Driving Sustainable Change: Our Journey Towards a Responsible Future
Challenge
Establishing our current strengths and future opportunities around sustainability.
Actions
In 2023, Fox World Travel embarked on a transformative journey by partnering with 3R Sustainability to conduct a comprehensive materiality assessment on our influence within our industry and community. This assessment aimed to identify and address our greatest environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts. Through a rigorous process involving industry analysis, stakeholder interviews, and surveys, we sought to align our operations with sustainability principles and create positive change within both the travel industry and our local communities.
The materiality assessment involved multiple steps to understand our organization's current strengths and future opportunities. An industry analysis was conducted to assess external stakeholder commitments to ESG within the travel industry and their potential impact on Fox World Travel. Cross-functional leadership interviews were conducted to gauge sustainability education within the organization and understand the importance of ESG topics among our leaders. Furthermore, an ESG materiality survey was administered to our associates, suppliers, vendors, and customers to gather quantifiable perceptions of importance and performance on predefined topics.
The material topics derived from the assessment served as a guide for developing Fox World Travel's Sustainability Plan and the subsequent publication of our inaugural sustainability report, following the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines. Our sustainability roadmap focuses on three areas: People, Planet, and Principles. These were deemed material by internal and external stakeholders, and include energy and emissions, sustainable purchasing practices, diversity, equity, and inclusion, human capital development, community stewardship, ethics and human rights, data privacy and security, and risk management.
Outcomes
Through these efforts, we have taken significant steps to improve our diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices, including the establishment of a formal DEI committee with leadership oversight. Moreover, we have actively addressed the global issue of human trafficking by partnering with PACT (Protect All Children from Trafficking) and signing the PACT Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct. We continuously support initiatives that combat child sex trafficking and human trafficking within the travel industry.
We are also dedicated to making notable contributions to environmental sustainability, including reporting account-level CO2 emissions for business travel, providing CO2 flight emissions data during online point-of-sale transactions, promoting remote work to reduce carbon emissions, implementing paperless practices in vacation travel branches and business travel itineraries, and utilizing white roof technology in our home office.
Our materiality assessment and subsequent actions have set us on a path of responsible and sustainable growth. By prioritizing ESG impacts and aligning our operations with sustainability principles, we are actively contributing to a better future for the travel industry and our community. With a focus on diversity, inclusion, ethical behavior, and environmental stewardship, we are leading by example and inspiring others to join the journey towards a more sustainable and responsible future.
Contact
Sam Hilgendorf
[email protected]
Quote
Our commitment to sustainability goes beyond mere compliance. It is rooted in our core values and the belief that we have a responsibility to protect the planet, support our associates, and contribute to the well-being of the communities we serve. Our materiality assessment and subsequent actions reflect our dedication to driving positive change and exemplify the values that define Fox World Travel.