The Flash Pack Foundation

Small steps to big change

THE FLASH PACK FOUNDATION

We believe passionately in the power of small yet incremental change.

Like you, we love adventure travel with a passion but there’s no denying that the world that we operate in comes with some major ethical baggage.

From price inflation to plastic bottle waste, the demands of mass tourism are wreaking havoc on local communities and natural environments around the world.

And it’s not enough to simply look on and shake our heads at this destruction. If we don’t like what we see, we have to be part of the change.

OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, WE PLEDGE TO:

GIVE BACK TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES

We’re partnering with a series of grassroots projects to directly support the people that we work with in neighbourhoods all over the world.

These small organisations make a direct, positive impact on local communities in areas of education, human rights advocacy, gender empowerment and animal welfare.

BECOME CARBON NEUTRAL

Global tourism now accounts for 8% of global carbon emissions, a figure that includes not only air travel but also infrastructure (building roads and hotels), food provision and retail services.

Flash Pack aims to be a carbon neutral company by 2023, a feat we will achieve via a series of ambitious carbon reduction and offsetting goals.

Every time you book a trip with us, we will set up a carbon offset scheme to calculate and neutralise your adventure footprint. This will cover everything from international flights to hotel heating and beyond. This means you can enjoy sustainable and responsible travel with Flash Pack at zero added cost.

Our offset donations will go to a broad range of clean-energy projects around the world. These include wind farms, reforestation projects and initiatives that carry added social benefits e.g. replacing wood-burning stoves with efficient alternatives in remote areas of Africa (helping families to save money on fuel and improve air quality, as well as reducing carbon emissions). We will also measure and offset carbon emissions made by our London HQ.

REDUCE PLASTIC BOTTLE WASTE

Every minute, nearly a million plastic water bottles are sold around the world, causing catastrophic damage to our oceans. Every year, 18 billion pounds of plastic waste flows into the sea from coastal regions, choking our waterways with toxic chemicals and destroying precious ecosystems.

The choice is simple: planet versus plastics. We want to replace single-use bottles with refillable options wherever we can, to help safeguard our environment in this battle of monumental odds.

We aim to provide clean water tanks on 50% of Flash Pack adventures by 2023, as one small step towards major change.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL BRIEF

Finally, since awareness is key, we will also provide Flashpackers with an environmental brief before each trip, which outlines how much waste, water and energy they should be using compared to the local population.

We also provide easy carbon reduction tips, to empower those who adventure with us to make good decisions on the move and be responsible, low-impact travellers.

THIS IS OUR FLASH PACK FOUNDATION MISSION.

We’re constantly looking for ways to grow, so if you have any ideas on how we could improve any of our trips when it comes to our social impact and/or carbon footprint, please do let us know by emailing [email protected]