Active Travel Group (‘ATG’) has published its first annual sustainability report as it outlines ambitious plans to accelerate action on climate change, working towards a 50% reduction in carbon emissions across the Group by 2030.
The ATG approach to sustainability focuses action in three key strategic areas: Climate, Conservation and Community.
ATG brands which include the Wilderness Group, Ski Solutions and Cycling for Softies were founding signatories to the Glasgow Declaration, announced at COP26 in Scotland. Building a baseline understanding of the Group’s Scope 1, 2 & 3 carbon emissions has been a key climate priority over the last two years, and the Group publishes the results of this audit within the report, alongside reduction targets for 2024 and beyond.
The report reveals that Wilderness’ Scope 1 & 2 carbon emissions reduced by 16% over the period, supported by the introduction of a pilot fleet of electric vehicles to support tours from its Aviemore base in Scotland.
ATG’s sustainability report also highlights efforts the company is making to support conservation and community campaigns relevant to each of the Group brands. At the heart of these efforts is the Wilderness Conservation and Community Fund (WCCF). Founded in 2010 by The Wilderness Group, this initiative allows travellers to give back to those environments and communities at the heart of the travel experience.
Since its launch in 2010, The Wilderness Group has raised over £100,000 for grass roots environmental and community organisations dedicated to making the world a better place. In addition, the Wilderness staff team has the goal of committing 800+ hours of volunteering time per annum to those projects, supported as part of their “Big 100” volunteer programme in 2024.
ATG Chief Sustainability Officer, Paul Easto who authored the report said:
“By taking the significant step of publishing The Active Travel Group’s first annual sustainability report, we are making an ongoing commitment to providing greater insight and transparency on our sustainability performance, sharing progress against the goals and targets we have set.”
Commenting on the report, Group CEO Craig Burton said:
“Our ambition at ATG is to provide industry leadership and action across our key sustainability focus areas. Whilst we recognise the scale of the challenge the industry is facing and the need to intensify our own efforts, all of our teams across the UK and Ireland can be rightly proud of their achievements in recent years.”
Championing Lower Carbon Holiday Choices
Cycling for Softies has been promoting low-impact travel for over 35 years. Having measured the brand’s carbon footprint in 2022-23, the data revealed that the average Cycling for Softies holiday has a footprint of 126kg CO2e per trip, or 18kg CO2e per day.
With over 30% of guests now choosing to travel by train to their destination (on average 30kg CO2e return), Cycling for Softies offers one of the lowest carbon holiday options for exploring Europe. A seven-day bike tour in Provence staying in 4-star hotels and including return train travel from London would be 157kg CO2e which equates to a 75% reduction in emissions compared to taking the same trip by plane. Cycling for Softies publishes CO2e data on its website alongside tour details allowing customers to make an informed choice.
Supporting Grass Roots Conservation Projects
For nearly two decades, The Wilderness Group has supported the conservation charity, the John Muir Trust in their work to protect and preserve the wild places of Scotland.
Over the next three years, Wilderness will be supporting the John Muir Trust on a Mountain Woodland project on the slopes of the iconic Perthshire mountain of Schiehallion. The project aims to create a varied habitat linking low-level woodland to the alpine zone bringing biodiversity, aesthetic, and carbon benefits.
Financial support delivered via the Wilderness Conservation & Community Fund (WCCF) will be bolstered by regular volunteer work groups from the Wilderness team to provide resources to undertake groundwork and assist with tree planting.
