The half-hour virtual masterclass on 7 December will feature TTG’s sustainability advisor TerraVerde, alongside Deben Travel boss Lee Hunt, who has this year measured the carbon footprint of his own business, with TerraVerde’s help.

Hunt will share his experience of using TerraVerde’s platform to input data such as energy usage, printed marketing materials and staff travel, to generate a report on Deben Travel’s carbon impact.

Agents tuning into the webinar will hear how measuring their carbon footprint is the first step they should take in order to play their part in the travel and tourism sector meeting its sustainability goals, how to communicate about it to customers, and also hear about the other positive benefits Deben Travel has experienced.

Deben Travel – named the UK & Ireland’s No.1 Travel Agency in 2020 - has now been able to sign the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, with a view to halving its carbon emissions by 2030.

Lee Hunt said: “Going through the carbon measurement process has been a real eye-opener for us, and was definitely worth the time commitment that it required. We’ve also been able to save money and run the business more efficiently.”

TerraVerde director Patrick Richards said: “Measuring your carbon footprint is simpler than many agents might think, and we’ve designed our measurement toolkit to offer just the right amount of support and guidance to enable small businesses without internal expertise to take this first step in their sustainability journey.”

TerraVerde and TTG will also share other advice for agents on how to tackle questions about sustainability if they are shortlisted in TTG’s Top 50 Travel Agencies for 2023.

TTG group editor Pippa Jacks added: “In line with TTG Media’s mission to champion a Smarter, Better, Fairer travel industry, we think it’s important to ask our Top 50 finalists to consider the role they can play in the future of the sector. Any Top 50 entrants who don’t feel well equipped to talk about sustainability should certainly join this masterclass to better prepare for the assessment process.”

Register to attend live at 9.30am on Wednesday 7 December, or to be able to watch the masterclass later on demand, here.

This event is exclusive to agencies who’ve nominated themselves for TTG’s Top 50 Travel Agencies 2023.