About
Adventure South takes very seriously the responsibilities that come with being one of New Zealand’s leading Adventure Tourism operators. As well as our commitment to the environment & sustainable tourism we are also very involved in quality initiatives within the New Zealand Tourism Industry.
Mission Statement
“Small groups, Great Guides, Superb Holidays”
This comment encapsulates Adventure South. It didn’t come from a long and tortuous strategic planning process, but rather it came from a client review form summarising their vacation experience. Somehow I don’t think we could have done better!
Company Values
Caring, Professional, Passionate.
We do care - about our clients, their welfare, happiness, and enjoyment. We care about our environment, our small communities and the values they hold in being a Kiwi. We care about our relationships and our reputation. We care. Professional is a broad term. For us it means that we will do whatever we agree to do – to a standard that meets your expectation. We will try to get it right – first time! Passion is what we look for in our guides over anything else. Passion to provide the best customer service, to share the best our country has to offer, and a passion to show our company in the best possible light.
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Strategy
Aim of the emissions reduction plan
The aim of the emissions reduction plan is to measure, manage and mitigate our carbon emission, which our vehicle fleet emissions source accounts for a greater part of. Adventure South is a tour operating company whose philosophy has always been to own our own plant; currently this includes a vehicle fleet of 13 buses and vans.
Significant emissions sources
The main sources of greenhouse gas emissions for the organisation are as follows:
- Vehicle Fuel (Direct emissions, Scope 1)
- Air Travel (Indirect emissions, Scope 3)
Adventure South offers fully supported active guided tours that are enabled by a fleet of vehicles and the support of a head office for the management of the products. Adventure South believes that our vehicle fuel emissions make up a great part of the total greenhouse gas emissions that the company is responsible for, and we have therefore chosen to measure, manage, reduce and mitigate our emissions through the carboNZero certification programme. Air travel is the secondary source of greenhouse gas emissions for Adventure South. Office staff annually undertakes international air travel for the purpose of marketing and training. Seasonal staff also travel by air when tours depart or finish away from home.
Targets for emissions reduction
Adventure South targets aim to reduce emissions in the following way and by the completion date indicated:
1. Reduce emmissions from vehicle fleet
- Driver training - by October 2008
- Upgrade on vehicles - Ongoing
- Monitor fleet by trip - Within 5 days (done for season 2007/08, to be continued for season 2008/09)
- Monitor impact of trailer use - Within 5 days (done for season 2007/08, to be continued for season 2008/09)
- Itinerary scheduling - Ongoing North Island vehicle depot - Investigation
- Select replacement vehicles with appropriate fit out - Ongoing
2. Reduce emmissions from Head office
- Heat Pump - Completed by August 2007
- Turn off computers - End of every day
- Turn off hot water pump - End of the summer
- Conversion to low energy bulbs - Ongoing
The base year that has been set for our emissions inventory report is 2006/2007. It is also our long-term intention to use carboNZero and Green Globe certified operators and to encourage our existing contract providers to operate in a more sustainable manner. In order for Adventure South to reduce total emissions, our targets would be set against this year.
Adventure South has also been working on the following ongoing projects to reduce waste and carbon emissions. The impacts of these activities are believed to be small relative to carbon emissions generated from the company’s vehicle fleet.
- Reduce carbon emissions by cycling/walking to work
- Reduce the amount of paper the office uses by sending documents electronically and printing or reusing one-sided copies for internal office use
- Reduce rubbish by using a compost bin at depot for food claps produced from lunch and tours
Recycle glass, cans, plastics, papers and cardboard
- Create a partnership with contract activity and accommodation providers to encourage them to operate in a more environmentally sustainable manner
As guide training sessions taking place in October, the company aims to train and encourage the seasonal guides to reduce waste and recycle. Adventure South will also the update operations manual for guides by October to include clearer instructions on how they can reduce waste on tours, i.e. repackaging food, using local refuse stations.
Monitoring and Reporting Emissions Reduction
Emission reduction will be monitored and reported by collecting the appropriate data for each emission source. Fuel emissions are monitored on a trip by trip base, supported by graphs and analysed for actions to be taken. Head office energy emissions are reported on a monthly basis. Both emissions sources are set against the base year of 2006/2007. This enables the company to monitor any positive or negative changes that may occur and take remedial action.
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