Sustainable Policy

Our Mission

Our aim is to contribute to a sustainable society and to sustainable tourism. Any activity we undertake endeavors to tread lightly on the planet; empowering travelers and local communities to leave a positive impact on the surrounding environments in which they visit or live. We will always fight to manage our resources so economic and social needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity and biological diversity – therefore preserving the elements that make our destination a more desirable place to visit. We are also trying to work more closely with our suppliers to deliver higher sustainability standards and motivate them towards more sustainable travel behavior (accommodation wise)

Sustainability Policy

KBA Tur operates in the country of Indonesia located in the pacific. Our destinations in Indonesia are: Bali, Java, Lombok, Flores, Sumatra, and Sulawesi. We work with more than 10 local suppliers/Partners around the country. We fight to run our business along ethical lines, embracing the three pillars of sustainability: economic, social and environmental. We seek to maximize the positive benefits received by local communities as a result of our presence, while minimizing any negative impacts. Whenever possible, we will work with local partners and suppliers who share our philosophy and actively monitor their business practices and services.

This policy details our commitment to deliver our services in a responsible manner, whilst providing an innovative and varied product offering to our valued clients. It addresses not only the areas where will endeavor to minimize damage to our environment, but also details the measures taken to guarantee the health and safety of our employees, those in our supply chain and our customers. Additionally, KBA Tur is committed to developing, operating and marketing our tourism services in a sustainable manner. With this in mind, KBA Tur has partnered with the ‘Travelife for Tour Operators and Travel Agents’ certification aswell as ‘ATR’ for the French Tourisme Responsible in order to achieve a certification / Labellisation.

Sustainability management

In our company there is a member coordinating our sustainability initiatives who has access to and is accountable to senior management. These sustainability coordinators will be in charge of action planning, monitoring and evaluation. Additionally, they will be key in keeping our sustainability policy up to date and reporting on the progress of sustainability management within our company and its suppliers.

Reduction of disposable and consumable goods

We always aim to reduce the amount of disposable and consumable goods used in our operations, and when this is not possible, will reuse and recycle as much as we can. Already in our offices, employees are provided with refill bottles to stop using one-time use bottles. When reduction is not an option, we recycle waste through the utilization of recycling bins that are accessible to all employees. Plastic, paper, glass, compostable waste and batteries can be placed into separate recycling bins.

Paper consumption reduction

We encourage employees to use ink efficient printing settings, reducing consumption by 15%. We use Natural papers with Legal wood and also re-use already printed paper.

Sustainable purchasing

Sustainable procurement means we aim to buy only locally produced fair trade coffee and tea for our employees and guest. We put in place Eco tourism bags made out of Straw Material to encourage our guest to not purchase or use Plastic bags during their stay sustainable and green cleaning products.

Energy reduction policy

KBA Tur takes a number of actions to ensure energy is not needlessly wasted in its offices. These include; saving energy from air conditioning units which are switched off at night and at weekends. We save energy on lighting and technical equipment by purchasing low energy devices. We ensure that devices are switched off during breaks and printers are switched off and unplugged at the end of each working day and over the weekends.

Staffs travel policy and sustainable transport policy

We give preferences to transport suppliers that are committed to supplying sustainable local transport alternatives such as Train , Cyclo -push,cycling. When Transfer is needed we aim to train drivers into respecting sustainable driving techniques, such as ensuring that drivers turn off engines when the vehicle is not in use.

Partners

KBA Tur commits to communicating its sustainability goals and objectives to key partners in order to motivate existing partners to greater sustainability. Additionally, when selecting new partners we will factor in their sustainability performance especially for accommodation towards Eco Lodge instead of big brand hotels, and also for eco responsible activities.

Sustainable accommodation policy

We are committed to ensuring accommodation suppliers are made aware of our key sustainability goals and objectives. We will always offer multiple accommodation options and include traditional homestays where possible to provide a deeper cultural experience, whilst increasing benefits to local communities. Our accommodation suppliers must agree to no forced labour or child labour, among other conditions, and we ask that they actively support community involvement and development initiatives. Preference is also given to accommodation providers that work with local or international sustainability certification schemes.

Sustainable excursion policy

Our sustainability objectives encourage our staff to adopt a responsible approach. Each supplier is also made aware of our sustainability policy and we are developing relevant codes of conduct for sensitive excursions. All excursion suppliers must commit to respect basic human rights and fight against child exploitation and animal exploitation. We always update and evaluate how ethical and responsible suppliers’ services are and train our guides accordingly. Protecting biodiversity and wildlife in Indonesia is also a key priority.

Nature conservation

Nature and wildlife are key parts of our tours, yet just the pressure of sheer numbers of visitors can do serious damage to wildlife and sensitive sites. We provide information to our clients so they can experience the natural environment while protecting it for others to enjoy in the future.

We have included clauses in the code of conduct for accommodations/suppliers on the importance of biodiversity and its protection: Suppliers shall minimize their negative impact on the environment; The Supplier shall actively reduce the amount of energy and water used and shall minimize the use of chemicals known to cause damage or pose risks to health and/or the environment; The Supplier shall comply with mandatory national and international law, particularly in regard to the procedures and standards for waste management, handling and disposal of chemicals and other dangerous materials, emissions and effluent treatment; The Supplier shall monitor and control wastewater and solid waste generated and shall treat it as required prior to discharge or disposal; Waste of all types shall be reduced to the greatest extent possible by the Supplier. The company and its direct service providers do not promote souvenirs or food which contain threatened flora and fauna species as indicated in the CITES treaty and the IUCN ‘Red List’; historic and archaeological artefacts (except as permitted by law).

Product information

We take full responsibility for our actions and want to create a positive impact through our activities on the environment, customers, employees and communities. At all times we monitor and ensure active compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards and international values. We communicate relevant sustainability issues to our clients in the destinations they visit and provide a traveler Ethique Chart to educate the traveler on how to behave towards sustainable tourism. An extensive list of products and destination information is accessible online for guests to access.

Travelife is a three-stage certification program for tour operators and travel agents: (1) Travelife Engaged; (2) Travelife Partner and (3) Travelife Certified. We were awarded the Travelife Partner (stage 2). The Travelife Partner award is a recognition of our commitment to social and environmental sustainability. We are complying with more than 100 criteria related to sustainability management, office operations, working with suppliers and customer communication. We are working towards further improvements aiming to eventually reach the Travelife Certified stage by 2018