n NEWS E


Sustainability? It doesn’t need to be rocket science. I am in the fortunate position


of being global sustainability lead for the Globus family of brands and have been involved in this since 2018 when we started to address sustainability seriously. In that time we have accomplished huge


Giles Hawke


CHIEF EXECUTIVE, COSMOS AND AVALON WATERWAYS


We can all make big sustainability leaps without overcomplicating


amounts and created our Lighthouse Project, which encompasses all of our activity under one umbrella to help our staff, agents and customers better understand the breadth and depth of what we are doing. I have questioned a number of times over the


past four years whether I am the right person to be leading this. I don’t have official training in this area; I have another full-time job in leading our UK business; and it has been extremely challenging at times to keep track of everything and ensure we are really making a difference. I have looked at all


the different third-party organisations which offer to help measure your impact, and the programmes that exist to validate your actions, along with what our competitors are doing and what is happening in wider society. Having done all this,


the lives of people in the places we visit? Can we ensure that more of the money spent by customers reaches local people so that more people benefit from tourist spend? And can we ensure that people are paid a living wage, that animals are fairly treated and that child labour isn’t exploited? The answer to all these questions is an emphatic ‘yes’ for all of us without the need for complicated and expensive sustainability programmes to back it up.


“Most of us should feel empowered to do whatever we can


for the sustainability triangle: people, places and planet”


I have come to the conclusion that, for the vast majority of businesses, we can achieve massive leaps in our sustainability programmes without the need to overcomplicate things.


Common sense Sustainability isn’t just about carbon – although that it is an important part of it – but about the people and the places we visit as well. For businesses that don’t have the budgets


to employ dedicated sustainability people and outside consultants to measure and manage everything, endeavours to do the right thing shouldn’t be frowned upon. Common sense is a great starting point for


any sustainability programme. Can we reduce our emissions through simple actions? Can we work with our business partners to jointly help improve


travelweekly.co.uk


Sustainability curve Clearly, massive companies will need to do a lot more, and certain elements of the supply chain will be investing significant sums in developing technology – think about the efforts of the airline industry with their sustainable aviation goals for net zero by 2050 as an example. For the rest of us – mid and small-sized tour operators and travel agencies – we should feel empowered to do whatever we can and proud of any efforts we are able to make to be more sustainable in all three areas of the sustainability triangle, namely people, places and planet. Can I quantify exactly


what our negative and positive impact of everything we do at Globus in terms of hard figures and facts? No. Can I proudly talk about


everything we are doing and the intended impact and benefits and feel confident that we are headed in the right direction? Yes! We shouldn’t feel embarrassed that we haven’t


done everything and that we are at different points on the sustainability curve, but confident that we are committed to doing something to make our businesses more sustainable. So for those who aren’t sure where to start or


aren’t sure what to do, my advice is to do something. Get started using the “do the right thing” mindset and you will quickly be on the road to being more sustainable and able to talk about what you are doing.


Read more columns by Giles Hawke: go.travelweekly.co.uk/comment


24 NOVEMBER 2022 23


S


s


t


u


l


E


s


i


C t


b a I


I


a i


D


i


P


y


A


L


T


I


O


N


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92