Intrepid Travel, a certified B Corp and world-leader in responsible tourism, has been awarded the Sustainable Tourism Award at the 35th National Banksia Sustainability Awards, for its work advancing a more sustainable travel industry.
As the longest-running and most prestigious sustainability awards in Australia, the Banksia Awards celebrate excellence in 14 categories, highlighting the diversity of sustainability practices across the country.
Brett Mitchell, Managing Director ANZ at Intrepid Travel, reflected on the achievement: “We are honoured to be awarded Banksia’s Sustainable Tourism Award(s) for our efforts to create a more sustainable future for travel. Our vision for Intrepid’s legacy is to demonstrate that scaling positive impact is possible while decarbonising and growing customer demand.”
Intrepid has a long history pioneering responsible travel and in 2018, formalised its commitment to balancing purpose and profit by achieving B Corporation certification, which measures and audits its impacts on the environment, workers, community, customers, and governance.
Intrepid first recorded a B Corp score of 82.7 and has since improved this by 10 points to 91.2 in its latest recertification in 2021. Intrepid intends to improve this score once again at its next B Corp recertification later this year.
Highlights from its impact program over the past year include introducing carbon labels on over 800 itineraries, raising $2.8 million for charitable partners in 36 countries through the Intrepid Foundation and launching a partnership with the World Travel and Tourism Council to support accommodation suppliers with carbon measurement and education tools.
As part of its efforts to drive inclusive impact and reduce inequality, Intrepid has completed two Reconciliation Action Plans (RAP), including a Reflect and Innovate RAP from mid-2020 to mid-2023. Intrepid has raised awareness surrounding colonialism, land dispossession, and racism and strengthened relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples through increasing First Nations-led experiences from 12 to 50 in Australia.
Sara King, Intrepid Travel’s General Manager of Purpose, who leads the company’s B Corp program, said: “By retaining our B Corp certification while growing the size and scale of our business, we are demonstrating that B Corps can be larger, purpose-led businesses that are equally commercially successful.
“We aim to establish a business model that the wider tourism sector can replicate so that our industry can create greater impact in more ways, for more people, and ensure our collective future success.”
Other finalists in the Sustainable Tourism Award category included Fun Over 50 Holidays, Take 3 for the Sea’s Ground Swell Litter Prevention Program and Wild Adventures Melbourne.
