Positive Impact

Duurzaamheid

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Sustainability at Go2Africa

We send travellers into some of the world’s most pristine landscapes, where every decision must be rooted in minimising the environmental impact of their presence.

Go2Africa is a part of Nawiri Group, a Certified B Corp™, underlining our commitment to sustainability in how we design trips, choose

partners and advise travellers. We are committed to partnering with camps and lodges that share our values with the ambition that every safari we book delivers meaningful impact, both through our own programmes, but also by ensuring that the properties where our guests stay have clear plans to support wildlife, landscapes and local people, without compromising exceptional experiences and service.

We are guided by trusted global benchmarks including B Corp and Travelife and highlight both independently certified partners and those creating tangible impact on the ground.

We have taken on a an ‘ongoing audit’ to ensure the places we recommend meet clear, credible sustainability expectations and are ‘over / within a time frame committed to ensuring our entire supply chain is verified as sustainable. This includes ensuring the camps and lodges our guests stay in are operating responsibly, from tracking waste, water usage and emissions, to adopting renewable energy sources. And making a positive impact in the community

Why Sustainability Matters in Travel

Travel experiences take place within living landscapes and communities. Without careful management, tourism can place pressure on wildlife, water resources and local livelihoods. When done well, it can fund conservation, create meaningful employment and help protect ecosystems that might otherwise be lost.

This is why sustainability shapes where we send travellers and who we work with.

 

Why We Focus so Strongly on Our Partners

Go2Africa does not operate accommodation or transport directly so much of our environmental impact lies in who we choose to work with, and who we don’t.

Every lodge, camp and supplier we recommend becomes part of our responsibility. If their practices are unsustainable, that impact flows directly to the traveller experience and to the destinations we promote.

Across Africa, many of the properties we work with are doing meaningful and often exceptional work for people, wildlife, and places. We recognise and value these efforts sustainability looks different in every context, and progress is rarely linear.

That’s why we invest significant time and resources into:

  • Auditing suppliers against a clear sustainability baseline – guided by BCorp and Travelife, while no independent Africa supplier lists currently exists
  • Supporting partners as they improve practices over time
  • Highlighting certified and independently verified camps and lodges
  • Actively steering bookings towards higher-impact options until we can get to a 100% sustainable service base

 

What We Look For

Credit: CLAWS – Andy Maano

Our sustainability baseline is guided by internationally recognised tourism frameworks recognised by GSTC and approved by Travalyst and focuses on practical, measurable actions, including:

  • Responsible energy and water management
  • Waste reduction and plastic elimination
  • Fair employment practices and local hiring
  • Community engagement and local sourcing
  • Wildlife protection and land stewardship

 

What Guides Us

To evaluate sustainability claims responsibly, we rely on three complementary industry bodies, each playing a distinct role:

  • GSTC – Global Baseline Standards: Sets internationally recognised sustainability criteria and accredits the organisations that certify tourism businesses providing the global foundation for what sustainable tourism means.
  • TSCA – Strengthening Certification Practice: An emerging alliance of leading certification bodies working to harmonise standards and strengthen audit quality, helping certifications become more consistent.
  • Travalyst – Market Credibility Filter: Backed by major global travel platforms, Travalyst screens sustainability certifications for independence, audit rigour, and trustworthiness helping determine which certifications are credible enough to be shown to travellers.

Where possible, we highlight properties that hold third-party sustainability certifications recognised by Travalyst. While certification is not the only route to responsible travel, it remains one of the clearest ways to demonstrate progress which helps strengthen integrity across our supply chain, reduce the risk of greenwashing, and gives our travellers confidence that claims are grounded in evidence. These certifications include:

  • B Corp: Verifies company-wide social, environmental, and governance performance.
  • EarthCheck: Science-based environmental certification focused on measurable data (energy, water, waste, carbon).
  • Fairtrade Tourism: Ensures fair wages, decent working conditions, and direct community benefit.
  • The Long Run’s Global Ecosphere Retreat: A GSTC-recognised certification aligned with global sustainability frameworks, requiring members to meet 91 criteria across Conservation, Community, Culture and Commerce, verified through independent onsite audits, annual reporting and six-year recertification.
  • Travelife: Tourism-specific sustainability certification aligned with EU green-claims expectations.

We currently highlight a growing number of independently certified hotels, lodges, and camps across Africa that have undergone third-party audits against recognised sustainability standards, helping travellers identify options with verified environmental and social performance.

 

Supporting industry-wide change

Raising standards within tourism cannot happen in isolation. Real change only occurs when sustainability becomes a shared expectation. By embedding sustainability into our supplier selection, trip design and advisory role, we:

  • Help drive demand for better practices
  • Create demand for better practices
  • Reward suppliers who invest in sustainability
  • Encourage others to improve to remain competitive
  • Increase transparency across the tourism value chain

 

Looking Ahead

As global expectations around sustainability continue to evolve, including new regulatory requirements in key markets, Go2Africa is committed to staying ahead of the curve. We will continue refining our criteria, strengthening supplier engagement and making sustainability clearer and more meaningful for travellers.

B Corp

Wij zijn trots als onderdeel van Nawiri Groep om B Corp gecertificeerd te zijn, een prestatie die wordt toegekend aan bedrijven die zijn geverifieerd om te voldoen aan hoge standaarden op het gebied van sociale en milieunormen. prestaties, transparantie en verantwoording. Wij zien B Corp eerder als een basislijn dan als het doel voor duurzaamheid. Voor ons het is een verplichting om verantwoording af te leggen om ons te helpen vooruitgang te boeken en onze normen jaar na jaar verbeteren.

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Duurzame activiteiten op ons kantoor

Als onderdeel van het V&A Waterfront volgt ons kantoor in Kaapstad duurzame bouw- en operationele praktijken. We minimaliseren het elektriciteitsverbruik door middel van energiezuinige systemen en slim afvalbeheer te implementeren, inclusief recycling en afvalscheiding om het storten van afval te verminderen. Bij onze inkoop geven we de voorkeur aan lokale en ethische leveranciers, zodat we ervoor zorgen dat sourcing voor kantoorbenodigdheden en operaties.

Toeleveringsketen voor duurzaam reizen

Wij zijn toegewijd om ervoor te zorgen dat de kampen en lodges waar we mee werken duurzaam en impactvol zijn. Ons doel is dat 100% van onze geboekte accommodaties duurzaamheidsplannen hebben die ten goede komen aan zowel hun ecosystemen als hun gemeenschappen. Hoewel er niet één industriebreed raamwerk bestaat voor Afrikaans onroerend goed, hebben we onze eigen basisbeoordeling ontwikkeld op basis van GSTC criteria, afgestemd op B Corp en Travelife richtlijnen. Dit stelt ons in staat om de voetafdruk van elk landgoed beter te begrijpen en echt verantwoorde safari's aan te bieden.

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Reizigers

We streven ernaar om een wereldwijde gemeenschap van pleitbezorgers op te bouwen die de vraag naar verantwoorde reizen stimuleren. Naarmate meer reizigers kiezen voor duurzame opties, verschuift de industrie naar praktijken die zowel mensen als ecosystemen ten goede komen. Om onze safari's met de grootste impact te laten zien, we hebben creëerden onze safari's met de grootste impact en reizen met een doel. Deze meeslepende ervaringen blijvende verandering teweeg te brengen, zodat reizigers deel kunnen uitmaken van de oplossing terwijl ze Afrika op verantwoorde wijze verkennen.

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