The Travel Corporation (TTC) is heeding calls for the travel industry
to lead the way in combating climate change by resetting its climate
action commitments.
The travel company has become the first global tour operator to
introduce verified net zero targets validated by the Science Based
Target initiative (SBTi).
TTC has also introduced an industry leading internal carbon fund to achieve carbon zero.
The travel company’s new Climate Action Plan prioritises reductions
and eliminates the use of offsets, while TTC’s not-for-profit
foundation, TreadRight, will move to focus on nature-based solutions, in
support of its three pillars of Planet, People and Wildlife.
“Our
focus is to identify a way forward that marries what the science is
telling us with solutions to enable our decarbonisation. We need to
reduce our emissions and the surest way to do that is through direct
investments into our business and our operations,” says Shannon Guihan,
TTC’s chief sustainability officer & head of TreadRight.
“The Carbon Fund, in concert with our TreadRight Foundation, enables
us to invest in decarbonisation in two ways: by utilising the Carbon
Fund to reduce the emissions we produce, and by prioritising financial
support for nature-based solutions through TreadRight.”
The Travel Corporation includes brands such as Trafalgar, Contiki,
Red Carnation Hotels and Uniworld Boutique River Cruises, which has
become the first river cruise company to introduce verified net zero
targets validated by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi).
These targets align with the scale of reductions required to keep global temperatures below an increase of 1.5 degrees.
“Protecting our planet is a responsibility that we don’t take lightly
at Uniworld, and we’re proud to be making great strides to achieve this
through measurable, science-backed steps,” says Ellen Bettridge, president & CEO of Uniworld.