One Foot Abroad Responsible Travel Policy

Our Mission Statement
One Foot Abroad offers a clear range of quality holidays, providing authentic experiences to our clients and leaving them with unforgettable memories through outstanding service. Our professional management, staff and guides ensure customer satisfaction and responsible travel which upholds ecotourism, community sustainability and risk management.

Our Code of Ethics

One Foot Abroad Responsible Travel Policy consists of elements of environmental, ethical, and economic, responsibility. We aim to educate everyone involved with One Foot Abroad to provide practical guidance where possible and set realistic goals for us all to work towards.
One Foot Abroad also practices "no-trace" hiking and is committed to the principles of ecotourism.

Head Office Code of Conduct

One Foot Abroad provides a positive environmental impact by:

• Educating and informing all team members on our Holidays about the global and local environment through training, briefing and experiencing. Encouraging responsible behaviour on all of our Holidays and beyond;
• Minimising environmental impacts by the responsible use of resources, especially water, adopting a zero-litter policy, promoting the use of environmentally friendly products and managing waste in an appropriate manner;
• Training and briefing all staff on the company Environmental Policy and how to adopt best practice. Ensuring staff produce a Responsible Tourism Report at the end of each Holiday;
• Ensuring that there is a system to respond to and act on any complaints and suggestions made by team members with regards to environmental practice. Providing a feedback form with specific sections on Responsible Tourism;
• Ensure that type and scale of any impact is appropriate to local conditions. All groups limited to an appropriate number for that Holiday, e.g. 16 for a Guided walking tour
• Assigning a dedicated Environmental Co-ordinator to maintain and improve our operations with regards to recycling, sustainable energy usage and waste minimisation. 
• A comprehensive website offers all information about the tours online.
• Health, happiness and personal well-being are encouraged for all employees and guides during working hours and in their personal lives.
• Use electronic mail as opposed to post where possible
• No company cars
• Car share in practice
• Space to store bicycles for cyclists
• Buy local

Travellers Code of Conduct

• All guests are given pre-trip confirmation packages about their upcoming holiday. Each package includes accurate information about the area they are travelling to, suggested packing details, best way to get to there staring point and leaving their holiday, places of interest along the way and around the itinerary.
•  Guests are instructed on water consumption at inns for showers and baths.
• Guests are encouraged to use only reusable water containers
• Guests are instructed on trail etiquette during their orientation and are advised on “Leave No Trace” principles.
• Guests are encouraged to participate in local festivals and events that will enhance their cultural understanding of the local people.
• Guests are encouraged to buy local, fresh, organic and fair trade goods and services.

Guide Code of Conduct

• Guides maintain a professional, positive and respectful attitude in all communications and dealings with the local people and businesses.
• Guides maintain a strong leadership role and model correct behaviours in regards to responsibilities to the environment and local culture.
• Guides educate and ensure the environmental awareness of the group.
• Guides are ambassadors for the region, culture and customs.
• Guides are prepared to interpret the natural environment to create awareness and identify opportunities of self-discovery for guests.
• Guides ensure that guests are properly prepared for their environment and travels to minimize the possibility of use of short-cuts or emergency evacuation.
• Guides re-use and recycle wherever possible.

Trail Code of Conduct

• We discourage guests from picking flora or removing anything from its place in nature.
• We educate on all “species at risk” in the local environment.
• We use way marked trails for the vast majority in respect with local walking offices recommendations;
• We will not use trails that have been damaged naturally (ie. rain, wind, water).
• We support local volunteer groups that protect and maintain local trail systems.
• We only use existing trails that have approval for public use by the local community.
• We practice “Leave no Trace” Principles.

Sustainability Code of Conduct

• We work with suppliers that support their local communities and operate with sustainability principles.
• All guides hired to escort tours are local to the areas that they travel in and are trained in responsible travel practices, no trace principles, food management & safety, remote wilderness first aid and natural history interpretation.
• All activities enjoyed by guests are authentic and representative of the local community.
• We understand  and promote the practice of low-impact (walking) tourism mostly and make our clients are of each holiday’s impact on the environment.  

Head Office Environmental Policy

Following an internal office audit by our Environmental Co-ordinator all office staff are aware of and adhere to our office policy. All Head Office energy use is assessed and all carbon produced is offset.

• Electricity
    Sourced from a green supplier
• Heating 
    Switch off heating in summer, at weekends and holidays 
    Open doors/windows if too hot
    Blinds in place to shade office when hot
• Lighting
    Switch off all lights when areas not in use
    Only use lights when required
    Green light bulbs to replace all old bulbs where possible
• Electronic Equipment 
    Switch off machines when not in use 
    Use standby and energy save modes when not feasible to switch off
• Consumables 
    Downloadable brochure
     Use double sided printing and copying when feasible
    Only make copies when necessary
    File on computers where possible
    Reuse scrap paper, e.g. to make scrap paper pads and for informal printing
    Buy recycled
    Re-use files, ring binders and folders etc 
      Don’t use anything disposable where possible
• Re-use and Recycle
    All paper, cans, tins and plastic recycled
    Recycling bins placed around office for easy access
    Avoid packaged products
    Eco-friendly products used for all cleaning products
    All correspondence sent out of the office is printed on recycled paper
    Avoid disposable products
    Buy goods with a recycled content or reconditioned parts
    All old clothes, computer materials etc given to charity to re-use
• Office Equipment Purchases
    All purchases to be verified by Environmental Co-ordinator
  

Destination

• Energy saving using guidelines from Head Office policy, plus drying laundry on washing line, not in tumble dryer.
• Recycling domestic waste and that generated from the production of packed lunches.
• Working with our local accommodation suppliers to encourage recycling and energy saving practices
• Planning ahead to make as few shopping trips as possible, and to buy as much as possible from local suppliers and villagers.
• On escorted walks, get lift with clients to minimise cars used, and pick up any litter found along the way.
• One Foot Abroad will pay to ensure that the carbon emissions from vehicles used are fully offset.

Products

Each One Foot Abroad package consists of a standard set of services. Each of these has been examined to ensure that responsible tourism and environmental standards have been considered. We ensure that the environmental, social, cultural, economic and aesthetic needs and expectations of the community and our customers are included in our policies, plans and decisions and result in the provision of quality goods and services.

One Foot Abroad provides a positive environmental impact by:

• Using local operators and where this is not possible using contacts that operate responsibly utilising a local workforce;
• Paying a fair price everywhere that we go;
• Training and briefing all Ireland and overseas staff on company Ethical Policy;
• Ensuring suppliers and Project Partners are fully aware of our Ethical Policy and that they adhere to it where possible;
• Ensuring all of our new projects are researched fully taking local economic and cultural considerations into account. Ensuring that the type and scale of impact is appropriate to local conditions;
• All groups limited to an appropriate number for that Holiday, e.g. 15 for a guided Holiday.

Accommodation

• We stay in accommodations on the way of various and different standards due to the great size of the area covered. We make sure to use the best combination of 1, 2, 3 stars accommodations depending on local infrastructure and availability;
• We select our accommodations in preference order ranking accommodations on their character, charm, staff friendliness, food quality and originality;
• We encourage our accommodation providers to recycle and to use energy responsibly by distributing a document to this effect at the start of the season;
• We encourage our clients only to request new towels if required, otherwise linen will usually be changed once a week, and towels twice a week, thereby reducing the amount of detergent and energy used in laundering.

Water bottle

• We encourage our clients to use a plastic bottle for the duration of their holiday or to use special reusable containers such as camel bags etc.

Holiday Packs

• Printed on recycled paper, double sided, and containing information to enable our clients to experience the maximum enjoyment and understanding from the area with the minimum impact.
• We will also supply our clients with suggestions on how to reduce water use, and with how to minimise any damage to the environment and wildlife during their stay.
• The Holiday Pack will include a summary of any relevant social/political details of each region, such as the fact that the Galician region has recently moved to the left and has broaden its participation on Camino communication outside of Galicia itself.
• Our Holiday pack inform people on water points, local bars and restaurant along the way reducing the disposable food and beverage needs and encouraging them to stop by the local restaurateur. For example encouraging people to try the white Albarinho wine in the south of Santiago de Compostela.

Dinners – we do include the dinner in our packages apart from the first and last night to get people to eat in the local restaurant on the way but giving freedom to try on other foods and specialities on arrival and departure nights.