and invest in nature- based solutions developed to address climate change as well as the rapid loss of biodiversity. Learn more about TreadRight and our projects.  

 

We encourage you to read about our carbon measurement methodology, learn more about our Climate Action efforts, and view our recent Impact Report at our Impact Hub 

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MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® CHECKLIST

Even if you already travel responsibly, there are little things we can all do to ensure that when we travel we have a positive impact on people, the planet and its wildlife. To help make travelling sustainably simple, The TreadRight Foundation have developed this easy to use checklist. From choosing your travel company carefully before you go to packing reusable water bottles and ensuring you shop and eat as locally as possible, you’ll be taking small steps towards making travel matter on your next holiday around Australia or New Zealand.

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Reducing our environmental impact

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Reducing our environmental impact

We’ve introduced reusable drink bottles on all of our journeys, these are made from aluminium which is considered the most sustainable material for this use. We supply filtered cooled water for our guests onboard the coach removing any need for plastic bottled water.

Across our business, we use Bio Diesel to reduce emissions, and traveling by coach produces 87% less emissions than the same amount of people traveling by car.

In 2017, we introduced an e-documentation program which allows our guests to receive their travel documents digitally, replacing the need for paper. We also use only 100% recycled Leipa paper for our brochures which saves 37,100 trees per year.

Community and People - Indigenous Travel

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Community and People - Indigenous Travel

We are committed to encouraging the cultures, traditions and arts of the communities we visit. We seek to enable these communities to see the true benefit from tourism through economic empowerment. Through our support of micro-enterprises and community-based tourism initiatives, we hope to build positive futures for community members and their families.

We use Indigenous guides wherever possible, and have an equal opportunity recruitment policy, actively supporting local people applying for roles. 

On an Inspiring Journeys trip, guests will experience authentic interactions with the Traditional Owners of these sacred lands, learning about their cultures and rich history, which dates back over 60,000 years.

In Katherine, you'll learn firsthand from artist Manuel Pamkal, who’ll share stories and the art of traditional 'Rarrk' painting. 

In New Zealand, meet the descendants of Māori warriors, go back in time with Rosie Belvie who will invite you to become immersed in the beauty and wisdom of her ancestors, honouring and celebrating their culture. 

EcoTourism Australia Certified

Inspiring Journeys is proud to be an EcoTourism Certified tour operator, independently assessed against a rigorous set of criteria to ensure our tours Australia wide contribute to conservation, work with local communities and demonstrate cultural respect and sensitivity. Inspiring Journeys has been recognised as a Green Travel Leader due to our longstanding commitment to sustainability with 10 years of ECO Certification with EcoTourism Australia.

You can view our certification here.

Animal Welfare Policy

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Animal Welfare Policy

Inspiring Journeys is committed to only offering ethical wildlife experiences on our trips guided by TreadRight’s Animal Welfare Policy to support a tourism industry free of animal cruelty. The policy is based on the Five Domains of Animal Welfare and you can read more about the policy here.

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Planet and Wildlife

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Planet and Wildlife

We support the Kiwi Breeding Programme at Rainbow Springs Nature Park in New Zealand, which is the largest kiwi conservation hatchery in the world.  Here, an incredible 55% of chicks hatched nationwide are incubated and hatched.

Along with TreadRight, Inspiring Journeys has committed funding for the Tasmanian Devil, through research it's crucial to help develop a vaccine against the disease, which has reduced the population by 80% in the wild. 

Internationally, through The Travel Corporation's family of brands, we support elephant, rhino and big cat populations around the world, while also educating our guests on ethical wildlife experiences.