Sustainability
Sustainability matters. For the last several years, climate change is a reality staring us in the face. Across the world, rising sea levels, dying ecosystems, carbon emissions and more are issues that can no longer be swept under the carpet. They are affecting generations, past and present. It can only worsen for the ones to come. As a travel company and as travellers ourselves, we have a responsibility and commitment towards the world around us.
The need of the hour is an unwavering focus on sustainability, and to find and adopt best practices for sustainability. It means adopting responsible travel practices, looking at ways to reduce our carbon footprint, adopting clean energy practices, while ensuring we continue to travel as joyously as always. In a world that has been deeply affected by a global pandemic, all this assumes an even greater significance. We need to safeguard the only planet we have while ensuring we live and travel safely.
The ways to do this are many: support the local economies in a place, say no to plastic wherever possible, encourage the use of eco-friendly products, slow-travel and spend more time in a place, stay in hotels that prioritise safeguarding the environment in small and big ways and practice recycling. It starts with internalising and adopting the ethics connected with a sustainable way of life by each person. At Authentcities, we have begun that journey.
Protecting Cultures
There are two sides to the coin: we are keen to showcase local cultures in their unadulterated, pure forms, but the flip side is that over-tourism can have an adverse impact on the fragile ecosystem of cultures.
In view of this, we strive to take the utmost care to portray our culture in such a manner that we do not cross any line and go into the realm of over-exposure. Every interaction between tourism industry stakeholders impacts each other and the entire ecosystem. Our holistic approach to regenerative travel fuels us at offering experiences that showcase the cultural heritage, folklore, gastronomy, local attractions and wildlife.
We make a lot of effort to ensure that our local expenses stay in the places we're visiting. With every visitor, we enable a gateway to opportunities assisting the local economy, from our local guides and lodging to the people we deal with in distant areas. We believe this amply influences the local communities to be coherent about taking care of their own environment more sustainably and ethically. The regional experts who play a primary role in this aspect, also adhere to the same philosophy. To sum it up, our resolve to adopt sustainable tourism as the path we would like to walk on is a very strong one.
Saving The Planet
The future is now. Now, more than ever before has it become imperative to save the planet. We are committed to the cause. The negative effects of mass tourism are being felt the world over, in places that were once intact. The latter is one of the biggest reasons behind the degradation of our homes. Being aware of these aspects, at Authenticities we are conscious of not only how our tailor-made travel is designed, but also how consumers, have priorities ethical and absolute and are equally committed to saving the planet.
Sri Lanka is still an emerging destination. We face many a challenge of not possessing sufficient infrastructure nor the facilities to initiate electrical cars operating within the country. However, we are determined at opting for conceivable methods supporting “Fossil-Fuel Free” travel as one of the leading travel brands in Sri Lanka that advocates for a greener, cleaner environment. It is something we believe is necessary to demonstrate the art of tourism and establish a foundation for a sustainable future. Though we are still testing the waters on leading fossil-fuel-free tours around the destination, we are achieving the key elements of progressing towards the concept by endorsing accommodation providers based on their green goals and practices. One of the important aspects of this selection would include their commitment to the environment whilst supporting the well-being of communities and their belief in regenerative tourism concepts.
Although the government is supportive of renewable and sustainable energy projects, it is still a work in progress for the importation of electric cars and other vehicles that would complement other sustainable initiatives. Since our company's inception, our DNA and philosophy have been constructed around non-touristic, off-the-beaten path, and immersive travel. This entails conversing more with people and getting to know their rich culture and way of life on our multicultural island.
Travel Responsibly
Iroquois Maxim once said, “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.” Rightfully so, this is one of the guiding principles we've begun to apply religiously in our everyday life. If asked why, we will say because of being veterans in the tourism industry, we have travelled the length and breadth of the island and have seen the firsthand impact of pollution, mass tourism and cultural destruction on our planet far and wide.
Since the inception of our travel brand, we've always considered ways and means to mitigate our carbon footprint and establish ourselves as responsible service providers, as it is a matter close to our hearts. In light of our green commitment, we've made notable achievements despite finding alternatives somewhat challenging. As the first step, we stopped providing single-use plastic bottles on tours and initiated the use of reusable 20-litre water dispensers along with pumps and refillable insulated stainless-steel water bottles for our travellers. With this impassioned change, we estimate to have rejected around 420,800 single-use plastic bottles since 2017 and have also initiated a system where the plastics used by the guests directly are collected and recycled responsibly with the assistance of local guides. We also opted to go paperless for all documentation and itineraries and encourage our guests to use electronic systems in which they can perform their trip schedules and tasks across the company. Such initiatives we have genuinely felt good about, and it has been equally appreciated and endorsed by our partners and clients worldwide.
Solar Energy for The Long Run
Our office in the suburbs of Colombo is designed in a way that embraces light - a natural element that we are so wonderfully blessed with year-round and the movement of air. Our island being conveniently located north of the equator, the sun is a generous provider of our energy needs, thus, making us independent of the national grid.
Solar panels are a great way to offset energy costs, reduce the environmental impact of our home office and provide a host of other benefits, such as contributing to energy independence and combating greenhouse gas emissions, reducing our collective dependence on fossil fuel. Presently, 60% of the energy consumption at our workspace is powered by solar. By the year 2023, we hope to extend solar panels covering the Authenticities vehicle yard adjacent to our office which will convert 100% of our energy consumption to solar. The first system of 10Kwh/ 34 Panels reads 'Co2 Saving' per annum as 10,000-15,000 Kg per year and it is equivalent to 25-50 trees planted. The second system of 20Kwh/ 38 Panels reads 'Co2 Saving' per annum as 20,000-30,000 Kg per year and it is equivalent to 60-100 trees planted.
We know that this barely scratches the surface, but we believe a person could walk over the highest mountain by taking one step at a time. Every step counts.
Fresh Air
We stand for the love of green!
Change starts from within. In addition to creating awareness amongst guides, suppliers and partners on how to implement best practices to limit their ecological footprint, at Authenticities, we take it upon ourselves to practice what we preach. Our teamwork approach ensures we deploy the most modern energy-efficient fleet of vehicles.
Furthermore, we carefully procure and propose resorts and hotels that support green initiatives as a policy for our valued travelers. This means whether they adopt methods to reduce waste, invest in renewable energy practices and encourage the reuse of resources and recycling wherever it is possible. We also inspire and challenge our staff to present their initiatives on green building as a part of our training workshops.
Connect Wild
Respect is at the heart of every wildlife experience we curate, and we channel that respect throughout our organization. Whilst we provide ample opportunities for our guests to experience first-hand, both wildlife and the conservation efforts of organizations and individuals to protect habitats and species, we also work with industry stakeholders on conservation to ensure the wildlife we promote is safeguarded while also investing in internal research and development. From projects addressing and resolving matters such as human-elephant conflict to the welfare of the injured donkeys in the North, not only do we advocate conservation efforts but also work closely with locals to accelerate sustainable growth.
Our suppliers share the same values and passion for sustainable wildlife tourism, and we support educational programmes for jeep drivers and guides to spread awareness on conducting ethical wildlife tours. We also promote lesser-known parks to counter overcrowding and mass tourism to help ensure that Sri Lanka's wildlife remains wild and untouched.
We consider conserving the planet as a matter close to our hearts and perhaps sustained with almost a religious awe. We curate experiences and wildlife encounters centring around our ethics and engage in promoting responsible tourism setting an example for ourselves, suppliers, gusts and those who follow our footsteps.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature confirms over 28,000 species are listed as endangered (IUCN, 2019). Low levels of funding for biodiversity conservation and natural environments are a universal concern (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, 2016).