The Travel Corporation (TTC), a family of 40 award-winning travel brands, has become the first global tour operator to introduce verified net zero targets validated by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi). The company has also introduced an industry leading internal carbon fund to achieve net zero.

In a major reset to its Climate Action Plan, TTC has accelerated its original climate action commitments: 

• The organization has received validation on net zero targets by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi); making TTC the first tour operator to do so in accordance with the 2021 Net Zero Standard*
• The group’s approach prioritizes reductions and eliminates the use of offsets
• TTC has established an internal carbon fund to invest in its net zero transition
• Their not-for-profit foundation, TreadRight, will move to prioritize nature-based solutions, in support of its three pillars of Planet, People and Wildlife

*Targets will be updated on the SBTi website in the coming weeks

TTC Climate Action Plan Evolution – from carbon neutral to net zero  

In 2020, The Travel Corporation which includes brands such as Trafalgar, Contiki, Red Carnation Hotels and Uniworld, launched its sustainability strategy, How We Tread Right (HWTR), setting a goal to be carbon neutral by 2030. TTC’s climate goals have been backed by a five-point Climate Action Plan to measure, reduce, remove, offset and evolve. In 2021, a number of TTC brands including Contiki and the Radical Travel Group, consisting of Haggis Adventures and Highland Explorer Tours - announced that all trips would be carbon neutral, beginning in 2022.  

Science Based Targets 

A critical commitment of TTC’s Climate Action Plan is to evolve with climate science, available technology and business practices. In the time since the organization announced plans to become carbon neutral, its singular focus has been on decarbonization, appreciating that emitting less carbon into the atmosphere is the most effective means to address climate change. As such, TTC is announcing a reset of its Climate Action Plan, setting ambitious reduction targets and a Carbon Fund to invest in achieving net zero by 2050, replacing its goal to be carbon neutral by 2030. 

TTC has set the following carbon reduction targets: 

Net Zero Target

• Reach net zero GHG emissions across the value chain by 2050 from a 2019 baseline year

Short Term Goals 

• Reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 46.2% by 2030 from a 2019 base year*
• Reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods and services, business travel, and use of sold products 27.5% within the same timeframe

Long Term Goal

• Reduce absolute scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions 90% by 2050 from a 2019 base year*

*The target boundary includes land-related emissions and removals from bioenergy feedstocks

How this will be achieved - Internal Carbon Fund and Nature-Based Solutions 

Today, TTC’s Climate Action Plan has been reset to four points; Measure, Reduce, Restore and Evolve; replacing both ‘remove’ and ‘offset’ with ‘restore’. For its part, TTC’s TreadRight Foundation will shift to prioritize nature-based carbon removal solutions that restore the planet, in an effort to address climate change as well as the rapid loss of biodiversity. 
In addition, TTC is also announcing the development of an internal Carbon Fund. This fund will be generated through revenue from TTC brands that will be used solely for initiatives that contribute to TTC’s net zero journey. 

To achieve TTC’s science-based targets, TTC’s decarbonization plan identifies five key areas of focus for the business’s carbon reduction efforts.  

• Reduce energy use and transition to low-carbon technology at Red Carnation Hotels
• Generate and utilize renewable energy across all offices and facilities
• Reduce fuel emissions from Uniworld ships
• Secure zero emission vehicles for TTC’s Tour Brands
• Reduce the carbon footprint of trips in collaboration with the supply chain and destinations

TTC will publicly report on its Carbon Fund, alongside its progress against its science-based targets in future annual impact reports, with its next report due in the first half of 2023 on 2022 progress. Please read TTC’s 2021 Impact Report to learn more.

For more information: treadright.org; mpact.ttc.com.