How and why B Corp is helping travel build trust and gear up for change
This year, TTG is profiling Travel by B Corp members to find out why the movement is important to them, and their motivations for seeking certification. This month, we hear from slow travel specialist Byway about its mission to make flight-free travel mainstream, while Exodus Adventure Travels showcases its Citizen Science initiative.
The day after Cat Jones founded Byway Travel in March 2020, she set on the mission to become B Corp Certified. That mission was realised in December 2021, though the rail specialist is aware that B Corp means continuing to progress when it comes to people, planet and profit.
Exodus Adventure Travels, meanwhile, became B Corp Certified at the start of 2024 after a year-long process of scrutinising the business to ensure the highest environmental and social standards.
Here, Byway’s head of partnerships Paul Conroy and Exodus Adventure Travels head of sustainability Rochelle Turner share their views on the importance of B Corp certification, and offer an insight into some of the sustainability initiatives that organically fit into their trips.
Networking and partnering with other B Corps is a great way to start a conversation about how we run our businesses, and to collaborate on our mission to make flight-free travel mainstream.
For our partners, it means we can offer lower carbon methods of travel, which reduce the impact of their travel on the environment – helping them meet their sustainability goals.
Being B Corp Certified helps us build trust from the outset, and is a great way for them to get a feel for our company’s ethics. It kick-starts the conversation about why flight-free travel is important, and signposts that more information about our impact is immediately available if they are seeking brands that are transparent about their sustainability credentials and commitments to social responsibility.
'B Corp helps us build trust from the outset'
One destination agents can promote to their clients where our trips demonstrate strong environmental conscience and social impact is Amsterdam. The city is a tourist hotspot, with Schiphol airport
among the busiest in Europe.
In 2018, the “Iamsterdam” sign in the city centre had to be removed as it was drawing too large a crowd. To drive sustainable development, The Netherlands is now focusing on destination management. It is diverting attention towards some of the country’s lesser-visited wonders.
That’s why Byway partnered with The Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions to help holidaymakers enjoy everything the country has to offer – its cities, coast and countryside – in a sustainable way.
To do this, we designed a series of flight-free trips to places like Utrecht, Breda and Haarlem, dispersing visitors to different parts of the country in a way that minimises CO2 emissions. One of the most popular has been our Beyond Amsterdam: Canal Cities trip.
Paul Conroy is Byway Travel's head of partnerships.
'It's a roadmap for future improvements'
We’ve been around for 50 years and have always been passionate about making a positive impact on the people we meet, the places we visit and the planet we explore.
Becoming B Corp Certified has not only given us global recognition as a purpose-driven company, but the process of getting the certification itself has been so helpful, ensuring every department within the business is aligned. The B Corp framework has also provided us with a roadmap for future improvements.
One of five impact areas within the B Corp assessment is “customers”, and we scored well on topics that support trust, such as data protection, customer support and feedback loops that lead to improved services.
With all of our adventures, we engage and support the people in the local communities we visit and the nature that surrounds them. Exodus Adventure Travels has a nature positive approach and aims to give more back to nature than we take.
Where we can, we like to immerse our customers in nature too, and have 11 Citizen Science departures that support projects promoting the restoration and regeneration of nature. On these trips, our customers spend a few hours taking water samples to collect environmental DNA. It directly involves them in efforts to increase our knowledge of endangered species around the world and helps scientists and policymakers preserve and restore nature.
All customers on these trips receive a report showing what DNA was collected, ensuring their contribution is seen.
Rochelle Turner is Exodus Adventure Travels' head of sustainability.
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