Sustainability at Iceland Unlimited
Iceland Unlimited is Travelife Certified, audited against more than 200 mandatory sustainability criteria covering environmental management, climate action, biodiversity, working conditions, human rights, local communities and supply chain. This page sets out what that covers and the specific actions behind it.
With this sustainability policy, we want to highlight the responsible practices guiding our operations. As Iceland Unlimited is part of the Travel Connect house of travel brands, we follow their certifications and policies to show our dedication to these issues.
Certifications
Iceland Unlimited has achieved Travelife Certified recognition.
Travelife Certified is the highest recognition level within the internationally recognised Travelife sustainability programme for tour operators and travel agents.
Travelife Certified recognition is awarded following a comprehensive independent on site audit based on the Travelife Certified Standard.
During the audit, it is verified that our company complies with more than 200 mandatory sustainability criteria covering areas including environmental management, climate action, biodiversity, working conditions, human rights, local communities, sustainable supply chain management, customer communication and responsible business practices.
The audit confirms that our sustainability management system and sustainability practices have been demonstrably implemented throughout the entire organisation and comply with the requirements of the Travelife Certified standard.
To maintain this recognition, our company is recertified every two years to verify that we continue to comply with the requirements of the Travelife Certified Standard.
More information about the Travelife programme, the different recognition levels, the validity of our current Travelife Certified recognition, the assessment process and the publicly available Travelife criteria can be found on the Travelife consumer website: travelife.info/travelers.
Goals
A series of Sustainable Development Goals were adopted as part of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. These focus on the 3 pillars of sustainable development: economy, society, and the environment.
We want to play our part in reaching these goals and have built our sustainability policy around those relevant to our operations. The following are the goals we will focus on:
Responsible consumption and production (12)
Our aim is to emphasize resource efficiency and waste reduction. One of the ways we do this is by following the 3 Rs of waste management: reduce, reuse, and recycle. We also aim to support local businesses as much as possible.
Decent work and economic growth (8)
Tourism plays a fundamental role in Iceland’s economy and can impact its social and natural environments. For that reason, we want to ensure a sustainable approach in all our operations.
We aim to only select local suppliers that are fully insured, licensed and who uphold high standards of comfort and safety for our clients. And by focusing on local businesses, the revenue generated by visitors stays in the local communities.
Sustainability at Travel Connect
You can read our full Sustainability Policy on the Travel Connect website. There you’ll also find a summary of our future goals as we continue to work on becoming more sustainable.
For questions or comments about our Sustainability Policy, please contact Travel Connect’s sustainability coordinator, Kristín Halldórsdóttir, at [email protected].
Environmental Policy at Iceland Unlimited
We at Iceland Unlimited are aware of the fact that businesses have substantial carbon footprints and environmental impacts. Our business is no exception, but we operate with awareness and focus on reducing the inevitable and possible negative effects we have on the environment. We take great care in trying to minimize these effects by promoting and implementing sensible shopping for office supplies, treating natural resources with respect and in a sustainable way, recycle office waste as much as possible and dispose of other waste in a responsible way.
The following is our internal environmental policy, which sets out the principles our staff and partners work to. It describes our commitments rather than measured outcomes.
- To train our staff and make our customers aware of our environmental policy and provide useful information on how they can contribute and participate in the protection of the environment during their tours with us.
- Provide our partners with useful information regarding our environmental policy and how they can contribute to protecting the environment
- Continue to develop and improve our environmental policy and seek guidance and assistance on how to reach our goals
- Provide our guests with information about how our environmental policies and contributions benefit our area of operations
- To work with local/native partners as much as possible
- Take the following into consideration regarding the operations of the company:
- Avoid/minimize the pollution of land, water, and air.
- Avoid the destruction of natural exhaustible resources
- Avoid the destruction of habitats
Iceland Unlimited stands firmly against all forms of exploitation and harassment, including forced labor, child labor, human trafficking, and commercial and sexual exploitation. We are committed to protecting the dignity, safety, and human rights of all individuals, with particular attention to the well-being of children and adolescents. We expect all employees, partners, and stakeholders to uphold these values and oppose any form of exploitative practices in their interactions and business conduct.
Iceland Unlimited operates under license from the Iceland Tourist Board.
Sustainable Organizations
Iceland Unlimited holds Travelife Certified recognition, awarded following a comprehensive independent on site audit. See the Certifications section above for details on what this recognition covers.
