IMPACT
REPORT | 2025
Incorporating the Exodus Adventure Travels Foundation
A year of progress; turning ambition into action
Travel gives us some of life’s greatest pleasures and opportunities. It broadens our horizons, helps us understand people and places more deeply, and creates extraordinary memories. In a world facing growing environmental and social pressures, the role of responsible travel has never been more important.
Across Exodus in 2025, in keeping with our B Corp commitments, that has meant moving from ambition into stronger day-to-day practice: improving the way we design trips, sharpening how we measure impact, working more closely with suppliers, and using our Foundation to support practical, locally rooted projects that help nature and communities thrive together.
This report captures that shift. It is the first full year of reporting against our Thriving Nature, Thriving People plan, and it shows progress across a broad range of areas — from reducing directly provided single-use plastics on trips, to expanding lower-carbon travel choices, to growing the number of itineraries that include positive impact experiences for customers. It also reflects the increasing maturity of our Foundation’s work, from grassroots Community Kickstart initiatives to the launch of Wild at Heart, our long-term commitment to supporting community-led species protection in key destinations.
None of this is straightforward, and responsible travel cannot be reduced to a single initiative or simple claim. It depends on constant attention, honest assessment and strong collaboration. What gives me confidence is the commitment with which our teams and partners are approaching that challenge, and the enthusiasm our customers continue to show for travel that delivers something more. I hope this report gives a clear sense not only of what we achieved in 2025, but of the direction we are determined to keep moving in.
SALLY COWDRY, Managing Director, Exodus Adventure Travels
ABOUT THIS REPORT
This report shares the impact of Exodus Adventure Travels, Headwater (Exodus’ sister brand) and the Exodus Adventure Travels Foundation.
This report covers the activity undertaken in Exodus Adventure Travels’ financial year 2025 (Oct ‘24 to Sep ‘25) and the Exodus Adventure Travels Foundation’s financial year 2025 (Jan to Dec ‘25).
The data featured is taken from a number of different sources, including our Customer Holiday Evaluation Forms, the impact data given to us by our sustainability and Foundation partners, and our annual supplier sustainability survey (92% response rate for Exodus suppliers, 65% for Headwater suppliers).
92% of nights on trips were in
LOCALLY OWNED ACCOMMODATIONS SINGLE-USE PLASTICS
94%
91%
LOCALLY OWNED RESTAURANTS of meals on Exodus trips were served at Community Kickstart Project GRANTS of trips were free of any directly provided of the Italian Apennines rewilded
58
5 Environmental DNA samples taken to SUPPORT GLOBAL CONSERVATION
YEARS OF PARTNERSHIP WITH REWILDING EUROPE AND
1,000
6
HECTARES MADE TO SUPPORT GRASSROOTS INITIATIVES
85,000 mangrove and seagrass seedlings planted
£93,296 donated by the Foundation
2 new Foundation projects as part of our 3-year commitment to PROTECT KEY GLOBAL SPECIES
179
THRIVING NATURE , THRIVING PEOPLE MOMENTS across our trips
Our
THRIVING NATURE, THRIVING PEOPLE PLAN
All of our sustainability and impact – across our business, operations and Foundation – is driven by our Thriving Nature, Thriving People plan. This plan recognises the vital relationship between healthy communities and healthy biodiversity across our destinations. It is designed to direct us in supporting both thriving nature and thriving people, efforts underpinned by a thriving business. We have set ourselves 11 goals to pursue from 2025 to 2027, and in this report we share our progress towards these goals.
OUR 3-YEAR GOALS:
Reducing waste across our offices and trips
Reducing our carbon footprint
Protecting animals and endangered species
Supporting land and ocean-based nature restoration and carbon removal
Increasing the ways our itineraries support the protection and restoration of nature
Creating employment and income generation opportunities for destination communities
Empowering disadvantaged and under-represented communities
Supporting grassroots initiatives in destinations
Operating responsibly and transparently (in line with our B Corp certification)
Collaborating cross-industry
Engaging with customers, staff and suppliers
OUR VISION
We want to help create a world where all travel and tourism supports nature and communities to thrive in harmony.
OUR MISSION
To invest in innovative, sustainable, tourism-related projects which support our destination communities to protect and regenerate nature, and harness nature to empower communities.
OUR MANIFESTO
Thriving nature is essential for the empowerment of communities; providing not only basic needs, but also the economic opportunities that responsible tourism brings.
Equally, thriving communities are essential in the protection and regeneration of nature.
We believe travel & tourism has a vital role to play in promoting and increasing the mutual benefits of this relationship between people and nature.
Our Foundation exists to find, fund and accelerate innovative and scalable solutions, in order to see both nature and people thrive in harmony.
Read on for updates on our Foundation’s activity in 2025; any content which relates to our Foundation’s activity is tagged with our Foundation logo.
THRIVING NATURE
Our ‘Thriving Nature’ goals follow a ‘Nature Positive’ approach, based on the principles of removing and reducing our negative impacts on nature, and doing what we can to support the conservation and restoration of nature. These goals are aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, to help us focus on actions which will contribute to the global biodiversity goals.
GOAL:
Reducing waste across our offices and trips
PROGRESS:
Our key waste reduction focus is the single-use plastic used across our holidays, with a primary focus on any directly provided to our customers during trips. In 2025, 94% of trips were free from any directly provided single-use plastics (vs 93% in 2024), falling slightly short of our 95% goal. Our survey showed that water bottles remain the main single-use plastic in use, helping us focus our efforts on supporting suppliers to find alternatives.
OF THE ACCOMMODATION FEATURED ON OUR TRIPS:
do not provide single-use plastic items to guests (vs 66% in 2024).
36 57 AT LEAST
offer filtered water via refill stations (vs 27% in 2024), reducing the need for plastic bottles.
have initiatives to reduce food and general waste (vs 45% in 2024).
We had aimed to investigate opportunities for food waste reduction across our trips in 2025, but have pushed this goal back to 2027, in recognition that there are areas of waste reduction more immediately within our influence that we want to prioritise.
Regarding customer engagement, we started sending customers a pre-departure email including some tips for sustainable packing, and updated our universal packing list with waste reduction recommendations.
Both of our UK offices continue to operate with zero waste sent to landfill, diverting all waste to energy-from-waste facilities instead. In our main office, we hosted a lunch-and-learn session on waste reduction and recycling practices, and introduced a dedicated flexible-plastic recycling stream.
NEXT STEPS:
• Over the next year, we will continue to work with our suppliers towards our goal of eliminating directly provided single use plastic on 95% of our trips.
• We will promote the Community Kickstart Project to key suppliers, as a means to apply for a grant to help fund local waste reduction initiatives.
• In our Cape Town office, we will introduce dedicated recycling bins and begin measuring the volumes collected. We will also start tracking waste volumes in our Bangalore office.
Reducing our carbon footprint
PROGRESS: GOAL:
Our absolute carbon emissions dropped by 26% from 2024 to 2025, and our per passenger emissions dropped by 27%. This was driven by a significant change in the UK’s ‘emissions factor’ used to calculate the impact of flights.
In 2025, we continued to improve the accuracy of our trip carbon measurement by upskilling our product team to consider carbon impact during trip design. This resulted in new itineraries with lower carbon transport choices, including more “by rail” trips in Switzerland, Spain and Portugal. 10% of Exodus trips now utilise electric vehicles (vs 7% in 2024).
NEXT STEPS:
In 2026, we will be training the product team to engage directly with our carbon reporting database, enabling them to get ‘live’ data on the carbon impact of different trip design choices.
Supplier-led climate action also continued to increase, with 41% of local operators having a climate action policy in place (vs 37% in 2024), and 17% of Exodus itineraries amended to reduce carbon (vs 12% in 2024).
We continued to offer train travel to our European destinations via our partnership with fellow B Corp, Byway, and to further encourage customers to choose rail travel, Headwater introduced a train icon in their 2025 brochure to highlight trips in Europe that can be reached by train.
For more detail on our science-aligned decarbonisation journey, please see our Climate & Nature Action Plan on page 29.
We will relaunch our internal ‘Low Carbon Lab’ to engage product team members in identifying opportunities for decarbonisation.
We aim to utilise our ever more accurate carbon data to better identify opportunities for lower carbon transport options, with a focus on high volume and more carbon intensive trips.
We will formally embed the requirement for carbon trip data submission, and carbon impact consideration, into the new trip planning process.
We plan to further improve our communications about our partnership with Byway, to encourage more of our UK customers to get the train to our European trips.
We plan to revise our carbon labelling content on our website, to better inform customers.
EXODUS & HEADWATER GHG REPORT SUMMARY: FY19 TO FY25
TOTAL CARBON FOOTPRINT
Intensity - tCO2e per passenger
TRIP CARBON FOOTPRINT
(Inc. international flights sold by Exodus/HW)
TOTAL CARBON FOOTPRINT PER PASSENGER FY19 TO FY25
Our carbon measurement is supported by consultancy expertise, and the methodology used is aligned with the GHG Protocol. As carbon accounting best practices evolve, and our own data capture process improves, we always consider whether historical data should be recalculated, and sometimes make minor adjustments, to ensure our carbon reporting is as complete, transparent, and representative as possible.
PROGRESS: GOAL:
Increasing the ways our itineraries support the protection and restoration of nature
The majority of Exodus’ adventures heavily feature beautiful natural landscapes, wildlife, and nature-based experiences. In 2025, 48% of our Exodus trips visited natural landscapes in ways which proactively supported nature conservation or restoration (vs 40% in 2024) while 53% of Exodus itineraries visit areas that are rarely visited or featured on other travel itineraries in the same regions, reducing the impact of tourism on natural landscapes (vs 50% in 2024).
We also launched our Thriving Nature, Thriving People Moments, introducing another way to engage customers in
During the year:
nature conservation by including extraordinary experiences with positive impact through our itineraries.
We continued to run our Citizen Science Departures, enabling customers to collect environmental DNA (eDNA) samples from freshwater sites across a selection of our trips. Each sample was then analysed by partner, NatureMetrics, and the species detections shared with the IUCN’s global eBioAtlas, to support conservation research and inform updates to the Red List of Threatened Species.
9 5
samples were collected across seven countries
endangered species were identified, including the endangered European eel and vulnerable fire salamander
invasive species were also detected, including the American Mink in Europe 58
NEXT STEPS:
• In 2026, we will launch a new citizen science programme in partnership with iNaturalist, the world’s largestcitizen science platform. As the first travel company to partner with them, we aim to help them fill importantobservation gaps on their platform through engaging and supporting customers across a range of trips torecord wildlife using iNaturalist’s app, and in turn, contributing to global conservation science.
• We have set a goal to include Thriving Nature, Thriving People Moments across 75% of our trips by the end of 2026 (vs just over 50% in 2025).
• We will continue offering our supplier partners and tour leaders the opportunity to apply for small grants to invest in local nature conservation and restoration initiatives through our Foundation’s Community Kickstart Project (read on for more).
Introducing
THRIVING NATURE, THRIVING PEOPLE MOMENTS
In 2025, we launched our Thriving Nature, Thriving People Moments (also known as Legacy Moments in our Exodus Signature itineraries) to highlight where specific experiences on our trips not only create memorable moments for our customers, but create meaningful impact for our destinations. Currently, just over half of our trips include such moments, but we’ve set ourselves a goal to include them on 75% of our trips by the end of 2026.
HERE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES:
Foothills of the Himalaya:
Dine at She Haat Café in Sarahan, a women-run cooperative serving traditional Pahari cuisine, helping generate sustainable income and financial independence for rural women.
Costa Rica Coastal Secrets:
Team up with an expert for a behind-thescenes tour of CATIE, a world-renowned institute for biological conservation, and gain a deep understanding of the natural world and the myriad plants studied there.
Signature Vietnam
| In Fabric & Folklore:
Participate in a permaculture masterclass at Lavie Vu Linh on Thac Ba Lake, supporting regenerative land stewardship that restores ecosystems while sustaining local culture and livelihoods.
PROGRESS: GOAL:
Protecting animals and endangered species
Currently, 39% of our trips include animal experiences, from wildlife viewing and encounters to working animals, sanctuaries and animal charity visits. In 2025, we began developing a comprehensive animal welfare audit to assess these experiences, with a particular focus on sanctuaries.
We also integrated animal welfare checks into our checklist for staff attending ‘educationals’, enabling continuous, upto-date feedback on trips that involve animal interactions.
Our Citizen Science programme and Foundation funding extend our support for wildlife conservation, including endangered species (read on for more).
NEXT STEPS:
In 2026, we will complete our animal welfare audit (including follow-up checks where gaps are identified) and, with Customer Services, strengthen monitoring and investigation of animal welfare feedback.
We’ll further establish our Foundation’s new Wild at Heart campaign, seeking to expand our support for the protection of endangered species across key destinations.
GOAL:
Supporting land and oceanbased nature restoration and carbon removal
PROGRESS:
2025 marked the fourth year of our long-term partnership with Rewilding Europe, as we continued to support their rewilding work in the Italian Apennines, primarily through a commitment to rewild 100 square metres per passenger.
This year’s support included:
• 300 hectares allocated to rewilding in the central Apennines (a new ‘bear corridor’), totalling over 1,000 hectares rewilded through Exodus support since the start of our partnership.
• More than 25 bear-human conflict prevention measures installed across ‘coexistence corridor’areas.
• Continued management of the 300 hectares Castel Madama Rewilding Reserve.
• 150 tonnes CO2 removed and stored.
Our ‘Italian Apennines – Walks & Wildlife’ trip continues to enable travellers to learn about rewilding while enjoying a little-explored corner of Italy. We donate all profits from these departures to further fund this work.
Alongside our sister brands across the Travelopia group, we continue to support the ocean conservation work of Blue Marine Foundation. In 2025, we supported seven blue carbon projects globally, contributing to the conservation and restoration of many hectares of vital marine ecosystems and the removal of thousands of carbon tonnes. Other outputs included:
85K MANGROVE AND SEAGRASS SEEDLINGS PLANTED
20 HECTARES OF BLUE CARBON HABITAT RESTORED COMMUNITY MEMBERS UPSKILLED AND ENGAGED IN MARINE RESTORATION
441
4 MARINE CONSERVATION SCIENTIFIC ADVANCEMENTS MADE
NEXT STEPS:
• In the fifth year of our partnership with Rewilding Apennines, our funding will enable them to expand their rewilding work into a new coexistence corridor, in the municipality of Morino.
• In the third year of our partnership with Blue Marine Foundation, we will be supporting work across four projects globally, including community-led conservation of Indonesia’s ‘blue forests’ and mangrove restoration in the Maldives.
OUR WILD AT HEART CAMPAIGN
At the core of our Thriving Nature, Thriving People plan is the belief that communities and nature need each other to thrive. In 2024, we refined our Foundation’s mission to strengthen this interdependence across our destinations, and in 2025 launched our Foundation’s Wild at Heart campaign—a three-year commitment to supporting communities to protect key species globally.
It is our goal to use this campaign to raise more awareness among our customers of the vital need for continued and pioneering community conservation and coexistence efforts to help preserve the endangered species they encounter on their adventures, and to engage further donations to contribute to this work.
The campaign continues to support our long-standing partners in Kenya and India and has added two major new partnerships in Vietnam and Costa Rica.
INTRODUCING
The Primate Survival Project
LOCATION: VIETNAM
BACKGROUND: In the forests of northern and central Vietnam, primates like the Cao vit gibbon, Cat Ba langur, Tonkin snub-nosed monkey, grey-shanked douc monkey, and Delacour’s langur are on the brink of extinction (there are fewer than 80 individual Cao vit gibbons left). Habitat loss, poaching, the illegal wildlife trade, and other dangers have pushed them into smaller, fragmented patches of forest.
IMPACT 2025: In 2025, we were delighted to establish a partnership with Fauna & Flora, the world’s longest-standing conservation charity. We started funding their work to protect endangered primate species by empowering the communities who live closest to them. In the first year of the partnership, the team began strengthening relationships with local residents through forest patrols and village meetings, focused on raising awareness of forest protection. They also conducted drone-based surveys to assess primate populations, while community members received training to track wildlife signs and monitor habitat changes.
In addition, the partnership funded the construction of a Cao vit gibbon information centre, along with a community coffee shop and homestay. These new facilities will help create sustainable livelihood opportunities and deepen local engagement in conservation.
The Jaguar Resilience Project
LOCATION: COSTA RICA
BACKGROUND: In the Piedras Blancas region of southern Costa Rica, one missing species is threatening the health of an entire ecosystem. The white-lipped peccary – a vital prey animal for jaguars and a keystone species in the rainforest – is vanishing from this landscape.
IMPACT 2025: The aim of this project, led by our new, expert partners at Osa Conservation, is to support the return of the white lipped peccary to the wild, in turn helping conserve the region’s jaguars. In the first year of our partnership, we supported a range of activities; a community social survey was carried out to establish a baseline understanding of local perspectives on white lipped peccaries, revealing that 80% of respondents support rewilding this missing species.
Rangers were then employed to protect both white lipped peccaries and jaguars across the landscape, and deploy a network of camera traps. The team successfully monitored seven white lipped peccaries and fitted one with a satellite collar to generate valuable data on their movements and activity.
The Free to Roam Project
LOCATION: KENYA
BACKGROUND: The goal of this project is to promote peaceful co-existence between elephants and the community within the communities surrounding Tsavo National Park. This is done by empowering communities to give 90% of land back to nature, while increasing food security through permaculture on the remaining 10%.
IMPACT 2025: To sustain the 33km electric elephant exclusion fence we have previously funded, we supported fence maintenance and repair. The initiative has cut human-wildlife conflict by 80%, created three youth jobs, and strengthened community trust in conservation efforts. Our funding also supported the capture and relocation of eleven snakes to strengthen community benefit from conservation, and delivered wildlife coexistence training to more than 100 community members.
The Tiger Habitat Project
LOCATION: INDIA
BACKGROUND: The aim of this project is to support tiger habitat restoration and community engagement in the buffer zone of Kanha Tiger Reserve, helping to mitigate human-wildlife conflict.
IMPACT 2025: We funded the removal of 52 tonnes of lantana camara in the Jairasi and Pandrapani villages, an invasive vegetation which provides hiding places for tigers dangerously close to human habitations. The team also delivered several ecological awareness activities, including a snake awareness programme for 130 students, and a World Wildlife Week event engaging 120 students through creative, biodiversity-focused activities.
Additionally, Exodus started donating £25 to this project for every customer on our India Tiger Safari trip.
THRIVING PEOPLE
Our ‘Thriving People’ goals reflect our belief that travel should help destination communities to thrive, by supporting local livelihoods, celebrating cultural heritage and creating opportunities through tourism. Through both our trips and our Foundation, we seek to ensure the benefits of travel are felt more deeply and more fairly in the places we visit.
SPOTLIGHT
The Mountain Lioness Project
LOCATION: TANZANIA
BACKGROUND: In 2020, we partnered with the Robertson Outdoor Bursary (ROB), an NGO in Tanzania, to launch the Mountain Lioness Scholarship to fund female guides in the training they need to lead treks up Mount Kilimanjaro. By 2024, 30 women had graduated from this scheme, and every one of Exodus’ Kilimanjaro trips employs at least one of them.
IMPACT 2025: Following our 2024 commitment to train five women per year for three years, we recruited additional lionesses to begin their training. We also continued to support the Becoming Even Better (BEB) programme, which provides advanced training for all graduates to strengthen their mountain guiding skills and enhance their employability, with seven Lionesses participating, and the second cohort scheduled for the year ahead.
Additionally, Exodus started donating £25 to this project for every customer on one of our Kilimanjaro treks.
FIND OUT MORE
PROGRESS: GOAL:
Creating employment and income generation opportunities for destination communities
We design and deliver our trips to maximise immersion in local communities and culture, striving to ensure this also delivers meaningful economic empowerment locally. In 2025:
92% of trip nights are in locally owned accommodation (vs 92% in 2024)
15% of the accommodation on Exodus trips are homestays* (vs 10% in 2024), delivering economic impact directly to local families.
91% of meals on Exodus trips are served at locally owned restaurants.
We continued to consult our Destination Community Council of key suppliers and tour leaders, to stay aligned with on-theground insights and community perspectives.
We also introduced an internal policy to formalise how we design and lead trips that go beyond the beaten track, creating more distinctive local experiences while helping spread the benefits of tourism more widely. Already, 52% of suppliers take proactive steps to avoid over-touristed areas—for example, promoting shoulder seasons and incorporating lesser-known attractions.
* By homestays, we mean any accommodation in which the host offers rooms in their own home, delivering income for them and their family, and an immersive local experience for our customers. This can include guesthouses, teahouses, agriturismos and similar.
NEXT STEPS:
Expanding Thriving Nature, Thriving People Moments across 75% of our trips will increase experiences that benefit small local enterprises, tradespeople and cooperatives, while helping preserve cultural heritage.
In 2026, we will undertake a research project with Responsible Travel and longstanding supplier partners to better understand the local economic impact of our trips.
Empowering disadvantaged and under-represented communities
We are committed to finding meaningful ways to empower disadvantaged and under-represented communities through the suppliers we work with, the way we design our trips, and the work supported by our Foundation.
In 2025, we continued to measure some indicators within our supply chain, as reported below.
For ways in which our Foundation delivered against this goal in 2025, read about our our Mountain Lioness Project (pg.18), our Women in Farming Project (pg. 21), our Community Kickstart Project (pg.22) and our Himalayan Community Project (pg. 23).
PROGRESS: IN 2025:
38% 34%
13%
of people directly employed by our local operators are women.
of suppliers employ individuals with mental or physical disabilities.
22%
of Exodus trips include engagement with indigenous people* and/or visit their lands.
of Exodus suppliers have policies in place to provide support to indigenous groups* and/or help protect their land.
19%
of suppliers are majority owned by women.
* By indigenous people, we mean those who have distinct social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live - and depend on land and natural resources for their identities, cultures, livelihoods, and physical and spiritual well-being.
The Women in Farming Project
LOCATION: TANZANIA
BACKGROUND: In 2024, we partnered with KWIECO (The Kilimanjaro Women Information Exchange and Community Organisation) to support a project aimed at empowering women and promoting gender equality in Tanzania through sustainable community based tourism.
IMPACT 2025: Activities, delivered in Wamboma, centred on capacity building through training, infrastructure improvements, and strong community engagement. A key component was the mentoring of KWIECO by Equality in Tourism (UK), which strengthened KWIECO’s capabilities in gender sensitive tourism programming, market linkages, and reducing economic leakages.
NEXT STEP:
Next year, we want to use our annual supplier survey to derive a better understanding of how both our supplier partners engage with local communities, to understand their needs, challenges and opportunities in relation to the design and operation of our trips.
GOAL:
Supporting grassroots initiatives in destinations
PROGRESS:
We continue to support grassroots community initiatives through our Foundation’s Community Kickstart Project. Through the Project, we offer small grants to our global network of tour leaders, operators and other partners, to support nature and communities to thrive in our destination communities. In 2025, we supported six Community Kickstart initiatives through our supplier network.
We also improved our promotion of the Project to our local operator and tour leader communities, raising awareness and inviting applications from a wider number of our supplier partners.
Community Kickstart Project initiatives supported in 2025:
Sri Lanka Vietnam
Nature & wildlife education tours at Cuc Phuong National Park
30
STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN A NATURE, ENVIRONMENT AND PLANTS PROGRAMME IN THE NATIONAL PARK
Leopard coexistence project
5000
AWARENESS LEAFLETS DISTRIBUTED TO SCHOOL CHILDREN AND PUBLIC ON WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY
3 1
EXPERIMENTAL MODEL FOR DISPERSING SEEDS BY WIND WAS COMPLETED AND HANDED OVER TO THE NATIONAL PARK
LEOPARD AWARENESS PROGRAMMES CONDUCTED FOR THE ESTATE COMMUNITY
15 500M2
ARACEAE PLANTS PLANTED TO ATTRACT BIRDS AND INSECTS TO THE NATIONAL PARK
Maldives
Whale Shark conservation programme
TOURIST AWARENESS BOARDS PUT UP IN HORTON PLAINS NATIONAL PARK
South Africa
Seabird nursery internship
1 MANY
FUVAHMULAH COMMUNITY MEMBERS EDUCATED IN CONSERVATION MEASURES
SEABIRD NURSERY INTERNSHIP PROVIDED TO SUPPORT HAND-REARING, EGG MANAGEMENT AND DATA CAPTURE
Read more about all of our past and present Community Kickstart Project initiatives here:
FIND OUT MORE
India Uganda
Farming training for child-headed households
Clean water for communities
NEXT STEP:
CHILD-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS IN UGANDA TRAINED AND EQUIPPED TO SET UP A SMALL FOOD BUSINESS, TO GENERATE A SAFE AND REGULAR INCOME
WATER PURIFIERS INSTALLED, GIVING FAMILIES ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER
Over the next two years, it is our ambition to fund at least five grassroots initiatives per year through our Community Kickstart Project, empowering more of our supplier partners to drive change in their local communities.
The Himalayan Community Project
LOCATION: NEPAL AND INDIA
BACKGROUND: Over four decades, we have supported a number of community-based initiatives across several villages in the Nepalese and Indian Himalaya, through the work of our Himalayan Tour Leader, Valerie Parkinson.
IMPACT 2025: We continued supporting the Hankar Women’s Eco-Café, visited by our customers and other trekkers, by providing training, and supplying coffee and water filters. We also trained women in felted handicrafts and provided materials, both initiatives offering economic opportunity to women, often without much formal education.
We continued funding fruit tree saplings in Ladakh, creating an additional income stream for local trekking staff. The first apples from our 2020 plantings are now appearing.
We also supported a senior care home in Chautara by funding a handrail to improve mobility, plus a programme to better manage health conditions such as diabetes, including regular blood sugar monitoring.
Lastly, in partnership with Freedom Kit Bags, we donated 4,260 sustainable sanitary kits, distributed in Nepal to support 345 women and girls with menstrual health supplies, and training to help combat stigma in this area.
THRIVING BUSINESS
GOAL:
Operating responsibly and transparently (in line with our B Corp certification)
GOAL:
PROGRESS:
In January 2024, we achieved B Corporation certification, reinforcing our commitment to balancing purpose and profit. In 2025, B Lab released new standards, and we began a cross-department gap analysis to identify and deliver the required changes.
We also set up a B Corp New Standards Working Group with industry peers and B Corp consultants from the Travel by B Corp community, to align on interpreting and implementing the standards.
Later in 2025, we formed a B Corp Steering Committee of senior leaders to provide oversight and engagement on key requirements.
NEXT STEPS:
In 2026, we will continue to deliver on B Corp’s new set of standards with an aim to recertify in September 2026. This will be done in conjunction with the Travel by B Corp working group, with a view to sharing useful learnings with the wider Travel by B Corp community.
Meeting the new standards will drive will drive an improvement of our policies and practices across stakeholder governance, recruitment, marketing and more.
Collaborating cross-industry
PROGRESS:
• In 2025, we continued our membership in the Travel by B Corp network, joining two Shared Impact Projects (SHIPs) to collaborate on key sustainability topics to drive cross-industry change.
• We also continued our partnership with Kiwano Tourism to educate, upskill and engage travel professionals on impact-driven tourism.
• We remained active members of ABTA’s Sustainable Tourism and Animal Welfare Committees and shared learning through speaking at industry events.
NEXT STEPS:
• In 2026, we will continue to collaborate across our industry, with a focus on working with the Travel by B Corp community to together interpret and implement the new B Corp standards.
• We will also continue to chair the ABTA SBTi working group, as detailed in the section on our decarbonisation goals.
GOAL:
Engaging with customers, staff and suppliers
SUPPLIERS:
Alongside our direct activity, we seek to measure and champion positive impact driven across our supply chain. Our annual supplier sustainability survey for 2025 achieved our best ever response rate; 92% for Exodus (vs 80% in 2024) and 65% for Headwater, and we followed it up with benchmarking reports to all suppliers, helping bring to life where they were exceeding our wider supplier network in sustainability-related activity, and where there is opportunity for improvement – along with suggestions for how to do so.
We also relaunched our quarterly supplier communications to keep suppliers informed, and help share best practice, and we introduced dedicated sustainability training for our Tour Leaders, including live training sessions.
CUSTOMERS:
Customer ratings of our sustainability (to what extent they perceive our trips to benefit local destinations and minimise carbon impact) remained the same as in 2024, at an average of 4.3 out of 5. We redesigned our post-booking customer communications, improved the content and placement of sustainability messaging throughout our customer journey. This included a pre-departure email sharing positive impact stories and sustainable packing tips, which has seen notable, measurable engagement. Additionally, we have launched post-trip emails to customers returning from destinations in which we support projects through our Foundation.
STAFF:
We continued to strengthen staff engagement by sharing regular sustainability updates through team meetings and internal communications. To build awareness and involvement, we hosted five ‘Lunch and Learn’ sessions focused on sustainability and Foundation initiatives, and organised a staff Walkathon, helping raise funds for the Foundation. In addition, 25 employees from across our global teams used their volunteering days, including volunteering at a seabird centre, an oyster-cleaning initiative, and various beach cleans. We further encouraged more sustainable staff travel by launching a new process to encourage and enable staff to take the train to their educational trips.
NEXT STEPS:
We have set a goal to increase our customer scores to an average of 4.5 out of 5 for their perception of how our trips benefit local communities and environments, which we seek to deliver through the expansion of our Thriving Nature, Thriving People Moments, improved Tour Leader training and more effective customer communication.
As in previous years, we will continue to produce supplier benchmarking reports that outline current sustainability performance and highlight opportunities for improvement.
Internally, alongside continuing engagement and education through our Lunch and Learn sessions and other comms, we want to encourage and enable an increased take-up of volunteer days, and establish a new, annual opportunity for Foundation engagement and fundraising.
Extraordinary Leaders, Extraordinary Impact
Our annual Tour Leader Awards celebrate the exceptional leaders who make our adventures so memorable, recognising those who consistently go above and beyond for our travellers. Since 2009, 69 awards have been made, and part of the prize is directed towards a charity or local impact initiative chosen by the leader.
A recent example is Sri Lankan tour leader Ruwan, who used his £500 Hall of Fame award contribution to help refurbish a family-run tea shop near Polonnaruwa, improving its roof and displays so it could better welcome both Exodus groups and other passing visitors.
APPENDIX: EXODUS CLIMATE
OUR CLIMATE & NATURE ACTION IS WOVEN THROUGHOUT OUR THRIVING NATURE, THRIVING PEOPLE PLAN AND THIS REPORT. BUT FOR THE PURPOSES OF B CORP, HERE, WE DRAW TOGETHER ALL GOALS AND ACTIVITY PERTAINING TO CLIMATE AND NATURE ACTION FOR EASY REFERENCE, INCLUDING A LONGER TIME HORIZON FOR OUR RELATED TARGETS
Our Commitment
Our purpose is to enrich lives through travel, creating extraordinary adventures that support people and nature to thrive. Key to this commitment is taking climate action and playing our part in the global ambition to limit global warming to 1.5°C. Our climate and nature action plan outlines how we measure our footprint, pursue carbon reduction both within and outside our reported scopes, and support nature restoration that builds climate resilience for communities and wildlife. It draws together a number of different goals and activities from our wider Thriving Nature, Thriving People plan and covers five key pillars:
MEASUREMENT
REDUCTION
REGENERATION AND RESILIENCE
COLLABORATION
RESOURCING AND FINANCE
Measuring the carbon impact of our business, with increasing accuracy.
Reducing our carbon emissions.
Contributing to climate resilience in destinations, and managing climate risk.
Engaging our key stakeholders in climate action, and working cross-sector.
Ensuring good governance and financial resourcing for our climate action.
CLIMATE & NATURE ACTION PLAN
Measurement
We measure our GHG emissions in alignment with the GHG Protocol and are supported by an expert consultancy partner (eCollective). This includes:
• Scope 1 & 2: UK offices (energy and fuel).
• Scope 3 categories:
- Use of sold products (tour components such as accommodation, transport, meals, activities).
- Purchased goods & services (marketing).
- Other, less material, scope 3 categories (inc. business travel, employee commuting, shipping).
We disclose our GHG emissions in our annual impact report, and as part of our parent company’s reporting, in alignment with regulation.
Additionally, our carbon measurement informs our carbon labelling of trips, which we share on each trip page, linking to related web content to help our customers understand the relative carbon impact of each of our adventures.
TARGETS
Current status
Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions measured and disclosed, as above
Over 90% of trips with carbon label.
Headwater Product Team inputting details into carbon reporting database directly.
2026 and 2027 From B Corp year 0
100% of Exodus and Headwater Product Team to input trip details into carbon reporting database directly.
Mandatory input of trip details into carbon reporting database as part of new trip planning process.
Revision of carbon labelling related content, to better inform customers.
2028 and 2029 To B Corp year 3
Start deriving actual in-trip data (vs use of proxies), prioritising key accommodation, representing top 25% room nights.
100% transition to Travel Impact Model (TIM) methodology for flight carbon reporting.
APPENDIX: EXODUS CLIMATE
Reduction
We are developing decarbonisation targets and roadmaps, aligned as far as possible with the SBTi’s methodology*. These have been iterated over the last two years, as our carbon data has increased in accuracy, as better methods have been implemented for projecting the impact of decarbonisation activity, and as the SBTi has revised its methodology.
Alongside these work-in-progress roadmaps, our carbon measurement enables us to identify the most material and feasible opportunities for decarbonisation, and start exploiting these opportunities.
*As SBTi methodology stands in 2026, there is no provision for applying SBTi’s aviation sector-specific pathway to a travel company’s sold flights, meaning there is currently no feasible way to apply SBTi methodology to target-setting for this aspect of our scope 3. We are currently chairing an ABTA working group engaging with the SBTi directly on this topic.
TARGETS
Current status
More than 85% reduction of scope 1 & 2 emissions since 2019 (scope 1&2 baseline year), through significant office downsizing and transition to renewable electricity tariff for main office.
26% reduction of scope 3 since 2023 (scope 3 baseline year), primarily due to infrastructural decarbonisation (fuel, energy, transport, etc.).
Targets and roadmaps under development, as above. Feasibility assessments undertaken on key actions.
Improvement of customer communication about partnership with train travel provider, Byway, undertaken, to increase number of UK customers choosing train over flights to European trips.
Carbon reduction training sessions run for Product Teams, with focus on considering carbon impact within trip design, and three new train travel itineraries subsequently launched.
Chairing ABTA working group to engage with SBTi on methodology revisions which more feasibly allow travel companies to set SBTialigned targets for their sold flights.
2026 and 2027
From B Corp year 0
Formally include carbon impact consideration into new product development process.
Finalise decarbonisation targets and roadmaps (internal), informed by revised SBTi methodology.
Double number of passengers taking train to Exodus trips vs 2025 (via Byway partnership).
Move second UK office to renewable tariff (via landlord engagement).
2028 and 2029
To B Corp year 3
Publish decarbonisation targets and roadmaps, in line with parent group disclosures, and as required by regulation.
Equip and activate Sales Team to guide customers towards lower emissions airline options.
Achieve the SBTi’s inclusion of our working group proposals on sold flight decarbonisation target methodology.
CLIMATE & NATURE ACTION PLAN
Regeneration and Resilience
Our Thriving Nature, Thriving People plan encompasses our Nature Positive approach – our work to remove and reduce our impacts on nature, while supporting its restoration in recognition that healthy natural habitats play a vital role in climate resilience. We have aligned our goals in this area with those of the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Meanwhile, we assess climate risks to our business, and plan mitigations, in our risk register – reviewed by the Senior Leadership Team at least once a year.
TARGETS
Current status
Five-year partnership with Rewilding Apennines, supporting ecosystem regeneration in Italy, our most popular destination.
Contribution to cross-Travelopia partnership with Blue Marine Foundation, supporting blue marine and ocean habitat restoration projects across 7 projects globally.
Exodus Adventure Travels Foundation’s mission to support communities and nature to thrive in harmony, funding projects across our destinations which empower communities to protect and restore nature. (In 2025, £70,914 was raised via Exodus per passenger contribution, £17,366 via customer donations, and 11 global projects were funded.)
Physical and transition climate risks assessed, and mitigation actions agreed, as part of annual risk assessment process.
2026 and 2027
From B Corp year 0
Contribute to over 1,300 hectares of rewilded land in Italian Apennines.
Maintain or increase funding for community-empowered endangered species protection, via Foundation’s Wild at Heart campaign (launched 2025 with 3-year commitment).
2028 and 2029
To B Corp year 3
Continue measurable investment in ecosystem restoration and carbon removal via expert partners.
Increase Exodus passenger contribution to Foundation from 2026/7 level.
Assess and record any climaterelated operational impact on a six-monthly basis.
Double customer donations (vs 2026) to Foundation’s nature causes, to help expand impact.
APPENDIX: EXODUS CLIMATE
Collaborate
Since sitting on the steering committee for Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency (launched in 2020), we have proactively sought opportunities to collaborate across our industry in helping to accelerate climate action. Our Thriving Nature, Thriving People plan includes goals around staff, supplier and customer engagement in sustainability, with carbon reduction and nature regeneration playing central roles.
TARGETS
Industry collaboration:
• Founding signatory of Glasgow Declaration, member of ABTA Sustainable Tourism Committee, chair of ABTA’s SBTi working group, member of Travel by B Corp’s Shared Impact Project on flight free travel.
• Regular speaking and knowledge-sharing opportunities on our climate and nature initiatives.
Staff engagement:
• Regular engagement on climate and nature action activity.
• Carbon training undertaken with Product Team.
• Published and promoted guidance for staff train travel to/ from ‘educational’ trips.
• Engagement and fundraising activity in support of Foundation projects.
Customer engagement:
• Launched Thriving Nature, Thriving People Moments (2025) across over half of our trips – identifying stand-out customer experiences with positive impact on communities and nature.
• Launched a partnership with iNaturalist (2025) to engage customers in naturerelated citizen science on trips.
• All customers receive a pre-departure email sharing responsible travel tips and packing list promoting more environmentally friendly alternatives.
• Customer feedback derived from holiday evaluation forms on the extent to which they believe their trip benefitted local people and nature, and minimised carbon emissions.
• Engagement and fundraising activity in support of Foundation projects.
Supplier engagement:
• Supplier Sustainability Minimum Standards in all contracts, including climaterelated stipulations.
• Annual supplier survey and benchmarking reports, including questions and input on carbon management and nature conservation/restoration.
• Refreshed training materials and new training sessions on sustainability, including engaging customers in climate and nature action.
• Quarterly supplier sustainability newsletter sent to all DMC partners.
Relaunch our internal ‘Low Carbon Lab’ to engage Product Team members in identifying opportunities for decarbonisation.
Feature Thriving Nature, Thriving People Moments across 90% of our trips.
Establish active iNaturalist support (via Tour Leader and customer engagement) across 30 of our trips.
Increase average customer score to 4.5 out of 5 for ‘benefitting communities and nature’, and 4.3 out of 5 for ‘minimising carbon emissions’, from 2025 level.
Feature Thriving Nature, Thriving People Moments across 100% of our trips.
Expand active iNaturalist support (via Tour Leader and customer engagement) across 100 of our trips.
Feasibility-assess the option of a Supplier Climate Action Fund.
Work with local partners to establish a means of seeking local community insight and input on the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss, to help inform our efforts.
CLIMATE & NATURE ACTION PLAN
Resourcing And Finance
Governance of our climate and nature action sits within the governance of our wider sustainability related activity:
Senior Leadership Team:
Ultimate oversight and decision-making authority for Exodus sustainability. Includes Head of Sustainability.
B Corp Steering Committee:
Members of Senior Leadership Team (Finance Director, People Director, Head of Customer Experience, Headwater Head of Operations, EA to MD and Head of Sustainability) and Sustainability Executive.
Guidance and input on delivering against B Corp requirements.
Sustainability Team:
Role Responsibility
Head of Sustainability
Product Sustainability Manager
Sustainability Executive
Responsibility for developing and delivering sustainability plan across all of Exodus, inc. external engagement (customers, suppliers, industry), B Corp requirements and charitable Foundation.
Responsibility for implementing sustainability goals related to Exodus product and operations.
Responsibility for implementing goals related to B Corp, Foundation and internal engagement.
4 x voluntary Trustees (including Exodus Finance Director), meet quarterly with responsibility for good governance of Foundation and its funds.
Likewise, the resourcing of our climate action plan – beyond the sustainability-specific roles outlined above – sits within our sustainability budget, agreed by the Exodus Senior Leadership Team on an annual basis. This includes donations to our Foundation and investment via our climate and nature partners.
Exodus Adventure Travels Foundation Trustees
APPENDIX: FOUNDATION
Our Trustees
DIANA TICKELL CHAIR OF TRUSTEES
Diana has a wealth of experience in the charity sector having held senior positions at non-profits such as Barnardo’s and NABS. Diana began her career in the tourism industry and is still a passionate adventurer, enjoying cycling and discovery trips. She has also spent time volunteering in Sierra Leone, gaining a deeper understanding of delivering community-based programmes.
HILARY THOMAS
TRUSTEE
An experienced fundraiser with over 20 years’ experience in the not-for-profit sector, Hilary is a corporate partnerships specialist who is passionate about harnessing the power of the private sector to drive positive change in the world. Her career and passion for travel has taken her around the world and she looks forward to sparking the same spirit of adventure in her two young children as they grow up.
RICHARD ISAACS TREASURER
An experienced Finance Director and travel industry professional, having worked with such notable brands as Kuoni and TUI Travel before joining Exodus, Richard has a passion for travel, international development, and sustainability. He is an active member in his local community, notably helping with local school and swimming club accounts, and a keen cyclist.
Giles has extensive experience of financial management and governance across a number of charities both large and small. He is particularly passionate about helping rural communities to thrive and prosper through economic development. Giles is also a regular Exodus client, combining his love of travelling with cycling and trekking.
GILES TOTTERDELL TRUSTEE
TRUSTEES AND ACCOUNTS
For more detailed accounts, please refer to the Accounts and Annual Returns section of the Exodus Adventure Travels Foundation record on the Charity Commission’s register of charities (registered charity number 1182265).
