Introduction
Welcome to TUI Travel PLC’s Sustainable Development Report covering the progress we have made on our four priorities – Carbon Management, Destinations, Our Colleagues and Our Customers – since our first full Sustainable Development Report published in 2009.
Published one year later, this report includes data covering the financial year 1 October 2008 to 30 September 2009 (referred to throughout this report as 2008/09), except where otherwise stated.
This is an interim report, as from 2010 onwards we aim to align publication of our sustainability report more closely with the TUI Travel PLC Annual Report and Accounts, reflecting the integrated way in which we increasingly manage our sustainability performance alongside our commercial operations.
The objective of this report is primarily to report headline sustainability progress and data for 2009 and communicate our 2010 targets, principally for investors, academics, policy-makers, non-governmental organisations, TUI Travel management and other interested parties.
We are pleased to share some significant achievements both within our organisation and in collaboration with our peers across the travel sector that support TUI Travel’s vision of Making Travel Experiences Special and that demonstrate our commitment to Responsible Leadership, one of our four company values. By taking on Responsible Leadership we hope to increase the positive and minimise the negative impacts we have and to sustain the trust of the communities of which we are a part.
We have published within our report an overview of our performance in each of our priority areas. For full details please see our separate 2009 targets table which is available in the download section of this online version of this report.
Sustainable development championsDuring 2008/09 the Specialist & Emerging Markets Sector appointed and trained a network of over 100 sustainable development champions, each with specific targets to achieve in this area. Champions have already delivered practical sustainability projects including I Viaggi del Turchese’s ‘walk to school’ scheme, saving carbon and strengthening ties with the local community, and employee engagement activities such as the UK businesses’ sustainability themed photography competition.
The Climate ProjectSimon O’Kelly, General Manager of Peregrine and Gecko Adventures, was selected as a presenter for The Climate Project, www.theclimateproject.org. Simon was trained by Al Gore and other facilitators to give the climate change presentation from the film ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ and committed to sharing it with as many colleagues as possible.
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Greener Holidays e-brochureIn April 2009, First Choice published Greener Holidays, the first brochure in the UK market to promote more sustainable mainstream holidays. The online brochure features only those hotels that have earned a Travelife award for their commitment to the environment, their employees and the local community, and provides an easy way for customers to make a more sustainable choice.
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Saving fuel with wingletsTUIfly Nordic was one of the first airlines in the world to fit winglets to the Boeing 767s in its fleet. Aircraft with winglets – wing-ends that curve upwards – can reduce fuel burn by up to 5%, depending on flight distance. All seven TUI Travel airlines have fuel-saving winglets fitted to some or all of the aircraft in their fleets.
Ultramar Transport reduces coach fleet emissionsUltramar Transport, part of TUI España, provides ground transport services to TUI Travel customers in the destinations we serve. Ultramar Transport has been working hard to progressively reduce the emission profile of its fleet. Coaches purchased in the last three years comply with Euro-4 and Euro-5 European Union vehicle emission standards, the most stringent in force, representing the very latest engine and fuel-saving technology.
TUI Deutschland establishes new sustainability initiativeEarly in 2009, TUI Deutschland launched the industry sustainability initiative Futouris which focuses on climate and biodiversity protection and the promotion of educational programmes. The initiative supports schools in Namibia and Nepal and farmers in Kenya. Following its establishment by TUI Deutschland, industry peers have now also joined the initiative.
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Fair trade excursionTUI Nederland launched a fair trade chocolate excursion in the Dominican Republic, developed in partnership with the Dutch development organisations Cordaid and PASEO, to generate additional income for the local cacao farmers. Ten local farmers and more than 30 local women have been trained as guides on the tour.