Travel firms cautioned against using sustainability 'as a tool for commercial gain'
Will PayneSustainability should be embedded within companies’ DNA as standard and should no longer be used as a tool for commercial gain, travel firms have been advised.
Speaking during a panel session at TTG’s Fairer Travel Sustainability on Tuesday (4 July), The Sunday Times chief travel writer Chris Haslam said firms must utilise sustainability in "everything they do".
"You can’t use sustainability for commercial gain or to get a leap over someone else," he said. "You just have to do it. Everything we have achieved as the human race is because we can, and could, burn stuff – and now, we just have to stop burning stuff."
Haslam’s comments were echoed by Kaisa Kangro, director and head of sustainability at verification app Ethy, who said one of the biggest challenges facing the industry was taking action on sustainability while balancing profit with purpose.
"Most brands are not there yet, and there are only a few that are," Kangro said. "If we demand perfection in sustainability right now, then we are encouraging greenwashing. We know it’s a journey, it will happen overtime – we want companies to take small actions now and celebrate them."
FINN Partners’ managing director Debbie Flynn said the paradigm when it came to sustainability had to shift from consumers asking for environmentally conscious experiences to the industry offering them as standard.
Hazel McGuire, Intrepid Travel general manager UK and Ireland, said she agreed, and took time to explain the rationale behind Intrepid’s pursuit of B Corp accreditation, which it achieved in 2018.
"It was the best accreditation for us to demonstrate our commitment to the environment to our customers, almost as a shorthand for customers so they know we are striving to improve," she told delegates.
However, McGuire admitted not all customers were choosing Intrepid because of the brand’s sustainability credentials. "Some customers are choosing us for the sustainability reasons, but others just want a really good holiday and that’s what we do for them," she continued.
"But we provide that experience with local experiences on the ground, weaving that authentic sustainability message into a tour in a sustainable way."
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