Environmental

The Alps are one of the most beautiful and fragile ecosystems on earth. The topography has been shaped by glaciers over millennia creating the unique landscape that makes hiking in the Alps so special. Unfortunately, increasing temperatures and reduced precipitation from climate change is putting an increasing strain on the Alps, its nature and human communities that call it home.

Since 1850, glaciers in the Alps have lost up to 40% of their surface area and half of their volume. Glaciers are not only visually spectacular, they are the largest reservoir of freshwater on earth and hold more water than rivers, lakes, lakes, soils and plants combined.

We care deeply about the Alpine environment and are passionate about sharing this incredible landscape with our guests. We understand that tourism is another pressure on the fragile ecosystem and accept responsibility for the carbon emissions that our tours produce.

We are therefore committed to reducing our impact as much as possible and supporting pro-climate nonprofits to help us transition to a zero carbon future.

Reduce Our Emissions and Environmental Impact

We continually strive to reduce our carbon emissions on every tour by:

1. Minimising operational impact
   • Using public transport wherever possible
   • Ensure guide apparel is sourced from sustainable companies.
   • Provide reusable lunch materials to each guide so that no single use plastic is used for tour picnics.
2. Supporting climate action
   • Donating to high-impact, pro-climate nonprofits

Unfortunately, many aspects of the travel industry are currently impossible to decarbonise, in particular the international flights our guests take to get to the Alps. As we cannot eliminate all sources of carbon emissions for our tours, we have decided to donate 10 euros per person on our tours to high impact non profits and encourage our guests to do the same.

Unfortunately 85% of carbon offsetting projects are ineffective. Therefore to ensure our donations have the greatest impact, we’ve partnered with Giving Green, a nonprofit research team of climate scientists, economists, and impact evaluation experts. Giving Green spends thousands of hours each year evaluating climate impact strategies and identifying the most cost-effective organizations.

Each year, Giving Green publishes a report on their top recommended nonprofits.

This year, we donate to the Clean Air Task Force, Giving Green’s highest-recommended climate charity.

You can read more about Giving Green and their current top-rated nonprofits here.

Empower Our Guests to Travel Sustainably

We strive to ensure that from the moment you arrive in the Alps, your tour is as sustainable as possible.

1. Education and awareness
   • Providing all guests with a fold-out climate map explaining how climate change is affecting the Alps and what individuals can do to help
2. Collective climate action
   • Donating €10 per guest to pro-climate initiatives
   • Offering guests the option to match this donation at checkout

Empower Our Guides to Be Guardians of the Alps

We want to ensure that our guides are empowered to lead trips in the most sustainable way possible:

1. Training and resources
   • Providing climate-action training in collaboration with climate educators at Mieux Donner
   • Supplying fold-out climate maps for use during guest presentations
2. Sustainable operations
   • Paying for public transport for guides travelling to and from the start of each tour
3. Continuous improvement
   • Surveying guides annually to gather feedback on how we can further reduce our environmental impact

Report on Our Progress

Each year, we will publish a report outlining our progress toward these commitments. We aim to improve year on year, and transparent reporting helps hold us accountable to that goal.