Corporate Responsibility

As travelers our relative affluence carries social and environmental responsibility. We want to leave the planet a better place than it is, and we can do this by engaging in cultural & learning experiences, wildlife conservation, meeting local people, and giving back.

Our mission statement implies a proactive position in being responsible world citizens. That includes educating ourselves and our customers on the need to reduce the negative implications of travel, and promoting its positive attributes.

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, "The business volume of tourism equals or even surpasses that of oil exports, food products or automobiles." Increased travel and tourism provides positive benefits such as economic growth and employment opportunities and it can help sustain local cultures and ecology in the developing world.

Travel also has negative consequences such as environmental degradation. There are many examples of the consequences of an ever-expanding tourism industry. For example: An increasing demand for flights and larger airplanes requires the use of more energy and fuel, which creates more pollution from carbon emissions.

However, considering the positive impact tourism has on the world economy, restricting travel and tourism is not the answer. Africa's wildlife, for example, is being protected as a result of tourism. Instead, the industry needs to reinvent itself as a more sustainable industry.

Simple changes in operations as well as technological innovation can alter travel to be more environmentally responsible while still allowing the industry to grow. The goal is to change behavior, our own and to the extent possible, of our travelers, so that the social and environmental impact of travel is reduced.

TravelStore's Best Green Business Practices:
Reduce, Re-Use & Recycle
TravelStore has been making changes to become more environmentally-friendly. Thoughout the company, we expect our branch offices and our staff to abide by our best practices, and we encourage our staff to follow these guidelines at home as well. Branch managers are responsible to ensure and review these guidelines are met:

Electricity/Water Conservation:

• Turn off office lights at the end of the day.
  
• Turn off bathroom lights after each use.
  
• Set thermostats to a reasonable temperature and rely on window shades to keep heat in or out.
  
• Conserve water by using filtered tap water which is highly rated in the state for quality.
  
• Use low-flow toilets and faucet filters.
  
• Replace traditional light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs.
  
• If purchasing any appliances, purchase only energy-efficient ones.
  

Office Supplies/Paper:

• Eliminate Styrofoam use (such as cups).
  
• Avoid using disposable cups/glasses for water and coffee, and to have re-usable glasses and cups/mugs that can be washed.
  
• Re-use dishes and cutlery instead of using disposable items.
  
• Maintain recycle bins for paper products and ensure it is recycled.
  
• Set up recycling for non-paper products like aluminum and glass bottles. (Recycling a single aluminum can saves enough energy to run a laptop computer for about 11 hours, or a FAX machine for 1.5 hours.)
  
• Re-use cardboard boxes.
  
• Use washable cloth towels instead of paper towels as much as possible.
  
• Use non-toxic, non-chlorine, biodegradable cleaning products.
  
• Print on both sides of the paper when making copies or printing hard copies of information, wherever possible.
  
• Print as little as possible, relying on e-mail for sending memos, reports, etc.
  
• Provide all invoices and client materials by e-mail when possible, offering a hard copy only if the client insists on it.
  
• Re-use scrap paper for internal notes where possible.
  
• Purchase, use and print on recycled paper wherever possible.
  
• Recycle toner and ink cartridges.
  
• Consider purchasing fair trade coffee.
  

Computers/printers:

• Turn off computers every evening.
  
• Recycle toner and ink cartridges.
  
• Set computers to go to sleep automatically when not in use.
  

Business Travel:

• Offset carbon emissions for our business flights.
  
• Book direct flights wherever possible.
  
• When practical, minimize travel by encouraging webinars and teleconferences.
  
• Agents are encouraged to offset the carbon emissions for their flights when traveling on vacations, especially when traveling on reduced-rate tickets.
  
  The above measures are our internal focus. Externally, we also need to:
  
• Make our customers aware of the carbon offset program prominently featured on our website.
  
• All invoices will include a statement referring clients to the carbon calculator on our website if they wish to offset their carbon emissions.
  
• For those renting cars or requiring taxis, ask if they are interested in a hybrid vehicle and where possible, and support the companies that can provide them. Our preferred suppliers, for the most part, offer hybrid options.
  
• Encourage suppliers we work with to become more green, and promote these benefits to our shared customers. Some of the environmental and social responsibility commitments made by suppliers are included on our website.

Finally, TravelStore is committed to support the local community by participating in select fundraisers, cleanups or food drives. In past years, TravelStore has supported Heal the Bay, Y-Me, Revlon Walk, Little Company of Mary Hospital, Los Angeles Free Clinic, Venice Family Clinic, and other fundraising and community events.