Ethics & sustainability in 2023

Consumers are increasingly looking to businesses to step up and tackle society’s big issues. Guests are more informed and aware than ever, with ‘greenwashing’, ‘purpose washing’ and misleading claims hitting the headlines across the industry. Travellers are beginning to demand that a company examine the environmental impact of its offerings, with ABTA’s Holiday Habits 2022 report finding that 43% of respondents considered it a provider’s responsibility to be sustainable, not the purchaser’s. Consumer experts like Mintel also report a rise in the interest in sustainable brands and the growing popularity of B Corp certification further shows how change is being driven from the ground up.

Equality of access to nature, regardless of ethnic or social background or disability is another fast-growing cause, with campaigns and organisations like Nature is a Human Right and Black to Nature seeking to address historic imbalances in the provision of nature access. According to statistics from the House of Commons Library, 22% of the UK population now have a disability, with that figure continuing to grow. Many operators and companies are responding slowly, but those who do are seeing an improvement in customer satisfaction and an increase in revenue.

We’ve taken great strides to improve our social and environmental impact, but there’s plenty more we’re planning. By its very nature, glamping is environmentally sounder than some forms of travel, but we’ve been working with electric vehicle charge point suppliers, energy companies and other experts to make it as easy as possible for our owners to operate more sustainably. We’ve also implemented our overtourism policy, which caps the number of places that we work with in destinations that suffer from overtourism, and expanded our Community Champions programme, giving businesses doing extraordinary things in their community a platform from which to grow. Read more in our 2022 Impact Report.

We’re proud to have achieved B Corp certification, recognising the high ethical standards we maintain in every aspect of how we work. In June 2022, we were also named Most Ethical Travel Booking Site by Ethical Consumer, with the highest score in their comprehensive & independent ratings system, but we’re not resting on our laurels. An Access to Nature campaign is coming soon and will complement ongoing work with Sophie Morgan on the permanent provision of disability information on our website.