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Our Sustainability Commitments

What we believe

The planet is facing a climate crisis, and at Not In The Guidebooks, we recognize our responsibility to address global warming. Our vision is to play a part in protecting the environment for future generations.

Tourism is on the front line of the climate change fight. While responsible for about 8% of global emissions, it’s also set to be heavily impacted by global warming. This puts the regions and people it relies on under threat. However, tourism comprises nearly 10% of global GDP and employs hundreds of millions worldwide. Halting tourism might help reverse some environmental impacts but would be catastrophic for these communities.

At Not in the Guidebooks, we’ve taken steps to lower our carbon footprint and reduce our environmental impact. As a certified B-Corp, we’ve been verified by B Lab to meet high standards for social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. We’re also a Travelife partner, demonstrating our commitment to sustainable travel. We believe in balancing the economic benefits of tourism with responsible environmental practices, ensuring that our adventures contribute positively to both local communities and the planet’s future. 

When it comes to travel there are a few things we’ll never do, and that is

How We Travel…

Human Rights

Human Rights

We refuse to promote ‘voluntourism’ or experiences that commodify suffering. Our offerings directly benefit local communities without displacing job opportunities. We don’t sell holidays to destinations with human rights issues, such as countries where LGBTQ+ rights are restricted. We ask, “Would this activity be appropriate at home?” If not, we don’t offer it. We support the fight against modern slavery and orphanage tourism, adhering strictly to ABTA guidelines on these issues.

Animal Welfare

Animal Welfare

We don’t offer experiences involving animal abuse, captive or wild. We carefully select animal-related activities, ensuring they’re part of legitimate conservation or rehabilitation programs. All our animal experiences follow ABTA Animal Welfare Guidelines. We avoid activities like elephant shows, ‘walking with’ wild cats, or any interactions involving punishment or food deprivation in animal training. Our commitment is to ethical, educational experiences that prioritise animal wellbeing over entertainment.

High-Carbon Travel

High-Carbon Travel

While acknowledging flying’s role in tourism, we recognize its environmental impact. We don’t offer experiences promoting high-carbon travel, such as luxury sports car drives or helicopter joy rides. Instead, we encourage lower-carbon alternatives like train travel where possible. Our focus is on minimising the carbon footprint of travel experiences without compromising on the quality of adventure and cultural immersion we provide to our customers.

Preserving Local and Cultural Sites

Preserving Local and Cultural Sites

We prohibit experiences that damage local or cultural sites, including making street art in foreign cities or leaving any trace beyond footprints. Recognizing that visitation contributes to site erosion, we actively promote less-known areas to combat overtourism. Our approach balances cultural appreciation with preservation, ensuring sustainable tourism that respects and protects local heritage while providing authentic experiences for travellers.

Our Commitments

Responsible and sustainable travel is at the heart of our mission. We want to ensure that we’re setting an example within the travel industry for how to travel responsibly. Here are our key commitments to ensure we protect the planet we explore.

  • Measure – We are committed to measuring our impact on the environment, both with our staff, offices and daily life and through our products and trips.
  • Reduce – We work with our local hosts and partners to identify opportunities to reduce our carbon and to ensure we do not contribute to the effects of tourism leakage.
  • Promote – We are committed to promoting best practices when it comes to travelling sustainably. This includes our local hosts and travel agent partners.
  • Train – We are committed to training our staff, partners and customers with the tools they need to travel responsibly and tread lightly.

Not in the Guidebooks becomes B-Corp image

Not in the Guidebooks becomes B-Corp

As a B Corp, Not In The Guidebooks joins a global community of businesses that prioritize purpose over profit and strive to make a positive impact on people and the planet. The rigorous certification process evaluates a company’s performance across five key impact areas: governance, workers, community, environment, and customers.

Highly Commended at TTG Awards image

Highly Commended at TTG Awards

Not in the Guidebooks is honoured to be highly commended for their efforts in Sustainability. Though we haven't been operating for as long as some of the huge names we were up against, we're grateful to have our efforts recognised. We will continue to do everything we can to improve our sustainability efforts.

Sustainable Travel

Sustainability Tips
Can Flying Ever be Sustainable?
A Travellers’ Guide to Treading Lightly

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