Our Environmental and Ethical Commitments
Mountainous regions are one of the most beautiful and biodiverse ecosystems on earth. Although our landscape has been shaped by humans over centuries, nature is coming under increasing pressure from intensification of agriculture, urbanisation and climate change. Whilst we want to share our favourite wild places with guests, we understand that tourism is yet another pressure on the mountain environment. We believe that the adage ‘take only photos, leave only footsteps’ doesn’t go far enough. We aim to have a net positive impact on the areas we visit by donating money to environmental causes and spreading awareness of sustainable living.
“It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty, the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.” (David Attenborough)
Climate change is the biggest threat facing our planet today and we all have a responsibility to limit our impact on the earth and make positive changes where we can. Alpenglow Retreats are committed to:
Donate 10% of our profits to fight climate change
We donate 10% of our profits to Ripple Africa.
Ripple Africa is a Malawi based charity and we donate money to their carbon offset project which replaces old cooking stoves with more fuel efficient stoves. The project has lots of benefits because traditional three-stone fires:
- Consume huge amounts of wood resulting in major deforestation. It also takes a lot of time to collect all this wood. This time can be spent on education and other activities.
- Produce lots of smoke and so cause health problems such and lung cancer and child pneumonia.
- Are unsafe for children.
Ensure our retreats are carbon neutral
We have signed the UN’s carbon neutral pledge and are committed to ensuring we reduce our carbon footprint as much as possible. We reduce our climate footprint in several ways:
- Serve a vegan menu: Veganism is one of the single biggest ways individuals can reduce their environmental impact on the planet and it’s much kinder to animals.
- Serve seasonal, local produce where possible.
- Use public transport as much as possible.
- Offer discounts to those who travel by public transport to our retreats: Although train travel is much better for the environment than air travel, it is unfortunately much more expensive. To help our guests meet these costs we give £100 discount to those coming to the Alps by train or bus.
We offset any unavoidable emmissions through Ripple Africa’s carbon offset project.
Promote sustainable living
Whilst governments are failing to seriously tackle environmental issues, individuals and organisations must lead the way. All of us can make small changes to our lives that collectively add up to a big difference.
“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito in the room” (Dalai Lama)
Encourage people to spend more time in nature
By spending time in nature, we become more connected to the natural world and therefore motivated to protect it. It has also been proven that spending time outdoors is good for our mental health.