NEW EPISODE | Travel that changes places and people

This article was contributed by Sustainable Transformation Podcast.

What if travel could restore the places we visit instead of harming them?

In this episode of The Sustainable Transformation Podcast, Kiarne Treacy sits down with Sara King, General Manager of Purpose at Intrepid Travel, one of the world’s largest B Corp travel companies and a global leader in responsible tourism. 

Sara shares what “responsible travel” actually looks like on the ground, from plastic-free Machu Picchu treks and Everest waste clean-ups to women-run rickshaw collectives in India and decarbonisation programs supporting thousands of small suppliers around the world.

She also unpacks the realities of leading sustainability at scale in a business with 10,000 suppliers and 95% of emissions sitting in Scope 3, and why Intrepid swapped carbon offsets for a supplier-focused decarbonisation fund years before the rest of the industry.

You’ll hear and learn:

• Why responsible tourism is much more than emissions, and why Intrepid treats travel as a lever for economic development
• How a team in Peru created eco-bricks from waste collected on the Machu Picchu trek
• Why travellers in Nepal now help remove waste on the Everest route (and why they love it)
• How immersive women’s expeditions in India offer a window into local life and support social enterprise
• How Intrepid manages emissions across 10,000 suppliers and 900 trips
• Why they replaced carbon offsets with a decarbonisation fund supporting small operators
• What COVID taught Intrepid about resilience, regeneration and the delicate balance of overtourism 

This episode is a must-listen for sustainability leaders, tourism professionals, global development practitioners, and anyone curious about how travel can become a force for regeneration, not extraction.

MENTIONS:

• Intrepid
• B Corp Certification by B Lab Australia and New Zealand
• Pink City Rickshaw Co.
• Intrepid Foundation
• Intrepid’s efforts with Maritza Chacacanta and Robert Franco to reduce plastic waste on the Inca Trail
• Sagarmatha Next removing waste in the Everest region

LINKS:

Learn more about SustainabilityTracker.com

Learn more about The Sustainable Transformation Podcast

Follow The Sustainable Choice Group on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok

Follow Nova Podcasts on Instagram for videos from the podcast and behind-the-scenes content – @novapodcastsofficial

CREDITS:

Host: Kiarne Treacy

Guest: Sara King

Guest Company: Intrepid