Our Climate-Biodiversity Action Plan

It’s an unfortunate truth that the global travel industry produces a significant amount of carbon dioxide, which G Adventures recognizes contributes to climate change. That’s why, in November of 2021, G Adventures signed the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism. Its purpose? To hold tourism organizations like ours accountable to developing a climate action plan for halving our carbon footprint by 2030, and reaching Net Zero as soon as possible before 2050.

Read on to discover our climate action plan that follows the Declaration’s five key pathways: Measure, Decarbonize, Regenerate, Collaborate, and Finance.

How we measure

To understand the total amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) we produce and how much different areas of our business generate, we measure our emissions from three different perspectives, or scopes.

Scope 1

What we “burn”: how much CO2 our assets produce (our buses and boats, for example).

Scope 2

What we “buy”: the amount of emissions generated from the electricity needed to power our offices.

Scope 3

Everything “beyond” scopes 1 and 2: the CO2 produced by our trips, staff travel, employee commuting, and more.

As part of our responsibilities, we’ll also publicly report the emissions we measure each and every year. Our numbers so far? Starting with 2019 (our baseline year), we produced 122,902 tonnes of carbon dioxide. In 2024 (our latest year), we generated 106,014 tonnes. We are currently measuring our 2025 carbon footprint.

Decarbonizing in Action

Lowering our carbon footprint is an undertaking that not only spans our entire company, but every continent in the world. Here are the initiatives we’ve implemented across our business to reduce the CO2 we produce:

Office Energy

Since July of 2023, we have utilized renewable energy to power our offices in London, and we’ve committed to sourcing sustainable energy for our other offices wherever available moving forward.

Smarter Sailing

In 2026, we introduced our New Expedition Ship, replacing our former Expedition vessel. This state-of-the-art ship is designed for significantly improved efficiency, estimated to provide a 30 percent reduction in carbon footprint per person, per day.

Vehicle Optimization

We continually assess the size of the vehicles we use to ensure they’re appropriate for the size of our groups — the fewer empty seats there are, the lower our carbon footprint per person.

Trip & Itinerary Efficiency

We are actively collaborating with our Product Teams to identify and implement carbon-efficiency improvements across our itineraries. By auditing our routes and transport methods, we are working to ensure our trips are as lean as they are adventurous.

Climate Literacy & Staff Engagement

We believe reduction starts with education. We have launched a company-wide investment in Carbon & Climate Literacy training for all staff. This includes specialized learning journeys for our product teams to ensure that carbon-conscious decision-making is at the heart of every trip we design.

Internal Policy

We continue to follow internal policies that limit business-related travel and promote a culture of remote working to minimize our Scope 3 commuting emissions.

Regenerating in progress

Our commitment to the Glasgow Declaration involves more than just reducing our emissions. Another key piece includes regenerating natural ecosystems, uplifting communities, and promoting responsible tourism practices.

Trees for Days

For every day a customer travels with us, we grow one tree on their behalf with communities currently reforesting their landscapes. We have set an ambitious new target: to grow 12 million trees by 2030. This isn't just about carbon removal; this expansion will directly impact and improve the lives of over 200,000 people by creating sustainable income opportunities and environmental resilience for generations to come.

Nature Positive Community Tourism

We are integrating "Nature Positive" approaches into our existing and future community tourism experiences. By ensuring that nature benefits alongside the communities we visit, we create a regenerative travel model where biodiversity is protected and restored through the presence of our travelers.

Collaborating for change

Protecting the environment takes a global village. We’re collaborating with Planeterra — the world’s leading non-profit community tourism organization — to uplift communities around the world, harnessing the power of tourism to enhance their resilience and adaptability to the impacts of climate change.

Together, G Adventures and Planeterra help community tourism enterprises (such as restaurants, accommodations, and handicrafts) receive the support they need to grow and thrive — from infrastructure to training courses to the guests that visit.

While some projects directly benefit their natural environment (through regenerating biodiversity or removing discarded plastic), other projects provide crucial support to the local economy, a key factor in adapting to a changing environment. We’re also open to working with industry partners and other travel companies to address these climate challenges together.

Financing the future

Money makes the world grow 'round. Here’s a few ways we’re investing in the health of our planet.

Funding ourselves

G Adventures has committed $5 million CAD over the next five years to support every aspect of this climate-biodiversity action plan.

Reforest investment

In 2022, we made a significant investment in a restorative travel technology start-up, Reforest, that helps travellers and tourism companies reduce their carbon footprint.

Planeterra support

G Adventures continues to financially support Planeterra and its mission to uplift community tourism enterprises, including a new initiative aimed at uplifting communities to become more resilient to the impacts of climate change, and improve their wellbeing through biodiversity regeneration.