ethical strategy

In July last year we were the first UK travel agent to launch an ethical strategy supporting sustainable tourism. One year on we’ve made significant progress in delivering the strategy and have developed new initiatives that we believe help set us apart in the Travel Industry and give confidence to our customers that by booking with us they are supporting responsible tourism.

Corporate responsibility 

As part of the wider Co-operative Group, we have a history of corporate responsibility. For over 160 years The Co-operative Group has shown it’s possible to do business in a way that’s good for everyone. The Group’s leading edge sustainability initiatives were recognised with The Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Sustainable Development.

We understand that to some people it may seem paradoxical for a travel business to be talking about sustainability, but we believe that we can help make a difference. We’re actively collecting £1 per passenger on behalf of the Travel Foundation and educating our customers on what their donation goes towards, so that we really are helping our customers to enjoy their leisure time to the full, whilst lessening the impact that their holiday may have on the environment and supporting local communities.

Our aim is clearly to be a successful business but as a co-operative we’re about more than just pursuing profit, and our members expect us to lead the field in matters of ethics and the environment. We were the only travel agent to oppose the development of a third runway at Heathrow and although the government overruled, we still in principle oppose the development of runways throughout the UK unless there is a clear sustainability case. We’re working with overland travel providers to offer our customers alternative methods of travelling, and we offer our members free carbon offset on their holiday flight*.

Each year we plan to go even further by reviewing our Ethical Strategy, setting new, stretching targets and communicating progress to our customers and our members. In this document you will learn more about The Co-operative Travel Ethical Strategy, how we’ve progressed since last year, what we’re currently working on, and where we’re heading in 2010. We believe that it is possible to do business in a way that’s good for everyone.

Mike Greenacre

Managing Director
The Co-operative Travel

*All members that have a valid current travel booking with us will be entitled to a free carbon offset, no matter where in the world they’re travelling. If the cost of the carbon offset for the member is less than £10 then the free offset can be extended to other members of the booking to a maximum value of £10.