Sustainability policy of MILLENNIUM TOURS
Purpose
The company is committed to minimize the negative impact of travels in Jordan. The purpose of this policy is to reduce the waste by implementing rules of waste management.
Scope
This policy applies to every single member of Millennium Tours from Management to the CEO of the company and freelancers as well. Customers will be informed about our policies.
Elena, the coordinator of sustainability, is responsible for implementing the company’s sustainability policy.
Sustainability management & legal compliance
Sustainability commitment
Millennium Tours leadership is wholly committed to the company’s sustainability performance and endorses the company’s sustainability mission statement and policy.
We will use the Travelife platform to report on our sustainability progress and to monitor and evaluate progress. We are committed to (publicly) communicating our sustainability performance (by means of the Travel life report) every two years.
Sustainability management & legal compliance
Millennium Tours commits to continuous improvement of sustainability practices, including the ongoing monitoring and evaluation of our sustainability policy, with dedicated personnel and resources to achieve our sustainability goals.
Millennium Tours follows all local, regional, national, and international regulations as they relate to human resources, human rights, children’s rights, land rights, environmental management, wildlife, and land use. We follow a strict Code of Ethics, including a zero-tolerance policy for corruption, bribery, forced labor, and discrimination.
Internal management: social policy & human rights
Millennium Tours supports both career-related and job-related professional development activities.
Millennium Tours is committed to the principle of fair and equal pay for like work and for work of equal value for all its employees, and contractors, regardless of gender/sex, race, national origin, marital status, age, religion.
Millennium Tours is committed to fostering a safe, healthy, and inclusive work place/work culture where all employees are able to perform their duties/to recognise their potential.
Millennium Tours is committed to a zero-tolerance policy for acts of bribery, corruption, discrimination, and violation of human rights, including forced labour, human trafficking, and all rights of children.
Millennium Tours further expects this commitment from all partners and suppliers.
Internal management: environment
Environmental management of office operations
Millennium Tours is committed to managing environmental impact as an integral part of our operations. It is our policy to assure the environmental integrity of our processes and products at all times by:
Continuously seeking opportunities to improve our environmental performance by establishing objectives and targets, measuring progress, and reporting our results, including but not limited to energy, water, paper, and carbon.
Practising a waste hierarchical approach to always reduce, reuse, and recycle commodities and products instead of waste, particularly waste to landfill.
Promoting participation and communicating our commitment to responsible environmental management by promoting environmental responsibility amongst our employees and stakeholders and soliciting input from them to better achieve our environmental goals.
Minimising pollution including light, noise, and any soil, water, or air contaminants, and avoiding use of any toxic or hazardous substances.
Carbon management of office operations
Millennium Tours is committed to reducing our carbon footprint and endeavors to reduce the amount we travel as much as possible by:
Reduce the amount we travel as much as possible
Monitoring and measure measuring carbon footprint with the aim to reduce as much as possible and offset remaining amounts.
Implementing procedures such as using just electric cars or hybrid
Land use
Millennium Tours office is located in a urban area and abides by all local land use laws, respects local cultural and natural resources in our business operations, and favors sustainable architecture and design.
General suppliers policy
Millennium Tours is committed to sourcing its products and services responsibly, avoiding harmful impacts on society, culture and nature as much as possible. We expect the same level of engagement and commitment from our suppliers.
Millennium Tours prefers to work with partners that share the company’s commitment towards sustainability. This means that we prefer partners that have a written sustainability statement as an integral part of their business policy and/or a clear sustainability policy in place.
Millennium Tours prefers to work with suppliers in the destinations that are locally owned or managed, use local and seasonal products and services and benefit the local community by hiring locally and equitably and by providing fair working conditions.
Whenever possible, Millennium Tours prefers to select partner companies that comply with tourism- specific, internationally recognized (GSTC-accredited) certifications, or other sustainability certifications like B Corp or ISO.
Millennium Tours offers incentives for partners that are actively engaged in sustainable operations.
Millennium Tours expects its suppliers to adhere to a Code of Conduct, that includes the following responsible business practices:
Complying with all local, regional, national and international regulations
Respecting all human rights including labour rights, children’s rights, and women’s rights
Committing to fair employment conditions
Following anti-corruption, anti-bribery, anti-extortion, and anti-discrimination policies
Protecting children from (sexual) exploitation through tourism
Protecting the environment and natural resources
Acting in the best interest of local communities
Protecting the interests of Millennium Tours
Our complete supplier Code of Conduct is available here: Millennium Tours – About us
Following a zero-tolerance policy, Millennium Tours will immediately terminate any relationships with suppliers that violate the Code of Conduct, specifically through acts of bribery, corruption, discrimination, and violation of human rights.
Millennium Tours raises awareness amongst its suppliers to adopt sound social and environmental practices, and to minimise their carbon footprint.
Millennium Tours actively collaborates with suppliers to improve their sustainability performance. We encourage our suppliers to continuously learn about sustainability and provide/support this learning whenever possible.
Millennium Tours maintains open lines of communication with our suppliers and partners and encourage feedback from our stakeholders at any time and on any topic, particularly sustainability
Inbound partner agencies
Millennium Tours only works with partner agencies that adhere to the company’s Code of Conduct.
In the entire process of developing and operating our travel packages, Millenniutm Tours expects partner agencies to act in the best interests of the surrounding communities and environment as well as our guests.
Millennium Tours provides partner agencies opportunities for sustainability learning and management, including free access to the Travelife online learning and reporting platform.
Transport
Millennium Tours only works with transport providers that adhere to the company’s Code of Conduct.
When selecting transport for guests and business related travel, Millennium Tours commits to choosing the most environmentally friendly options available for travelling to, from, and within the destination – taking into consideration distance, price, route, and comfort.
Millennium Tours has implemented clear guidelines for reducing GHG emissions from transport and selecting the most environmentally friendly transport options, including the following measures:
Preferring ground transport over air transport for short-haul travel destinations
Avoiding in-destination flights as much as possible
Using appropriate vehicle sizes for group sizes and purchasing most efficient vehicles available
Training drivers on eco-driving techniques
Millennium Tours endeavours – and has a system in place – to measure and compensate for the unavoidable GHG emissions produced from transportation. Compensation costs are either included by default in the package price or compensation is actively promoted to the clients as a booking option.
Accommodations
Millennium Tours only works with accommodations that adhere to the company’s Code of Conduct. In the accommodation selection process, Millennium Tours considers the sustainability practices of an accommodation by taking into account their sustainability management and social and environmental footprint.
Millennium Tours favours the selection of accommodations that respect and protect land use, as well as respectfully highlight elements of local architecture, customs and traditions
Activities & Excursions
Millennium Tours only works with excursion providers that adhere to the company’s Code of Conduct.
All excursions and activities run by or on behalf of Millennium Tours respect local customs, traditions, cultural integrity, and natural resources.
Millennium Tours commits to not offering any excursions that harm humans, wildlife, environment, or natural resources such as water and energy.
Millennium Tours gives preference to excursions and activities that benefit local communities, respect animal welfare and support environmental protection.
Millennium ours has clear Codes of Conduct in place for environmentally and culturally sensitive excursions offered by or on behalf of the company. These guidelines are actively communicated to guests as well as distributed and implemented by excursion providers and guides.
Millennium Tours provides excursion and attraction providers opportunities for sustainability learning and management, including free access to the Travelife online learning and reporting platform.
Tour leaders, local representatives, and guides
Millennium Tours commits to hiring qualified local guides, porters, drivers or other local staff, paying them living wages and providing safe and fair working conditions. We expect the same from our suppliers that are hiring local staff on behalf of Millennium Tours.
Millennium Tours understands that guides are the intermediaries between the guests and the socio-cultural and environmental context of the destination, conveying the appropriate behaviour to them. Therefore, we make sure that all guides hired by or leading tours on behalf of Millennium Tours are trained regularly and knowledgeable in the sustainability topics of the destination.
Our guides are specifically trained on the critical issue of sexual exploitation of children in tourism.
Millennium Tours provides guides with learning opportunities on sustainability topics including providing free access to the Travelife online learning platform.
Destinations
Sustainable destinations
Millennium Tours aims to send visitors to secondary or lesser-known tourist areas to avoid over tourism.
Contribution to local communities / local economic network
Millennium Tours commits to positive contribution to the destinations in which we operate, by:
Sourcing locally and responsibly, and supporting local and traditional arts and culture
Encouraging guests to shop responsibly and educating them about illegal/prohibited/forbidden souvenirs
Collaborating with other local tourism stakeholders to further the sustainable tourism development of the destination
Respecting and advocating for all human rights (i.e. children’s rights, women’s rights, labour rights, etc.) as well as land rights
Environmental stewardship in destinations
Millennium Tours commits to environmental stewardship in the destinations in which we operate by:
Ensuring natural resources remain intact
Educating guests about the principles of responsible travel and responsible visitor behaviour
Customer communication and protection
Privacy
Our customer protection is our priority. Therefore, we maintain a clear privacy policy Millennium Tours – About Us to ensure
Legal compliance in all regards
Customers and their data are protected
Customers know how their information is being used
Marketing and communication
Millennium Tours strives to be truthful in all situations and at all times. We offer products and services that do what we claim in our communications.
We honour our explicit and implicit commitments and promises.
We are anti-greenwashing and stand behind our sustainability claims 100%.
We endeavour to be inclusive and representative in our marketing, and to always take into account cultural, religious, and ethnic sensitivities.
Sustainability communication
Customers are informed about the social and environmental impact of their journey, and are educated about the sustainable choices they can make, including transparent communication on:
Certified accommodations
Compensation of their trips CO2 emissions
Activities and excursions that benefit the local communities and environmental protection
Responsible shopping and illegal souvenirs
Customer experience
The company aims for all customer experiences to be positive, and follows strict health and safety, marketing, and excursion policies to ensure customer satisfaction. These policies cover specific topics of (but not limited to):
Health and safety
Emergency procedures
Privacy
Group numbers
Greenhouse Gas emissions and offsetting
Transport
Shopping
Sexual exploitation
Children in tourism
Satisfaction and complaints
Millennium Tours maintains open lines of communication with our customers and encourages feedback at any time and on any topic, particularly sustainability.
Contact / Responsible person
All staff are responsible for the ownership and undertaking of this policy.
All staff are responsible for the promotion and implementation of this sustainability policy within their departments.
The implementation of this policy will be lead by the Sustainability Coordinator, Elena Acerra, who can be reached at elena@millenniumtours.jo
Definitions
“Sustainable Tourism” is defined as “an approach to the tourism industry that seeks to create a positive impact on environmental, social, cultural and economic system. It aims to achieve this by promoting responsible tourism practices that minimize the negative impact of tourism and maximize the positive impact. Sustainable tourism involves the conversation of natural resources, protection of ecosystems, preservation of cultural heritage and equitable distribution of tourism benefits. It also involves engaging and educating visitors, host communities and tourism business to create awareness and promote sustainable behaviors.”
Effective date
This policy is effective from 01/06/23.
Revision history
This policy was revised on 04/03/23
This policy will be revised by 01/01/24