With the excitement and buzzing energy of the New Year still in our hearts, we would like to give you a glimpse into what’s to come at Wild Nectar. We have a big year ahead of us - both in terms of providing invigorating, luxurious travel experiences, and in carrying out our commitments to care for the planet. 2022 is going to be a year of giving extraordinary experiences to our travelers, while simultaneously giving back to the earth.
I would first like to introduce myself to our wonderful community! My name is Addie Melvin, and I am the sustainability specialist here at Wild Nectar. I am a nature- and travel-loving mechanical engineer, with a special interest in bringing sustainability to the forefront of the travel industry. I have my LEED credentials and experience with lowering carbon footprints associated with buildings and transportation. I am also in the process of obtaining my master’s degree in sustainability from Harvard University. I am beyond delighted to be part of the Wild Nectar journey.
Wild Nectar was founded on the principle of giving back to local communities and environments we visit through our travels. As a woman-owned small business, we were drawn to one of the top climate solutions presented by Paul Hawken’s Project Drawdown: educating women and girls across the globe. Accordingly, our top commitment at Wild Nectar is to donate 2% of our annual proceeds to educational opportunities for women and girls. We are working with our suppliers and network partners to establish reputable, impactful donation systems in communities local to our travel sites.
Additional impact-driven sustainability commitments we have adopted include:
Donating 1% of annual proceeds to conservation efforts, largely focusing on marine environments.
Committing to be 100% single-use plastic free as an organization by 2025.
We will do a comprehensive review of our organization’s operations to understand our carbon footprint, then work with a reputable offsetting organization to neutralize our footprint. We aim to be a carbon neutral organization by 2023.
We will list the carbon footprint associated with each trip and provide our travelers with options to offset the emissions associated with their travel. We pledge to be thorough in our research for all offsetting methods we utilize to ensure they are having the necessary impact.
In an effort to be informative and transparent to our travelers, we have created a comprehensive eco-evaluation and scoring system, as well as sustainability awards for all trips listed on our website. The eco-scores and sustainability awards are evaluated based on 10 Sustainability Practices, and will be reassessed annually to maintain accurate information. The scores can be found directly below the photo banner on each trip page, and are a way for us to evaluate and suggest improvements to the sustainability practices of each trip. The awards are located below the Travel Curator’s Insights and are a fun way to highlight the unique sustainability measures being taken by different locations and ships.
We are excited for you to join us on our sustainability journey, and invite you to explore the sustainability awards and eco-scores associated with our trips. Take advantage of upcoming dates on one of our highest scoring trips to the Amazon & Machu Picchu!
To see our full list of commitments and sustainability efforts, please visit our sustainability page. I would love to discuss our climate strategies and any site-specific sustainability measures of interest - please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions!