SUSTAINABILITY
Our Mission
Striving to be Carbon Neutral
Whilst travelling we are building up a large amount of Carbon Dioxide, along with a large carbon footprint. Flights, cars, cruises, air conditioning etc all contribute to the build-up of CO2, which leads to global warming and climate change.
At AAA travel we encourage offsetting one’s carbon footprint in travel.
Your clients’ guests could offset their carbon footprint by making contributions to one of the many organizations in South Africa. Enquire directly for more details on worthwhile Carbon Offset programs.
Travelife
In 2017, we became the 2nd inbound destination management company in South Africa to receive a Travelife certification. Travelife is becoming Europe’s leading certification initiative for tourism companies committed to sustainability.
We are very proud that our passion for sustainable tourism was recognized, but also that more and more agents and tour operators worldwide are following in our footsteps to prove their commitment to sustainability.
Travelife focuses on a full range of sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility themes and issues:
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Labour Practices
- Human Rights
- Community Relations
- Ecosystem Conservation
- Cultural Impacts
- Health and Safety
- Fair Business Practices
- Customer Protection
- Animal Welfare
- Energy Efficiency and Conservation
- Water and Waste Management
Fair Trade Tourism
In 2012 we went through the certification process and became one of the few officially Fair Trade approved destination management companies in South Africa. Fair Trade Tourism is a non-profit organisation leading the way forward in the development of responsible tourism practices in Southern Africa.
The Fair Trade Tourism Label stands for fair wages and working conditions, fair purchasing and operations, equitable distribution of benefits and respect for human rights, culture and the environment. It also ensures that the people who contribute their land, resources, labour and knowledge to tourism are the ones who reap the benefits.
Where possible, we offer your clients Fair Trade in Tourism certified properties and excursions, and we can offer them an official Fair Trade Holiday using FTTSA certified hotels and excursions.
Responsible tourism policy and action plan
We have put how we choose to achieve our mission on paper in our Responsible tourism policy. In order to make sure that we keep improving our sustainable practices, and since we unfortunately cannot implement everything at the same time, we work according to a sustainability action plan.
This plan has specific targets, tasks and deadlines. The tasks in this plan are being evaluated on a consistent basis and tasks are being divided between all staff.
We love to share what we are doing and inform you about the plans we have. Early next year we will publish our new action plan on our website with all the tasks that we set ourselves. After completion of the tasks, this will be updated on this page.
As part of our ongoing attempts to minimize our carbon footprint in the work place we have implemented the following:
• We have reduced water consumption by placing bottles in the toilet cisterns as well as flow reducers on certain taps.
• Signs are placed in the restroom and kitchen areas, reminding staff not to waste water
• Where viable we have replaced our lights with low energy bulbs or LEDs, or sensors. Staff need to ensure all lights and computers are off at the end of each working day.
• AAA has a solar system on our roof which feeds electricity back into the grid. We have disconnected the hot water geyser to help save electricity.
• Due to our efforts the electricity usage come down by 30 % for the year July 2020 to July 2021.
Would you like to have insight in the supporting documentation regarding the completion of our goals then please do not hesitate to contact our sustainability coordinator directly on: info@aaatravel.co.za
Practical information for the traveller
We will give very practical, hands-on information before your clients departure about how they can help during their tour. This can be a leaflet that tells them if the fish in a restaurant is sustainable, or a document with driving-tips.
Curious? Ask your client to follow the steps below which will make their trip more sustainable while driving. This is not only good for the environment but can also severely reduce costs.
In general:
a) Don’t let their car idle for more than one minute.
b) Drive the speed limit, or below, for better mileage.
c) Avoid sudden bursts of speed, tailgating and pumping the accelerator pedal.
d) Keep tires at the recommended air pressure.
e) Always take the shortest route with the best roads.
f) Out on the open highway keep windows rolled up to reduce drag.
g) Using a vehicle’s air conditioner on a hot summer day increases fuel consumption. If it’s cool enough, use the flow-through ventilation in the car instead of the air-con.
Before your clients leave:
a) Leave promptly: don’t start the engine until they’re ready to go as idling wastes fuel and the engine warms up more quickly when they’re not moving.
b) Don’t get lost: plan unfamiliar journeys to reduce the risk of getting lost and check the traffic news before they leave.
En route:
a) Easy does it: drive smoothly, accelerate gently and read the road ahead to avoid unnecessary braking.
b) Decelerate smoothly: when they have to slow down or stop, decelerate smoothly by releasing the accelerator in time, leaving the car in gear.
c) Rolling: if they can keep the car moving all the time, so much the better; stopping then starting again uses more fuel than rolling.
d) Turn it off: electrical loads increase fuel consumption, so turn off the heated rear windscreen, demister blowers and headlights, when they don’t need them.
e) Stick to speed limits: the faster they go the greater the fuel consumption and pollution.
f) Don’t idle: if they do get caught in a queue, avoid wasting fuel – turn the engine off when it looks like they could be waiting for more than a minute.
The Code
AAA Travel is a Top Member of The Code of conduct against sexual exploitation of children in tourism. The Code represents one of the first initiatives to define the role and obligations of tourism companies with regard to the issue of child sex tourism.
The goal of The Code is to work with travel and tourism companies to combat this crime.
We believe that, by endeavoring to meet the six criteria of The Code, tourism companies can integrate child protection into their business operations. The six criteria were formulated to turn child protection principles into concrete actions. In this way, they will uphold their commitments towards sustainable and ethical tourism by taking tangible actions to help protect children from sexual exploitation.
The six criteria of The Code are:
a) To establish a policy and procedures against sexual exploitation of children.
b) To train employees in children’s rights, the prevention of sexual exploitation and how to report suspected cases.
c) To include a clause in contracts throughout the value chain stating a common repudiation and zero tolerance policy of sexual exploitation of children.
d) To provide information to travellers on children’s rights, the prevention of sexual exploitation of children and how to report suspected cases.
e) To support, collaborate and engage stakeholders in the prevention of sexual exploitation of children
f) To report annually on their implementation of The Code related activities.
Most important is however how your traveller, or you as a tourism provider, can identify a suspicious case and how this can be handled best. Therefore, we have compiled, with the information provided by Fair Trade Tourism – the local representative for The Code International – a supporting document for those situations that we all hope never to have to deal with.
Please read through the document and don’t hesitate to contact us if anything is unclear. The document can be used as a guideline anywhere in the world. Let’s join forces in protecting our children.