Sustainability and legal compliance

At Amstour we commit to corporate social responsibility by:

Having a designated sustainability coordinator responsible for all tasks related to sustainability;
Sharing our sustainable mission with clients, partners and suppliers;
Taking into account any negative social, cultural, economic and environmental effects of the activities of our organisation;
Working together with external work groups that promote sustainability in tourism;
Doing a baseline audit of our organisation’s sustainability;
Having a sustainability actionplan outlining goals, actions, measures, responsibilities and a timeline;
Developing a documented procedure to implement our sustainability policy and monitoring progress;
Being transparent by publicly communicating about our progress;
Ensuring all staff is aware of our sustainability goals and involved in implementation and improvement;
Complying with local and national laws and regulations.

Social policy and human rights

At Amstour we commit to a sustainable and and safe working environment by:

Allowing employees to terminate their employment contract freely and without fines while giving notice in as set out in Dutch law and the applicable Collective Labor Agreement of the travel industry;
Including employment conditions in line with Dutch law and an adequate job description in all employment contracts;
Contractually committing to a wage that is equal or higher than stated in the Collective Labor Agreement for the travel industry;
Agreements on compensation for overwork in line with the Collective Labor Agreement of the travel industry;
Taking care of medical and liability insurance in line with Dutch law;
Having a health and safety protocol compliant with Dutch law;
Complying with Dutch law regarding the minimum age of employees;
Regularly gaging employee satisfaction and acting on feedback;

At Amstour we commit to honoring human rights by:

Not penalizing or obstructing labor union membership and collective labor negotiations;
Adhering to the Collective Labor Agreement of the travel industry;
Not discriminating in recruitment, labor conditions, access to education and promotion to high positions based on gender, race, age, disability, etnicity, religion or sexual preference;
Creating equal oportunities and access for all employees to training and education with the goal of personal development.

Environment & community

At Amstour we commit to environment and community by:

Actively reducing the use of disposable products;
Giving preference to sustainable goods and services, office and catering supplies, corporate gifts, and merchandise;
Purchasing products in bulk to reduce the amount of packaging material;
Actively working towards measuring and reducing energy consumption;
Using energy-efficient lighting and green energy;
Turning off all lights and equipment when not in use;
Giving preference to energy-efficient equipment when purchasing new products;
Complying with national waste removal legislation;
Developing and implementing goals for reducing and recycling solid waste;
Taking measures to reduce the amount of packaging material and not offer non-recyclable or non-biodegradable packaging materials;
Using reusable cups, cutlery, and plates in the office;
Not using plastic bottles in the office;
Separating all materials that can be recycled and organize their collection;
Complying with national legislation regarding wastewater treatment;
Minimizing the use of harmful substances and, where possible, replace them;
Measuring and reducing staff-related travel and encourage the use of more sustainable means of transportation;
Reducing commuting by promoting teleworking, video-conferencing, and working from home;
Offering staff periodic guidance and training on their responsibilities related to CSR policies;
Contributing to the protection and preservation of local historical, archaeological, cultural, and spiritual significant features of destinations and not impeding local residents’ access to them.

Local partners

Based on an overview of our key local partners, Amstour has developed and implemented a policy to improve the sustainability practices of our local partners. Our goal is to make sustainable development concrete for every partner within our company. To do so, at Amstour we commit to:

Keeping an overview of the sustainability practices of local partners;
Paying attention to the benefits to the local community when selecting local agents and their social policies for employees;
Creating awareness about sustainable tourism and its consequences;
Informing local partners about Travelife sustainability standards and national tourism standards and laws;
Signing a collaboration agreement with local partners to encourage their sustainability practices;
Regularly evaluating the sustainability practices of key partners to ensure that they are working sustainably;
Informing local partners about the sustainability policy and that they are expected to comply with it;
Including important sustainability clauses in contracts with local partners;
Encouraging local partners to participate in (local) sustainability trainings;
Having written contracts with local partners;
Including clauses in partner contracts that allow for the contractual agreement to be terminated prematurely if the local partner does not take adequate measures to prevent sexual exploitation of children in the direct supply chain;
Ensuring that local partners comply with all relevant national laws protecting workers’ rights.

Transport

At Amstour we strive to ensure that vehicles used during trips do not cause more than the average level of pollution. We believe that transportation is an important aspect of sustainable tourism, and we do our best to reduce the average level of pollution. We do this by:

Selecting the most sustainable options, taking price and comfort into account when selecting transportation options to the destination;
Integrating (sustainable) public transportation to the departure point of the international trip;
Preferring more sustainable alternatives when selecting transportation options for transfers and excursions at the destination, considering price, comfort, and practical considerations;
Partially or fully offsetting the carbon emissions of the trip.

Accommodations

At Amstour we aim to achieve a fully sustainable supply chain. Partner accommodations play an important role in this and are encouraged and motivated to implement sustainable practices. We do this by:

Selecting accommodations that meet sustainability and quality standards with a special focus on corporate social responsibility;
Giving preference to accommodations that are locally owned and operated;
Selecting accommodations that provide employment opportunities for the local community;
Encouraging accommodations to attend sustainability training;
Communicating sustainability goals clearly and actively to accommodations;
Giving clear preference to accommodations that work with internationally recognized certification;
Motivating contracted accommodations to certify themselves with an internationally recognized certification;
Including sustainability clauses in all contracts with accommodations that focus on child labor, anti-corruption and bribery, waste management, and protection of biodiversity;
Offering benefits to accommodations that already implement sustainable practices;
Ensuring that the rights of children are respected and safeguarded throughout the supply chain;
Including a clause in contracts that establishes a zero-tolerance policy for the sexual exploitation of children;
Including a clause that allows for a contractual agreement to be terminated early if the accommodation fails to take adequate measures to prevent the sexual exploitation of children.

Tours & activities

At Amstour we place great value on animal welfare and community well-being, and therefore strives for travel with a small footprint. We protect the authenticity of the local population and the natural environment and are against the separation of wild animals and polluting the environment. We do this by:

Advising customers on behavioral norms during excursions and activities with a focus on respecting local culture, nature, and the environment;
Communicating sustainability goals and requirements to contracted excursion providers;
Not offering excursions that harm people, animals, plants, natural resources such as water and energy, or that are socially and culturally unacceptable;
Not offering excursions where wild species are held captive, except well-regulated activities in accordance with local, national, and international laws;
Not collaborating with companies that hunt, consume, exhibit, sell, or trade in wild species;
Having competent and/or certified guides to accompany customers to sensitive cultural and/or ecological destinations;
Promoting excursions and activities directly involving local communities to our customers;
Promoting excursions and activities that support the local environment and biodiversity (such as visiting protected areas) to our customers.

Tourleaders & guides

At Amstour we strive to involve as many local residents as possible in the tourism sector. We stand for a fair and safe working environment that supports and respects local communities. We do this by:

Ensuring that all employees have a written employment contract, including terms and conditions of employment and a job description;
Giving preference to working with local tour guides, representatives, guides, porters, drivers, cooks, and other local staff in cases of equal ability;
Ensuring that all local partners comply with applicable international, national, and local laws and regulations, and minimum standards in the tourism sector;
Paying tour guides, local representatives, guides, porters, and other local staff hired a living wage that is equal to or higher than the local legal minimum;
Ensuring that local employees are qualified and regularly trained;
Ensuring that local employees are informed about relevant aspects of the sustainability policy and comply with it through training sessions, workshops, newsletters, and informal communication;
Allowing local employees to inform customers about relevant sustainability issues at the destination, social norms and values, and human rights;
Training local employees to avoid child sexual exploitation and communicating this to customers as well.

Destinations

At Amstour we commit to a sustainable destination by:

Taking sustainability aspects into account in the selection process of new destinations and offering possible alternative destinations;
Not selecting destinations where tourism leads to structural negative local effects (unless the involvement of the organization results in clear counter-effects);
Considering the accessibility of new destinations with more sustainable means of transportation;
Complying with legally-based spatial planning, protected areas, and heritage regulations;
Supporting initiatives that improve the relationship between accommodations and local suppliers;
Influencing and supporting the local government with regard to sustainability, destination planning and management, and socio-cultural issues;
Supporting the preservation of biodiversity (including protected areas and areas with high biodiversity) through financial contributions, political support, and integration into product offerings;
Not advertising souvenirs containing endangered flora and fauna species as indicated in the CITES convention and the IUCN red list of historical and archaeological artifacts.