sustainability

Our responsibility:

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important! Not only is the business world paying more attention to sustainable concepts, consumers are also placing greater value on sustainable offerings. All three pillars of sustainability are relevant here: ecology (environment), economy (business), and social responsibility (society).

But how can sustainability be combined with tourism?

The tourism industry contributes significantly to climate change. Air travel and CO₂ emissions alone have a negative ecological footprint. In many areas of tourism, social sustainability suffers in particular from poor working conditions, exploitation, or abuse.

But tourism can also be different!

Due to the increased importance of sustainability in travel, many tour operators are integrating corresponding resources into their offerings. – And so are we!

Respect and support for the local economy and population, including cultural diversity, as well as the protection of nature are at the forefront. We want to offer our guests a vacation experience that combines the beauty of nature in the archipelago with an understanding and appreciation of sustainable travel in all its facets.

Tourism is a sensitive issue – for everyone involved.

Not only for us as tour operators or you as guests, but also for hosts of accommodation or activities, tour guides, and the environment.

Let us approach things with respect and on an equal footing in order to enable sustainable and responsible tourism.

For us at vista verde azores, sustainability is not just an empty phrase, but an integral part of our company. As a German tour operator, we also have an office in our destination area – the Azores. We are part of the local community and, as a destination agency, we know exactly how to keep almost all of our added value here in the Azores.

Our trips are individually tailored to the needs of our guests and put together accordingly. In doing so, we take care to support the economy and population of the destination and try to make our trips as fair, environmentally friendly, and socially responsible as possible. In most cases, only the money from international flights goes to the airlines (Azorean/Portuguese or foreign), as well as the money for infrastructure and employees at the company headquarters in Dortmund, Germany – everything else stays in the destination country. The majority of the tour price stays with our local partners, from accommodation and activities to local tour guides (for group tours).

You – our guests – should experience the Azores in a unique way. Get off the beaten track, get to know the people on an equal footing, immerse yourself in the culture of the country, use resources carefully, and treat the flora and fauna with respect.

So that you can enjoy your vacation without any worries, we would like to give you some insight into our contribution to climate protection.

Our ecological footprint:

Sustainability begins with each of us. An idea becomes a vision, a vision becomes a project, and that project is finally implemented.

All of us at vista verde azores contribute to keeping our ecological footprint as small as possible—especially in our local office on the Azores island of Pico.

Use of resources:

Unfortunately, there is almost no choice when it comes to resources on Pico. We use what is available to us, but we choose the product that is more sustainable or environmentally friendly.

Paper:

We have a local stationery store. In most cases, we can buy recycled paper there. However, we cannot guarantee that it will always be in stock.

We always print on both sides of the paper. Paper printed on one side is reused as scrap paper.

Customers receive all information digitally, so we do not need to print anything.

Water:

Tap water in the Azores is sometimes treated with chlorine or similar substances (for purification), so it is not of good drinking quality. We have installed a water dispenser that filters and treats tap water so that we no longer need plastic bottles in the office and can use the available water.

We have already installed a dual-flush system for the toilets, so that less water is needed per flush.

Energy:

All our lamps are LED lamps.

All devices (computers, heaters, etc.) are switched off after work and over the weekend.

The lights are also only used when needed.

Waste disposal:

We separate residual waste, paper, and plastic.

Everything is disposed of in the designated containers on the street, as there are no individual bins (as in Germany).

Cleaning products:

We use environmentally friendly cleaning products from Greendet. These have the European Union eco-label (EU label) and the bottles are refilled in the store.

Business trips:

in general, we do not travel for business. However, if air travel is necessary, the flights are of course offset via atmosfair. 

You can find our detailed sustainability policy and our code of conduct soon here.

Our commitment:

Did you know that air traffic is responsible for up to 10% of human-induced global warming? Or that a flight from Frankfurt to Los Angeles (USA) requires approximately two bathtubs full of kerosene? And most airlines have never heard of bio-kerosene... Or that a flight to Asia causes three times as much CO2 emissions as a year of driving a car (approx. 15,000 km)?

We are aware that our destination—the Azores—can ONLY be reached by plane and that the resulting CO₂ emissions have a significant impact on the environment. Flights between the islands, as well as car and ferry journeys, also cause high CO₂ emissions. Unfortunately, the public transport network in the Azores is not developed enough to make it possible to do without a rental car.

As a sustainable tour operator, we therefore want to offer our services in as climate neutral as possible way, because our Earth's atmosphere can only tolerate a certain amount of carbon dioxide. That is why we plan your trips as efficiently and effectively as possible in order to minimize CO₂ emissions to a minimum. To offset the emissions that we cannot prevent, we have decided to work with the climate protection organization Atmosfair. As a passenger, you too can voluntarily pay a contribution to the climate protection organization Atmosfair based on the distance flown.

Who or what is Atmosfair?

atmosfair gGmbH is a non-profit climate protection organization based in Berlin. It was founded in 2004 as a result of a research project by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, a joint initiative of the travel industry association forum anders reisen and the environmental and development organization Germanwatch. Since then, atmosfair has been active in many areas:

atmosfair's goal is to protect the climate by offsetting CO₂ emissions generated by travel in particular. The money raised is used for these projects, mainly in developing countries. atmosfair's work is an important prerequisite for development, education, and equal opportunities in these countries.

Our contribution:

Supporting the NGO atmosfair in its projects is a matter of the heart for us. Together with you, we are making a difference to the climate and offsetting the (unfortunately) unavoidable air miles.

We are very proud that we can offer our domestic flights as 100% climate neutral. We also currently offset 30% of international flights—if they are booked through us. The offset is already included in the price of your trip.

We all know that travel leaves its mark. On nature, globally, in people's minds, in the air... Together, we minimize the negative consequences. 

With our contribution, we mainly support atmosfair's project in Nepal: More Information soon!

Looking to the future:

But that's not all. We want to firmly anchor sustainability in the tourism of the future.

We are keen to achieve the goal of making our trips 100% climate neutral. We are constantly working to optimize our internal processes and external influences and make them more sustainable. In the distant future, it would be conceivable to offset CO2 emissions from rental cars, ferries, and activities in addition to flights. We will keep you up to date here!