Environmental Actions
Concrete steps are taken to reduce ecological impact
Awareness alone is not enough. This sub-indicator looks at whether operators take measurable, active steps to reduce their environmental footprint — from eliminating single-use plastics and choosing low-carbon transport to formal environmental action plans with tracked targets.
Whether the operator takes concrete, measurable actions to reduce environmental impact — beyond awareness-raising.
How RTA measures this
The same sub-indicator is assessed from two sides: operators self-assess their performance; travellers rate their experience. Both use a 1–5 scale.
“To what extent did this tour take active, measurable steps to reduce its environmental footprint?”
- 1The local authorities / communities are responsible for handling these issues.
- 2We are aware of some environmental issues in the destination (waste, wildlife mistreatment, biodiversity damage, air pollution) but we do not know how to improve this.
- 3We work on reducing plastic waste along this tour, inciting travellers to reduce waste. We use recent/well-maintained vehicles. We organise regular clean-ups in this destination. We respect protected areas rules.
- 4In addition to the foregoing, we provide refillable bottles and water refill stations to our clients. We have a wildlife policy banning wildlife mistreatment (no elephant rides, animal show attractions). We use eco-friendly vehicles and/or have a carbon compensation scheme. We select eco-friendly business partners (accommodation, restaurants, etc.) or incite them to adopt an eco-friendly charter.
- 5In addition to the foregoing, we monitor results of our actions. And/or: we are very active and organise actions together with locals (improve waste management, place bins, improve recycling, support wildlife / biodiversity projects, develop sensitization tools, boards, interpretation leaflets, etc.).
“How effectively did this operator demonstrate concrete actions to reduce their environmental impact?”
- 1No evidence of concrete environmental actions was visible during the tour.
- 2A few basic environmental measures were in place but the overall effort seemed limited.
- 3Reasonable environmental actions were evident, though there was room for more ambition.
- 4Clear and meaningful environmental actions were demonstrated throughout the tour.
- 5The operator's environmental actions were exemplary — every aspect of the tour reflected a serious commitment to reducing impact.
Other sub-indicators in Cultural & Environmental Preservation
Rate this indicator yourself
Complete a questionnaire and see how an operator scores across all 16 sub-indicators.