1. Vision/mission/company ethos
At My Ireland Tour, our core values are to welcome our guests to Ireland and to do this in a sustainable way bringing business to local communities while being mindful of our impact on the local area and culture.
It is our vision to put together all the components of a tour to allow our guests to experience the beauty of our country, escorted by a knowledgeable, friendly, and local tour guide. This will include transport, hotels, meals, and attraction visits.
My Ireland Tour is aware that its business activities impact upon the environment, and we are committed to alleviating those negative impacts as it's our mission/vision.
2. UNWTO definition
At My Ireland Tour, we believe that sustainable tourism is tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social, and environmental impacts while addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities (UNWTO, n.d.). We, therefore, aim to reduce our negative effects and increase our positive impacts.
3. Continuous improvement
We will always look to improve ourselves and our work environment, seeking out new practices and ideas to help build a more sustainable tourism industry for ourselves and our guests. So far, we have changed our workflow to a completely digital office to remove the need for unnecessary printing, we are in the planning stages of installing solar panels on our office to move us to a more renewable cleaner source of energy, and we encourage members of our team to use public transport, cycle or walk to work rather than using a car where possible.
4. Measuring and reducing negative impacts
4.a Energy consumption
We commit to measuring our electricity consumption every 2 months and do the following to reduce consumption:
- Use low-energy or LED light bulbs
- Turn off lights/devices when not in use
- Ensure everything is turned off at night
- Have solar panels on the roof of our office building
4.b Water consumption
We commit to measuring our water consumption every 2 months and do the following to reduce consumption:
- Only filling the kettle with as much water as is needed to avoid unnecessary water and energy use
- Install flow restrictors on taps to use less water
- Fix any leaking taps
4.c Waste production
We commit to measuring our waste consumption every 2 months and do the following to reduce consumption:
- Recycling paper and plastic, and using a food composting bin
- Avoiding using single-use plastic
- Avoiding paper use by running a digital office
- Bringing home-cooked lunch where possible to avoid plastic packaging
5. Ethical purchasing
At My Ireland Tour, we are committed to:
- Source products and services locally where possible
- Ensure that all suppliers adhere to safe and ethical working practices
- Ensure that their vision, policies, and views align with our own
6. Responsible sustainability marketing
We know that it is important to communicate our efforts in an honest way. We are aware of the risk of greenwashing, and we, therefore, commit to:
- Market our organisation in an ethical and responsible way
- Create accurate marketing that leads to realistic expectations
We know we can't always get things right first time. We, therefore, commit to honestly communicating where we are on our journey and our improvements.
7. Social responsibility
We are conscious of the impact of our tour groups entering towns and villages throughout Ireland, and we will respect the people, nature, and local environment.
We will educate guests about local customs, traditions and conditions.
Where possible, we will choose attractions that promote local culture, heritage, and nature. We will strive to highlight small local towns and less visited communities of the country during our tours and encourage the use of their amenities and attractions.
We employ the expertise of local tour guides in communities, allowing them to highlight their towns and provide insight into their way of life, history, and culture. This will include guided walks and tours of areas/towns, and where areas allow, education on the local nature and landscape.
8. Supporting Biodiversity
To protect and conserve our local biodiversity, we:
- We will ensure that disruption from tours is at an absolute minimum level and no adverse trace remains after the tour departure.
- We will be mindful of the local environment and nature and actively avoid causing harm or disruption to the local flora and fauna.
- To prevent waste, we do not supply printed materials or tour welcome packages containing plastic water bottles or other single-use materials to our guests.
