UK for Good Member, David Atkin, Founder Atkin Jones, and MD at Sanderson Phillips, works really hard to find climate solutions and an active advocate for climate justice.
We asked him to write a blog sharing his thoughts on how the travel industry fits into the climate conversation…
Midway through 2019, we realised there was a problem – not with either of our businesses, but with the very concept of travel and its effects on the environment.
As we delved more into the genuinely good work that is being done in many areas, we knew there was hope.
We’d seen other travel companies announcing their carbon neutrality, and the array of green hotel accreditation schemes popping up, so had no doubts there would be opportunity for us to create our positive impact.
It turns out there are good initiatives out there for travel businesses, but we spent the first few months chasing our tails a little, trying to establish what a business like ours required. Eventually, we found a combination which we’re pretty happy with and are now looking to share this with other organisations who find themselves in the same boat.
Yes it takes time, effort and resource to work to these plans and principles, but we cannot keep operating our businesses blindly ignoring the fact that we won’t have a planet capable of sustaining our operations at all if we keep doing things the same way.
The drastic operational change needed in the travel sector is evident, and Atkin Jones Limited is committed to being a force for good behind that.
That’s why we will be looking to work with our clients and their supply chains to assess their sustainable credentials and hope that many will begin to mandate that their suppliers work to the same criteria. We want to do this because it’s where we feel we can have the most impact and make the biggest difference.
Our own journey is far from over. We’ll be submitting our B-Corp application before the close of the year and are launching a new venture in conjunction with UK For Good – ‘Just, Good Travel’, a free-to-join community for travel professionals who are looking to begin their sustainability journey or take it to the next level.
We created a guide for travel organisations who are starting out and have now gone one step further with UK For Good’s support to offer regular communications and webinars focussed on sharing knowledge and giving advice on the best way forward in an ever-more complex and busy space.
For us, UK For Good has been the glue holding everything together over the last two-and a-bit years, with the monthly meetings reminding us why it’s so important to keep doing what we’re doing and encouraging us to always do more. Being in the community with like-minded business leaders has been hugely influential on us and meant that not only are we reassured that we’re doing the right thing but has given us the confidence to keep evolving and to amplify our message to a wider audience within our industry.