Selected Region
South Africa
Selected Region
South Africa
Our 5-year Sustainability Strategy
How We Tread Right
When it comes to responsible tourism, you need to walk the walk. So in 2020, we published our first environment and sustainability strategy How We Tread Right (HWTR), which lays out our 5-year commitment to global sustainability goals.
This is our roadmap to achieve sustainable development for Costsaver and our sister brands, with support from our not-for-profit organisation, the TreadRight Foundation.
Our HWTR goals are underpinned by the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs), which work to positively uplift wildlife, people, and the planet by acting as a global blueprint for sustainable development. In 2024, we published our third Impact Report, sharing the progress we've made and the positive steps we’re taking toward climate action; sustainable food production; responsible consumption; travel experiences; diversity, equity and inclusion; and animal welfare.
Our HWTR Goals and 2025 Commitment
Goal 1
Climate Action
Reach net zero GHG emissions across the value chain by 2050 from a 2019 baseline year.
Goal 2
Climate Action
Source 50% of our electricity from renewable sources by 2025.
Goal 3
Sustainable Food Production
Reduce food waste by 50% across all hotels and ships by 2025.
Goal 4
Sustainable Food Production
Increase use of local and organic products in our supply chain by 2025.
Goal 5
Responsible Consumption
Reduce Printed brochures by 50% by 2025.
Goal 6
Responsible Consumption
Eliminate as many unnecessary single-use plastics from our operations and itineraries.
Goal 7
Travel Experiences
Include at least one MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience on 50% of all TTC trips by 2025
Goal 8
Overtourism
Achieve a 20% increase of itineraries visiting developing regions by specialist brands by 2025.
Goal 9
Our Culture
Increase employee and market sentiment regarding diversity and inclusion across our brands.
Goal 10
Our Culture
Complete 30,000 volunteer hours by 2025.
Goal 11
Animal Welfare
Ensure all wildlife experiences across TTC brands adhere to our Animal Welfare Policy.
GOAL 1: CLIMATE ACTION
REACH NET ZERO EMISSIONS BY 2050
Costsaver invests in decarbonization in two ways:
- Through our internal Carbon Fund which will help us transition our business to low-carbon solutions.
- Prioritising nature-based solutions and conservation efforts that protect biodiversity and restore the planet through our TreadRight Foundation.
In 2023, alongside its sister brands, we:
- Invested $1.8 million from our Carbon Fund into 13 decarbonization projects.
- Took an industry-first stance in saying ‘no to more stuff’, replacing branded merchandise with donations to nature-based solutions.
Read our climate emergency declaration and our Climate Action Plan.
GOAL 2: CLIMATE CHANGE
SOURSE 50% OF OUR ELECTRICITY FROM RENEWABLE SOURCES BY 2025
Costsaver continues to encourage and educate third party suppliers on shifting to alternate renewable energy sources.
In 2023, alongside our sister brands, we:
- Installed solar panels at our offices in Sydney, Australia.
- Saw our coach supplier (Atlas Reizen) switch their office and depot in Stellendam, Netherlands to 100% renewable electricity.
GOAL 3: SUSTAINABLE FOOD PRODUCTION
REDUCE FOOD WASTE BY 50% ACROSS ALL HOTELS AND SHIPS BY 2025
Costsaver, alongside its sister brands, educates third party suppliers such as restaurants and experiences on food waste reduction and sustainable tourism.
In addition, in 2023 our portfolio of brands saved food waste equal to more than 304,027 meals.
GOAL 4: SUSTAINABLE FOOD PRODUCTION
INCREASE USE OF LOCAL AND ORGANIC PRODUCTS IN OUR SUPPLY CHAIN BY 2025
In 2023, we offered 1 local dining experience on 57% of our Costsaver itineraries, where key ingredients are sourced within a 30–50-mile radius.
GOAL 5: RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION
REDUCE PRINTED BROCHURES BY 50% BY 2025
Alongside its sister brand Trafalgar, Costsaver reduced printed brochures by 87% from a 2019 baseline.
GOAL 6: RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION
ELIMINATE AS MANY UNNECESSARY SINGLE USE PLASTICS FROM OUR OPERATIONS AND ITINERARIES BY 2022
From 2023, single-use plastic water bottles are banned from being sold on our Costsaver coaches except in areas where water isn’t potable. All travelers are advised to bring reusable water bottles where potable water is available, and our Tour Directors identify safe water refill points along each tour.
In addition, Costsaver alongside our sister brands, said ‘no to more stuff’ and no longer purchases merchandise designed to be given away. In its place are donations to nature-based solutions projects, which will help remove a further 1.5 million car-driven miles worth of carbon emissions from the atmosphere by December 2024.
GOAL 7: OVERTOURISM
INCLUDE AT LEAST ONE MAKE TRAVEL MATTER EXPERIENCE ON 50% OF ALL ITINERARIES BY 2025
In 2023, Costsaver offered 48 MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences across 47% of its itineraries.
GOAL 8: OVERTOURISM
ACHIEVE A 20% INCREASE OF ITINERARIES VISITING DEVELOPING REGIONS BY SPECIALIST BRANDS BY 2025
In order to qualify a region as a “developing region”, the following must be true:
- The brand has not visited the region in 2019
- An overnight stay in the region is included in the itinerary
- The region features no more than 2 sites that suffer from congestion during peak season (ie. long queues that degrade the tourist experience)
- The region is considered a secondary or (preferred) tertiary city or “spoke” to a tourism hub.
Across our portfolio of brands, we’ve increased the number of itineraries visiting developing regions by 86%, meaning we have already surpassed our 2025 goal.
GOAL 9: OUR CULTURE
INCREASE EMPLOYEE AND MARKET SENTIMENT REGARDING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION ACROSS OUR BRANDS
Alongside our sister brands, Costsaver continued to focus on diversity, equity and inclusion in 2023. We:
- Enhanced employment opportunities for underrepresented communities by using inclusive recruitment technologies, such as self-identification features in hiring applications, enabling targeted outreach and ensuring access to marginalized groups.
- Continued partnering with educational programs focused on diversity, such as Code First Girls (CFG), which has enabled us to bridge gender gaps amongst our tech teams.
- Built upon our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) training, which is used throughout our organizational hierarchy and mandatory for new starters.
Learn more about our diversity, equity and inclusion strategy.
GOAL 10: OUR CULTURE
COMPLETE 30,000 VOLUNTEER HOURS BY 2025
Our team is encouraged to volunteer throughout the year, with all employees provided two paid volunteer days per annum. In 2024, alongside our sister brands, we achieved 8,066 volunteer hours, resulting in a total of 32,916 volunteer hours since 2020.
GOAL 11: ANIMAL WELFARE
ENSURE ALL WILDLIFE EXPERIENCES ACROSS TTC BRANDS ADHERE TO OUR ANIMAL WELFARE POLICY BY 2021
100% of our wildlife experiences included on all trips adhere to the TTC Animal Welfare policy.
