Carbon Offsets
Now that the humans on earth are finally waking up to the fact that we are seriously damaging our planet, there is a greater awareness of “going green” in many aspects of our lives. Buzzwords such as: recycling, carbon footprints, climate change, eco-tourism and sustainable energy are being used. But what are we actually doing to make a difference? As privileged travelers of the world, we certainly should try. Why don’t you start by checking your carbon footprint of your planned trip to Africa and see what you can do to offset it. We offer a full range of carbon offset options. See below.
Click here to check your carbon footprint and offset it.
Going Green in our workplace
We recognise that our tourism work can have direct and indirect impact on the local, regional and global environment. We are committed to reducing any harmful effects on the environment that our tourism work may cause through our green office policies and are dedicated to promoting the understanding of sustainability in its broadest context to both our local and international clients. We understand that some of our green policies are not regular practice for some of our suppliers and have pledged that we will attempt to make a difference in our tourism activities wherever possible. We do also attempt to deal with suppliers who have environmentally friendly policies.
We aim to “Rethink : Refuse : Reuse : Reduce : Recycle.”
• Rethink the way we operate as an office.
• Refuse to implement practices in our office and tourism work that are harmful to the environment.
• Reuse products and supplies wherever possible rather than sourcing new items.
• Reduce the amount of waste through careful planning.
• Recycle all products where possible and buy only products that are recyclable.
Why we follow this green policy:
• Our standard human practices of using plastic shopping bags, drinking from disposable coffee cups, leaving lights burning and adopting a “more is more” approach in our lifestyles have led to the deterioration of our planet. It is estimated that in a few years time, we will run out of dumping space for our waste, clean drinking water and will have to wear gas masks because of the air pollution we have caused. This is a reality. We all need to make difference in any way that we can.
• Choosing to adopt green living policies at home and at work, is crucial and often more cost-effective and can lead to lower operating costs by saving money on buying paper, replacing ink and electricity usage.
• By having a green policy, we have an improved social responsibility aspect. This increases our marketability, as more and more companies are choosing to “go green” and work with other green companies.
Current office greening policies:
• Purchasing office supplies that are environmentally friendly and recyclable.
• Supporting local suppliers as much as possible – thus reducing carbon footprint of products purchased.
• The separation and recycling of paper, plastic and cans through an out-sourced recycling company.
• Use of printer paper back-to-back and scrap paper where possible to avoid waste.
• Aiming to be a paper-free office wherever possible.
• The building has specifically been built to catch as much natural light as possible, thus minimising electricity usage.
• We encourage employees cycle to work as often as possible, rather than driving their cars.
• Majority use of electronic communication rather than paper: not only does this save on paper, postage and transit, but it is quicker and more effective.
• Management of the office hot water facilities by switching off of the office geyser for the majority of the day saves electricity as hot water is seldom needed in the office environment.
• A reflective film has been installed on the windows to reduce heat in summer and thereby nullifying the need for an air conditioning unit.
• Re-usable crockery and cups available to staff in the office kitchen, to cut down on take-away packaging and styrofoam cups.
• Use of refillable ink cartridges in printers.
• Use of fluorescent lights throughout the office which are more energy efficient than incandescent light bulbs.
• Development of a worm farm where bio-degradable waste can fertilise the office garden rather than end up in a landfill site.