To celebrate Earth Day, The Travel Corporation (TTC) has announced a new five-step plan to tackle climate change.

To further support the transition to a low-carbon future, TTC and its TreadRight Foundation are investing in two nature-based carbon removal solutions, Project Vesta and GreenWave.

TreadRight has also launched a new Impact Hub in an effort to be transparent about its progress against the groups 11 sustainability goals, while also providing tips to travellers on how they can help. 

Climate change is directly linked to an increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the atmosphere, of which globally, a reported 51 billion tons of GHG emissions are emitted annually. 

Part of the company’s plan is to become carbon neutral by 2030 and source 50 per cent of electricity from renewable sources across the organisation by 2025.

This includes TTC’s 20-plus offices, 18 Red Carnation Hotels, 13 Uniworld ships, six accommodations/facilities, 500-plus vehicles and more than 1,500 itineraries operated worldwide by its 40 brands.

Off the back of TTC’s announcement, its youth travel brand Contiki has committed to reaching carbon neutrality faster than its sibling brands, promising to offset all trips by 2022.

TTC has also committed to carbon-neutral offices and business travel in 2022, through its partnership with offset provider South Pole. 

“Our TTC Climate Action Plan is not marked by one quick fix, because there isn’t one,” Brett Tollman, chief executive of TTC, said. 

“There is much debate as to the right approach when it comes to decarbonising travel and tourism, and our position is that this must be a process that begins now and commits to evolving as the solutions continue to improve and become available to us.” 

TTC’s Climate Action Plan consists of five points:

1. Measure – Measure the emissions from its business and trips.
2. Reduce – Build on reduction efforts and set ambitious reduction targets by mid-2022.
3. Remove – Invest in new technology and nature-based solutions to remove excess carbon from the atmosphere.
4. Offset – Purchase carbon credits to offset unavoidable emissions, including phasing in carbon-neutral trips between 2022 and 2030.
5. Evolve – Continue to learn from others, invest in new technologies and support strategic alliances that enable the industry to move to a low-carbon economy. 

TTC’s TreadRight Foundation will action step three of its Climate Action Plan in 2021 through an investment of about $130,000 into Project Vesta and GreenWave.