GoodCause Travel & Events Sustainability Policy

Photo by Noah Buscher on Unsplash

In the design and implementation of our bespoke travel experiences and events we adhere to the following principles of a green event – ‘designed, organised and implemented in a way that minimises negative environmental impacts and leaves a positive legacy for the host community’ (ICLEI 2004).

Mission Aligned Governance

We apply Triple Bottom Line mindset (equal consideration for people, planet and prosperity) to the design and implementation of our bespoke travel experiences and events and believe that all the three pillars of sustainability (socio-cultural, environmental and economic) should be equally considered to make any organised travel experience or event sustainable. This is the baseline behind the transformative and regenerative power of travel experiences and events, which we aim to create.

Our Green Practices

On top of the Green Purchasing and Procurement policy, we partner with the following charities to tackle the key environmental issues associated with travel and events:

1/ Travel and Transport waste. We partner with Ecolibrium to offer our clients meaningful and immediate carbon offsetting options – through renewable energy projects in the local communities.

2/ Food waste. We partner with Community Fridges initiative by Hubbub charity to offer our clients an opportunity for meaningful and engaging food surplus donations to the local communities.

Sustainability Education and Networks

The company founder and managing director Olga Walker is a member of SITE Global (Society for Incentive Travel Excellence) – GB, Scotland and Ireland chapters. Olga volunteered as SITE Scotland’s Sustainability Ambassador in 2021 and successfully completed the project of the chapter’s sustainability accreditation. Sustainability education and events for the members have been an important part of the project with the following highlights:
-educational sessions with Keep Scotland Beautiful and Community Fridges charities,
-79% sustainability score for the chapter’s summer educational summit event,
-zero waste challenge for the chapter’s members on Earth Day,
-a published article in SITE Motivate on Glasgow’s COP26 legacy

In 2021 Olga also successfully passed CITP (Certified Incentive Travel Professional) Exam, one of the key aspects of which is sustainable practice.

Olga is also currently studying for an MA in Creative Events Management at Falmouth University, with sustainable practice being one of the pillars of the course.

Our Community Work

Olga will be volunteering as a board member at SITE Scotland in 2022 looking after the chapter’s sustainability goals and objectives, as well as helping SITE GB chapter to achieve their sustainability accreditation.

Locally, GoodCause Travel & Events is looking at partnering with Transition Haslemere environmental charity to stage sustainability themed community festival in Haslemere.

Our Wellbeing Policy

As an active member of SITE Global, we follow the association’s professional code of ethics and believe that our travel and events should always pursue the well-being of all the stakeholders: our clients, our suppliers, our staff and the local communities and environment of the destinations we are working with.

Our Green Purchasing and Procurement Policy

We closely work with suppliers who have written sustainability policies.

Through targeted checklists we engage all the stakeholders (organisers, suppliers and participants) in measuring, monitoring and evaluating the following sustainability impacts of a travel experience or event managed by us:

-air quality
-waste management
-energy consumption and production
-water conservation
-procurement and management

Evaluating and Monitoring Our Impact

We are using Ecolibrium carbon calculator to measure environmental impact from our travel programmes and events.

We balance the incurred carbon emissions with the choice of two reliable projects – native broadleaf tree planting (Trees+) or clean energy (Energy Revolution). We regularly post carbon balancing reports on our social medial channels.

Our Sustainability Accreditation

In 2022 we have been officially assessed by Green Meetings and awarded Silver Green Meetings Award! We will take on board all the recommendations for improvement and will update our customers and suppliers on our sustainability certification status annually.