Audley Travel publishes its annual sustainability report

The report details the progress Audley has made against its Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Framework (now entering its fourth year). 

Audley’s ESG Framework

The ESG Framework identifies five key areas (the environment, workplace, communities, marketplace and governance) in which the business has set 36 annual targets which are either aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals or with Audley’s internal priorities.

The targets form a long-term journey where small sustainable steps over extended periods of time continue to deliver change to benefit the communities in Audley’s destinations. 

Audley made strong progress against the 36 ESG targets set for 2023, with 33 met and the remaining three being a continued focus for 2024. Highlights of the achievements include:

• Responsible product – Audley formally launched its Responsible Choice criteria to clients to enable them to make sustainable choices, clearly marking the product that goes above and beyond to give back to local communities and the environment. 137 stays and experiences were added to the collection in 2023, taking the total to 279). Audley plans to add a further 200 during 2024.
  
  
• Employee volunteering – Audley exceeded its goal of 50% of employees using at least half a day to volunteer, with the team dedicating a total of 4,475 hours to helping out in their local communities.
  
  
• Insight – As part of its commitment to a goal to support education for all, Audley’s Insight initiative uses the knowledge of employees and suppliers to support young people exploring career opportunities in the travel industry. In 2023, 37 of Audley’s employees delivered the initiative to 121 students in nine schools and community hubs (four more than last year, and a 22% increase in the number of students reached).
  
  
• Long term carbon strategy – Audley’s long term carbon reduction work continues, with a focus on working with suppliers to reduce the carbon emissions from clients’ trips. This will support Audley’s target to reduce its scope 3 emissions (excluding the aviation emissions from client trips) by 55% by 2030. Examples of Audley’s engagement with suppliers includes helping reduce emissions by moving to electric car transfers and replacing internal flights with alternative options, such as train travel. Audley also continues to enhance the detail of the data it holds, surveying the top 550 hotels it works with (accounting for 80% of client stays) to gain a more accurate understanding of each hotel’s footprint.