Our climate action plan

We believe we will have the most comprehensive climate action plan in the industry. Learn more about our four-step plan: measure, reduce, mitigate and communicate.

In January 2020, Explore was a founding signatory of Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency, a global community of travel companies and professionals committed to working together to create a better future for tourism. The next step was the development of our climate action plan. We believe that travel should change us, and not the world, and this plan outlines how we want to acknowledge and take action against our own footprint on this precious planet.

Our climate action plan has four elements; measure, reduce, mitigate and communicate. Each step in this plan is as important as the next.

We are striving to have the most comprehensive climate action plan in the industry. We are building a network of new relationships and partnerships to ensure our commitments are embedded in all of our decisions and that our promises are never misleading. We will inevitably make mistakes, and may not hit every target, but we know that we must aim high to spark systemic change. We will communicate our failings and successes, and continue to keep our plan up to date as we adapt.

Measure

We’ve worked with ecollective to measure the carbon emissions of every one of our tours – including transport, accommodation, activities and leaders – as well as operational activities involved in running the Explore business in the UK and globally. This huge undertaking is the largest carbon measurement project of its kind in the travel industry to date. Every trip across the site now has its carbon emissions clearly displayed so that customers can make an informed decision about their travels, and so that we can begin to reduce these totals while offsetting and mitigating what’s left over.

With clear calculations now in place, Explore is on a mission to reduce its carbon footprint by 50% by 2030.

Reduce

Accurate and comprehensive measurements alone are not enough. We must make changes and adapt our operations to reduce our footprint, both on the climate and the natural world, and our commitment is stronger than ever. With our measurements now complete, we have set reduction targets, based on verified science-based targets to ensure that our own contribution will strive to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees from pre-industrial levels.

What makes our trips truly memorable and enriching for customers will not change. We will always offer authentic experiences, designed to reveal the soul of a country, inspired by the communities we visit and the landscapes surrounding us.

Mitigate

Alongside our promise to measure and reduce our carbon footprint is our promise to protect and restore the world around us. The climate crisis does not sit alone, it sits hand in hand with the biodiversity loss and the profound implications of losing the nature that underpins our very existence.

Reducing our carbon footprint is no longer enough. The science tells us that we are facing the next mass extinction of species. Species that we value so much on our trips, but that also play crucial roles in their ecosystems and landscapes. We must protect them. We must protect what we already have and at the same time invest in restoration projects that will reverse biodiversity loss, expand living spaces for nature, absorb carbon from the atmosphere, supports economic activities and improves our wellbeing.

To balance our footprints and protect our world we are extremely proud to work together with three key partners to Restore, Protect and Remove.

Restore our wonderful natural world, boosting biodiversity and supporting local economies, with Rewilding Britain.

Protect existing ancient rainforest where complex ecosystems thrive and carbon is already stored, alongside indigenous communities in South America, with Cool Earth.

Remove CO2 molecules from the atmosphere via leading carbon removal technologies, working with our partners Klimate.

Communicate

…and collaborate. The final part of our action plan is all about communication and collaboration. It is about celebrating our victories and those of our peers so we can all make the progress that is so urgently needed. It’s also about being honest about our failings, so that others don’t go down the same path and we all lose valuable time and resources: two things we are distinctly lacking in this emergency. It is about bringing everyone with us on this journey; our customers, our staff, our partners.

Please contact us on sustainability@explore.co.uk with any feedback or questions you may have.

Why we travel: Benefits of tourism

Carbon is just one piece of the puzzle when designing and operating sustainable trips that have as light a footprint as possible.

Tourism brings other benefits: economic, social and environmental.