Green Travel

Plan Ahead and Prepared

* Know the regulations and special concerns for the area you'll visit.

* Prepare for extreme weather, hazards, and emergencies.

* Schedule your trip to avoid times of high use.

* Visit in small groups when possible. We break larger groups into smaller groups.

* Repackage food to minimize waste.

* Use a map & compass to eliminate the use of marking paint, rock cairns or flagging

Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces

* Durable surfaces include established trails and campsites, rock, gravel, dry grasses or snow.

* Protect riparian areas by camping at least 200 feet from lakes and streams.

* Good campsites are found, not made. Altering a site is not necessary.

In popular areas:

* Concentrate use on existing trails and campsites.

* Walk single file in the middle of the trail, even when wet or muddy.

* Keep campsites small. Focus activity in areas where vegetation is absent.

In pristine areas:

* Disperse use to prevent the creation of campsites and trails.

* Avoid places where impacts are just beginning

Dispose of Waste Properly

* Pack it in, pack it out. Inspect your campsite and rest areas for trash or spilled foods. Pack out all trash, leftover food, and litter.

* Deposit solid human waste in catholes dug 6 to 8 inches deep at least 200 feet from water, camp, and trails. Cover and disguise the cathole when finished.

* Pack out toilet paper and hygiene products.

* To wash yourself or your dishes, carry water 200 feet away from streams or lakes and use small amounts of biodegradable soap. Scatter strained dishwater.

Leave What You Find

* Preserve the past: examine, but do not touch, cultural or historic structures and artifacts.

* Leave rocks, plants and other natural objects as you find them.

* Avoid introducing or transporting non-native species.

* Do not build structures, furniture, or dig trenches.

Minimize Campfire Impacts

* Campfires can cause lasting impacts to the backcountry. Use a lightweight stove for cooking and enjoy a candle lantern for light.

* Where fires are permitted, use established fire rings, fire pans, or mound fires.

* Keep fires small. Only use sticks from the ground that can be broken by hand.

* Burn all wood and coals to ash, put out campfires completely, then scatter cool ashes.

Respect Wildlife

* Observe wildlife from a distance. Do not follow or approach them.

* Never feed animals. Feeding wildlife damages their health, alters natural behaviors, and exposes them to predators and other dangers.

* Protect wildlife and your food by storing rations and trash securely.

* Control pets at all times, or leave them at home.

* Avoid wildlife during sensitive times: mating, nesting, raising young, or winter.

Be Considerate of Other Visitors

* Respect other visitors and protect the quality of their experience.

* Be courteous. Yield to other users on the trail.

* Step to the downhill side of the trail when encountering pack stock.

* Take breaks and camp away from trails and other visitors.

* Let nature's sounds prevail. Avoid loud voices and noises!

HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO TO BE A RESPONSIBLE TRAVELER...

Tourism is now one of the world’s fastest growing industries. With this proliferation of travel comes a heavy responsibility on all travelers to ensure that the heritage and environment of countries we experience upset or destroyed.

Please consider the following:

Before you book

* Plan your route to minimize carbon emissions. Consider travelling by train and public transport where possible – you may see things you might not otherwise.

* Reduce flying time and stopovers. The worst carbon emissions happen during take off and landing. Minimize internal flights where you can.

Before you travel

* Ask your travel agent whether there are local conservation or social projects that you could visit on your trip. You may want to consider supporting a project.

* Do your homework on local cultures and learn a few words of the local language.

* Remove all excess packaging before you pack. It's difficult in remote places and developing countries to effectively dispose of your garbage.

* Ask your travel agent if there are useful gifts that you could pack for your hosts, local people or schools.

While traveling

* Buy local produce and use water sparingly.

* Do not buy products made from endangered species, hard woods or ancient artifacts

* Respect local cultures, traditions and holy places. If in doubt ask advice. Women and men may be asked to cover up or wear a head cover in holy places – be prepared and respectful.

* Use public transport, hire a bike or walk. What a great way to meet local people and reduce pollution and carbon emissions!

* Hire a local guide. You'll discover more about local culture and they will earn an income.

* Remember that local people have different ways of thinking and concepts of time, this just makes them different not wrong - cultivate the habit of asking questions and listening.

* Pay a fair price for the goods and services you buy. Haggling is often a part of local life, but make this light and bright – don’t go too far. Keep a realistic perspective. What is a trifling sum to you, could be a significant amount to a local family (perhaps worth something important to them, such as a meal).

Back home

* If you've promised to send pictures or gifts to local people, remember to do so.

* If you’ve promised to support a local project, remember your promise.

* Write to your tour operator or hotel with any comments or feedback about your holiday and especially include any suggestions on reducing environmental impacts and increasing benefits to local communities.

* Responsible travel maximizes the benefits and minimizes the negative effects of tourism.

* Enjoy the memories and start planning your next trip!

Adventure Vacations Supports Greener Workplaces

We are constantly analyzing how to keep a low-impact workplace. It is important for all of us to do our part in protecting the environment, and to follow practices that will allow us to live sustainably. A greener workplace is healthier as well as more productive, and creates a lighter ‘ecological footprint’.

Less energy

A computer is the central tool at work for us. Optimizing the energy settings for computers and other devices can be more than a modest energy saver. We are setting computers to energy-saving settings and making sure to shut them down when we leave for the day ("standby" settings will continue to draw power even when not in use). By plugging hardware into a power strip with an on/off switch (or a smart power strip), our whole desktop setup can be turned off at once. Printers, scanners, and other peripherals that are only used occasionally are unplugged until they're needed. And of course, we turn off lights in spaces that are unoccupied.

Digitize

The greenest paper is no paper at all, so we try to keep things digital and dematerialized whenever possible. We often keep files on computers instead of in file cabinets and review documents onscreen rather than printing them out. Naturally we send emails instead of paper letters whenever possible

Working from home

Instant messaging, video conferencing, and other innovative workflow tools make effective telecommuting a reality. Our staff continues telecommuting, holding phone conferences and taking online classes. It saves us the time we would have spent on the trip as well as sparing the air. As a bonus, we get to work in our pajamas

Green materials

Some paper use can't be avoided, so we use recycled paper and envelopes that have been processed and colored using eco-friendly methods. We use biodegradable soaps and recycled paper or cloth towels in the bathroom and kitchen and buy in bulk so that shipping and packaging waste are reduced. Recycling printer cartridges is often free, and recycled replacements are cheaper than new ones.

Workspace

Greening the space in which you work has almost limitless possibilities. Incandescent bulbs are being replaced with compact fluorescents. We realize that not only is natural daylight a free source of lighting for the office, it has been proven to improve worker productivity and satisfaction. Workspace air quality is also crucial. Good ventilation and low-VOC paints and materials (such as furniture and carpet) keep our employees healthy.