Sustainability

Our sustainability policy

Sustainability is an integral part of our corporate strategy. We recognize that the environment, local communities, and the cultural diversity of the destinations in which we operate form the foundation of our business — and must be protected.

Responsible and respectful conduct is therefore one of our core values. Our objective is to maximize the positive impacts of tourism for people and destinations while minimizing negative social, environmental, and economic effects wherever possible.

Our sustainability policy outlines the measures we have already implemented, those currently in progress, and the goals we aim to achieve in the future. It provides the framework for our product development, corporate governance, and collaboration with partners worldwide.

All employees at Planet B share this responsibility and actively contribute to promoting sustainable travel.

We commit ourselves to the following objectives:

The people

• We attach great importance to long-term, trusting and fair business relationships with our local partners. This includes fair contractual conditions and fair payment, which enables our partners to invest in staff, equipment, and training. Price dumping is definitely not part of our business practices.
• We favour cooperation with partners who share our commitment to sustainability and have a clearly defined sustainability policy.
• In our travel countries and regions, we prefer to work with local companies that preserve and reflect the local culture. This applies to hotels/lodges, transport companies, restaurants, craft businesses/art and cultural centres. In return, we avoid overnight stays in foreign hotel chains so that as much of the travel price as possible remains in the regions travelled to and does not flow into foreign corporations. We only use international hotels in exceptional cases (if there is no suitable accommodation in terms of quality and sustainability).
• We and our partners are always working to optimize the social impact of our trips in order to improve local living conditions. Respect for human rights (including the rejection of child labor under the age of 14) is an absolute condition for cooperation with Planet B. Any violation of human rights will result in immediate termination of the co-operation.
• Planet B has an equally absolute zero tolerance for corruption and the sexual exploitation of children. Here too, an offence leads to the immediate termination of the cooperation.
• Together with our partners, we ensure that the trips we organize do not have a negative impact on the environment or society, particularly in the case of sensitive activities that may bring travelers into contact with animals, children or remote communities. Care is also taken to ensure that any activities organized by our partners do not negatively impact the local population’s access to and availability of land and public space, clean water, food, healthcare and energy.
• Planet B requires its local partners to carefully select and train their tour guides (with a particular focus on sustainability and all related issues, including illegal souvenirs) and to pay them fairly and in accordance with the law.
• In the spirit of mutual enrichment, we consistently focus on encounters between locals and travellers.
• We promote responsible tourism in our industry and among the stakeholders we deal with in our destinations and pass on our expertise in this area in the countries and regions we visit.
• We drive positive change within our value chain and provide information, training and support to colleagues and external partners to engage them in sustainability.
• We give back to the neighbouring communities in our region by supporting projects that address local development challenges and by promoting fair employment opportunities and the promotion of prosperity.
• We put our customers and guests at the centre of everything we do and help them to make informed decisions about their travel. In our travel announcements, we provide information about the sustainability of our products to encourage our customers to choose Planet B’s sustainable holidays. We provide further information on sustainability with the travel documents, including information on illegal souvenirs (link to WWF souvenir guide https://www.wwf.ch/fr/guide-souvenirs).
• Of course, we also respect our employees and their diversity and promote their well-being wherever we can.

The environment

• Preserving the environment and continuously improving our environmental footprint is very important to us.
• When planning trips, we take care to avoid feeder or intermediate flights and to create programs that are as resource-efficient as possible. Within the countries and regions travelled, longer distances are covered by train if possible, without compromising on quality. In cities, we favor public transport. Of course, we always keep an eye on quality and safety.
• We offset 100% of the CO₂ emissions from flights and land-based services.
• Internally, we measure our consumption of natural resources, especially energy, and look for ways to reduce it. We use green electricity in our offices. Our website is hosted on a server (also powered by green electricity) located in Luxembourg.
• We monitor and reduce our waste in a responsible manner.
• Wherever possible, we buy local products and limit the use of small packaging (e.g., coffee from a local, sustainable roastery, tea from local producers).

Implementation, Transparency and Dialogue

Planet B by Bollig Tours has firmly embedded the principles of sustainable development into its core business – the design and delivery of travel experiences. We fully comply with all relevant legal requirements. Through regular training and continuous internal dialogue, we ensure that our employees understand our sustainability objectives and actively contribute to their implementation. Our processes are continuously reviewed and further developed. Where appropriate, we share best practices with our partners and raise awareness for responsible conduct throughout our global network.

Once a year, we report transparently – both internally and externally – on the progress and further development of our sustainability goals. Sustainability is an ongoing process. Not everything can be implemented immediately, and not all markets are equally advanced in establishing sustainable structures. In several destinations, sustainability practices are still evolving.

In the spirit of partnership and continuous improvement, we welcome feedback, ideas, and suggestions to further strengthen our sustainability performance. You can reach us by phone at +352 729722-1, by email at info@planetb.travel, or in person at our travel office in Echternach (121, route de Luxembourg).