Climate Action: Tracking, Reducing, Committing 

We’re excited to launch our Climate Action Plan, our commitment to genuine climate action.  

Human-powered travel, whether walking, trekking, or cycling, has a much lower carbon footprint than many other forms of tourism. By choosing to travel under your own power, you are helping reduce reliance on high-emission transport and showing that adventure can be sustainable. But while our style of travel is comparatively low-carbon, we know we must go further because we want to be part of the solution to climate change. 

Each year we commit to measuring our carbon footprint and using the results to identify and implement new strategies to cut emissions. Our goal is to contribute meaningfully to the global ambition of achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050.  

Alongside this, our Regenerative 2030 program supports projects aligned with carbon action and promotes regeneration that goes beyond simply minimising impact. 

What does this mean for you? It means carbon labels on trips so you can see your estimated footprint. 

Why carbon label our trips? 

Carbon labelling our trips makes the invisible visible, showing you the estimated CO₂ emissions of your trip, just like a nutrition label on food. It’s a clear, honest way to understand your environmental impact, and it holds us accountable for reducing emissions. 

As adventurers who thrive in wild, pristine places, we know protecting them starts with accountability. This plan is just the beginning and we’re excited to have you along for the journey. 

What do the numbers actually mean? 

To help make sense of the carbon footprint shown on each trip, it’s useful to compare it to an average day at home. Here’s the estimated daily carbon footprint per person, based on national averages: 

> Australia: 38.9 kg CO₂e 
> New Zealand: 19.8 kg CO₂e 
> USA: 37.8 kg CO₂e
> Canada: 40.8 kg CO₂e 
> UK: 12.1 kg CO₂e 

These figures are based on each country’s annual per-person emissions, divided across 365 days. It gives you a baseline to see how your travel footprint stacks up. 

Putting Travel Footprints into Perspective ... how you choose to travel really does make a difference, and that active, nature-based adventures can be some of the most rewarding and responsible ways to see the world. 

What have we measured? 

The carbon footprint calculations cover everything included in the cost of your trip: meals, accommodation, transport, activities and your guide. For self-guided tours, this means we only measure the elements we directly facilitate, not your personal travel, meals, or additional activities. Each trip also carries a pro rata share of the emissions from our wider operations, including our offices, staff travel, and website management. We have not included your flights to and from the destination. 

What about your flights to and from the destination? 

As an example, the carbon footprint for a return flight from Sydney to Kathmandu, economy class, is between 1.6 and 2.2 tonnes CO₂-e, depending on aircraft type, number of stopovers and a few other factors. There are things you can do to minimise the carbon footpring of your flights; when booking flights, consider these points: 

> Direct flights are usually more carbon-efficient than multi-stop flights. 
> Newer aircraft are more fuel-efficient. 
> Economy class significantly reduces your share of emissions. 
> Travelling for longer durations but less often throughout the year is a more sustainable travel choice. 
> Where possible, avoid flying and take a train. 

Google Flights or Skyscanner use Travalyst data to provide you with emissions comparisons on flights, so you can make informed, climate-considerate decisions. Choose the flights labelled as 'lower emissions'. 

Behind the numbers 

The work to measure our carbon footprint and identify areas for reduction was carried out by carbon consultancy ecollective. Take a look at the methodology they used. 

The Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism

We’re proud to be a signatory of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism. This global initiative brings together businesses, governments and destinations committed to halving emissions by 2030 and achieving net zero before 2050.

Signing the Declaration reinforces our dedication to:

• Measuring our emissions annually across all brands in the group

• Publishing transparent Climate Action Plans

• Prioritising genuine emissions reductions over carbon offsetting

• Supporting our travellers to tread more lightly, through education and visible carbon labelling on trips

• Working collaboratively with partners, communities and travellers to accelerate the shift to regenerative tourism models.