Our commitment to REGENERATIVE tourism

WHAT IS REGENERATIVE TOURISM?

Sustainable tourism removes tourism’s negative environmental, economic, and social impacts.

Regenerative tourism improves a destination’s environment and community.

Halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 is a critical goal

Climate change affects everything we care about, and more so each year.

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has made us aware that we only have until 2030 to prevent the worst impacts of climate change - irreversible and exponential atmospheric heating.

The good news is, if we have the will, we have the means to halve our emissions by 2030 to maintain a safe climate.

We’re on board with that goal!

Why should regional destinations act?

To benefit

Travellers are choosing to spend their money at destinations that align with their values. With three-quarters of travellers wanting to travel sustainably, according to Booking.com’s Sustainable Travel Report 2023 (and increasing every year) and with sustainability increasing in Australians’ Google searches, destinations who make responsible choices improve their competitive edge.

It’s our share of the global response to the climate crisis

We each have an essential part to play in the global community’s halving of emissions – in our businesses, destinations, travel decisions, homes, community groups, sports clubs, and more. That responsibility is simply fair, as is being socially and environmentally responsible.

To avoid climate change’s negative consequences

Global warming will affect tourism in our destinations.

OUR COMMITMENT

Tilma Group commits to

• halving our business emissions by 2030, in line with the UN’s targets

• setting SMART goals for emissions reductions, the environment and social justice (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound goals)

• planning tactics to achieve our goals

• measuring and reviewing our progress annually

• sharing our progress towards our goals publicly

• implementing our policy when decision-making and purchasing

• encouraging clients, suppliers and partners to make similar choices

• sharing best practices amongst our peers and colleagues

• advocating for a rapid transition to regenerative tourism

OUR CERTIFICATION

Kushla is undertaking a Diploma of Sustainable Living, and has achieved an Undergraduate Certificate so far. The Diploma, offered by University of Tasmania is a free course.

B Corporation

Tilma Group has begun BCorp Impact Assessment. B Corporations meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability as they seek to balance purpose and profit. This assessment helps us identify where we can improve.

HOW TILMA GROUP HELPS DESTINATIONS

• We help regional destinations incorporate the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s (GSCT) criteria in their tourism development planning. We apply this lens over all our strategic planning.

• We recommend sustainable and regenerative tourism practices.

• We provide clients with GSTC’s Destination Criteria checklist.

• We recommend our clients undertake GSTC training.

• We identify how clients can effectively engage both operators and visitors in making climate-friendlier choices.

• We collaborate with and recommend partners with sustainable commitments.

Business for Good - We donate 1% of our revenue to support rural community’s resilience to climate breakdown

We contribute 1% of our revenue each year to the Prepare & Recover grant program of the Foundation for Regional and Rural Renewal (FRRR). 

FRRR’s Prepare & Recover grants enable regional communities to implement initiatives that prevent, prepare for, and recover from climate change related impacts and disasters. 

Tilma Group’s clients regularly benefit from FRRR’s grants, so the partnership is a great fit.

HOW TILMA GROUP HELPS EVENTS

Through our online event management capacity-building rEVENTS Academy we support regional event committees to run their events more efficiently.

The module on sustainable and responsible events in our online event management course supports events to become climate-friendly, environmentally-friendly and socially-responsible.

The module covers

• Event management choices for environmental sustainability

• Setting the intention and SMART goals

• How to inspire attendees and suppliers to make responsible choices

• Social license and inclusion

• A legacy to be proud of

HOW TILMA GROUP APPLIES SUSTAINABLE PRINCIPLES

In early 2023, we undertook Ecotourism Australia’s affordable ($250) and quick (6 hours in our case) Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard.

Emissions reduction

We have an annual emissions reduction plan, which was (easily and quickly) developed using the free resources at ecoBiz, particularly their guide on reducing emissions in office work, and energy.gov.au.

Office

We reduce our emissions by

• working mostly from home which reduces our commute, or cycling to work in a nearby co-working space, which leverages existing power usage at those venues (e.g. for heating and cooling).

• using solar power and energy-efficient heating/cooling systems (insulation, passive design and efficient heating/cooling devices) at our home offices.

• reducing our waste by having paperless offices.

Travel

We reduce the need to travel by using video conferencing and digital communications (saving both emissions and reducing fees for clients), and we offset required travel.

We offer prospective clients a money-saving option of using only digital communications for consultation, helping them to meet their own climate goals without impacting on the quality of our consultations or deliverables.

12 months of travel restrictions during COVID revealed that not travelling to clients’ destinations resulted in no decrease in quality outcomes or client satisfaction. We can still effectively tap into local knowledge through our online consultation methods.

We use active transport (bicycles) for trips around town where possible, for example, when we use our co-working space.

Offsets

Each year we offset our estimated emissions with Greenfleet while we proactively try to lower our emissions. Greenfleet plants native biodiverse forests in Australia to capture carbon emissions, improve soil and water quality, provide vital habitat for native wildlife, and re-connect remnant native ecosystems.

This means Tilma Group and our services are carbon neutral.

We recognise that offsets are not a long-term solution.

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Volunteerism and personal choices

Kushla’s volunteer efforts supports our home community of Toowoomba to halve emissions by 2030 through the grassroots Toowoomba for Climate Action. Kushla instigates and runs projects that support and inspire Toowoomba Region’s residents, businesses and the local government to reduce emissions, and celebrates their reductions achievements.

Our staff integrate sustainability principals into choices in their personal lives as well.