Our climate action plan
We are privileged to be a launch partner and signatory of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism.
It’s encouraging to see many travel businesses committing to act on climate change. However, when our team recently analysed the top 50 UK ATOL holders, we found that many had not published comprehensive sustainability plans and only 14% had set science-based targets. Clearly, there is much more work to be done!
We firmly believe that tourism is a force for good, distributing global wealth, employing 10% of the world’s workforce and enhancing cross-cultural understanding. With the right guidance, all tourism entities can ensure that the sector thrives, whilst protecting the biodiversity and global communities on which the industry depends.
As sustainability consultants dedicated to the travel industry, TerraVerde partners with clients to minimise their environmental impact. Our mission is to promote the values we hold dear, embracing the four pillars of environmental, social, governance and social sustainability. Our team supports colleagues across the travel, tourism and hospitality space at every stage of their decarbonisation and sustainability journeys.
Our Climate Action Plan is aligned with the declaration’s five pathways to cut tourism emissions in half over the next decade and reach Net Zero emissions as soon as possible before 2050:
1. Measure
We pride ourselves on accurately measuring the carbon footprint of any travel, tourism or hospitality organisation, as well as their travel products and events.
We have also carefully measured all aspects of our own business which breaks down as follows for 2025:
In 2025 we reduced our carbon footprint per employee (FTE) compared to 2023 by:
2. Decarbonise
We help all our clients to decarbonise their operations, but we really amplify our influence when we collaborate in up-skilling their supply chains. Together, we work to reduce the impact of the hotels, attractions and other travel partners they promote.
Our commitment to decarbonise extends beyond our client work. We believe in leading by example, and while TerraVerde is already a low-impact company with all team members working remotely, we are taking the following steps to further reduce the operational impact of our business:
Minimising Air Travel
TerraVerde recognises air travel as a key challenge in achieving our decarbonisation goals. While we are fully aware of the associated emissions, our mission remains focused on raising awareness and providing advice and support to our partners in multiple locations, some of which inevitably require face-to-face engagement notably at key sustainability thought leadership events such as the annual conference of the GSTC. We also take a pragmatic view that aviation is essential to the global travel industry’s health and should not be abandoned just as it is investing in efforts to transition to a decarbonised future. Therefore, we carefully assess the impact our in-person presence may have on promoting sustainable tourism before deciding to travel to events.
Our policy is not to fly when a destination can be reached by train in under five hours. Whenever possible, our team is also willing to travel longer distances by train, as we do for the annual ITB show in Berlin, taking advantage of the cross-Europe rail network.
We manage and coordinate our diaries to make more of the flights we take, prolonging trips if necessary to fulfil more objectives in or near the destination.
Green Energy
All our team members use a green energy supplier. For our UK-based team, 100% of our electricity comes from renewable sources, and we offset 150% of our gas usage. We are continuously evaluating options for a green gas supplier and have budgeted for its availability by 2030.
Reducing Our Digital Footprint
- The average email emits 4g of CO2, whilst the average SMS emits just 0.014grams, so we encourage our team to text each other if they have a simple question, saving emails for longer correspondence, that we may need to refer to.
- By linking to files in our shared file storage, rather than adding them as attachments we have reduced the weight of our internal emails.
- In 2023 we switched our website hosting to SiteGround as they use 100% renewable energy and are committed to greening their operations.
Reducing Electronic Waste
Where possible, we purchase refurbished phones and computers, always attempt to repair devices before replacing them, and ensure that end-of-life equipment is properly recycled.
Our 10-year plan, to reduce our carbon footprint per employee (FTE):
Total tCO₂e (excluding air travel)
Total tCO₂e for air travel
52% reduction is budgeted by 2030 for everything except air travel.
3. Regenerate & Remove
Once our clients have established robust reduction plans, we help them develop effective carbon compensation strategies by investing in high-quality climate projects that reduce or sequester carbon emissions.
We work with destinations, such as Cornwall (the largest domestic tourist destination in England) to support their transition to a low-carbon future. This includes providing detailed reports on environmental risks, economic leakage, and the challenges of over-tourism.
With a solid carbon reduction plan and commitment to action in place, we mitigate our operational emissions through nature-based carbon removal and forest preservation projects, all certified by rigorous international schemes.
4. Collaborate & Campaign
We share our clients’ progress to inspire and influence the travel and tourism sector. By participating in events and panels, the TerraVede team aims to address industry challenges and promote practical solutions. We also collaborate with media partners and tourism organisations to advance greener tourism through our advice and insights.
We offer comprehensive workshops as well as certified Carbon Literacy training. These are designed to support the community in gaining skillsets in sustainability concepts and empowering them to advocate for sustainable practices. Additionally, our team outreach to our clients’ key stakeholders to keep them closely engaged with their environmental strategy.
Organisations we support to promote industry-wide awareness and best practice, include thought leaders such as TTG Media, Nordic Tourism Collective, ABTA, and ITT. Our articles provide an independent, authoritative, and honest voice to drive change.
At TerraVerde, we see ourselves as a “delivery mechanism” for supporting travel, tourism, and hospitality businesses on their sustainability journeys. We follow best practices set by respected bodies, including the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), the UN Race to Zero, the Glasgow Declaration, and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), of which we are proud members.
Our purpose-driven team is dedicated to living our values, actively reducing our carbon footprints both at home and at work. We frequently share our personal stories on social media and in our sustainable travel news section.
5. Finance
TerraVerde has self-funded the development of proprietary tools and training programs that can help our tourism industry clients, take practical steps in decarbonisation.
We recognise the critical role finance plays in both business and the transition to a green future. While the growth of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) in recent years has been significant, it has sometimes come at the expense of rigorous compliance at the operational level. Therefore:
- TerraVerde is committed to understanding the ESG aspirations and pressures faced by the finance sector in tourism investments, particularly in the Private Equity segment, which is highly active in funding private sector tourism. We will align these insights with the needs of our travel sector clients.
- We also advise our clients on accessing green finance, which often comes with preferential conditions, as well as on applying for various government grants aimed at facilitating environmental transitions. Given that travel, tourism, and hospitality are among the largest sectors in the global economy, it is crucial that they secure their share of such funding.
- We selected Starling Bank to manage our business finances as they promote green banking practices.