Our journey to Regenerative Tourism:
We have been living and breathing tourism & hospitality for many years (see our About Us section) and have experienced first hand the positive and negative impacts tourism can have on the world.
So when the time came to plan and launch our own adventure tour company, it was imperative we were a force for good and put an environmental and community purpose before profit in every aspect of what we do whilst also providing outstanding adventurous experiences to our guests.
In 2022 we launched the WAM 4 Project aiming to have long-term benefits across 4 key areas: W4M for Environment, W4M for Community, W4M for Culture, W4M for Customers. To learn more about and support the WAM 4 Project, click here.
WAM is a certified B-Corp, and as a company have committed to donate at least 5% of revenues each year.
“WAM! is looking to set a new best-practice benchmark through regenerative practices for the industry”
– Regeneration Projects
View our 2022-23 Impact Report snapshot below…
Our Impact Plan & Promise
Eco Certifications
Certified B-Corp
Advanced Ecotourism Certified with Ecotourism Australia
Climate Action Business certified
Sustainable Tourism Accredited Business
Finalist in the Premiers Sustainability Awards 2021
Sustainability Storyteller – Tourism Australia 2022
Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard score of 99%
WAM’s long list of eco-policies and practices is extensive, ongoing and evolving.
Carbon Positive & Insetting (rather than offsetting)
We aim to have a net positive impact by supporting local reforestation projects. This is known as insetting (focussing on helping the ecosystems and communities which are directly impacted by the companies operations) rather than offsetting overseas. We look to inset all our business, vehicle and every WAM guests CO2 emissions, and aim to decarbonise the business such as utilising renewable energy.
Clean Activities
WAM puts sustainability first with human-powered activities that have the lowest possible impact on the environment. Our adventure trips also look to leave each place we visit cleaner than we found it, we carry portable bins and if we see litter on our tours (in the ocean, waterways or parks) we clean it up.
Back of House
Our aim is to ensure our business operations is as environmentally run and ethical as possible. We vet, research and carefully choose each utility provider we use including banking, energy, internet, telco, super and other everyday products. Our home office is powered by solar, we harness rainwater to clean our vehicle/equipment, and we compost food scraps.
Supporting Conscious Local Business
We exclusively support local and Australian eco-conscious businesses when it comes to our equipment, products provided to our guests, eco-shop items, and other things such as refreshment/cleaning supplies. Many of the small businesses we support also donate to environmental and community causes.
“The eco-adventurer advocating regenerative tourism”
– Inside Small Business
WAM Eco-Packs
We constantly strive to improve our positive impact. This includes finding ways to combine our eco-practices with enhancing the customer experience (see below about our eco-packs).
One way WAM does this is by providing a 5 star service you might expect when boarding a business class flight or staying in a luxury hotel.
Every WAM guest is provided with an eco-pack at the start of the day, containing eco-friendly products from local businesses which helps make the day more enjoyable and comfortable. This includes reef safe sunscreen, a reusable bamboo straw gift, a towel service, reusable coffee cup and drinking bottle to use for the day as well as refreshments such as tea & coffee and drinking water. The guests simply hand back the packs at the end of the day.
This means that WAM guests are receiving an extra level of service for the day plus we are supporting local businesses with the products and the environment by eliminating any need for the guest to buy plastic or wear a sunscreen which is damaging to our waterways.
The halo effect of the WAM Eco Packs
Sustainability Storyteller with Tourism Australia
WAM’s Founder, Nic Cooper was selected by Tourism Australia to be one of it’s Sustainability Storytellers:
Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard with Ecotourism Australia and Tourism Australia
WAM achieved a total Strive 4 Sustainability score of 99%
Tourism Declares Climate Emergency
WAM is all about connecting people with nature and wildlife on our active adventures, in a way that respects and protects our environment.
By signing the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, we recognise the responsibilities and obligations we have to the Mornington Peninsula, where we operate, and the planet as a whole, to take climate action.
We commit to fostering climate action within our business and wider community, and to working collaboratively to bring about positive, meaningful, and much needed climate action.
Declaration:
We declare our shared commitment to unite all stakeholders in transforming tourism to deliver effective climate action.
We support the global commitment to halve emissions by 2030 and reach Net Zero as soon as possible before 2050.
We will consistently align our actions with the latest scientific recommendations, so as to ensure our approach remains consistent with a rise of no more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100.
As a signatory, we commit to:
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Deliver a climate action plan within 12 month of signing.
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Report publicly both progress against interim and long-term targets, as well as the actions being taken, at least annually.
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Align our plan with five shared pathways (measure, decarbonise, regenerate, collaborate, finance) to ensure climate action is consistent across all of tourism.
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Share information on activities connected to Tourism Declares and/or the Glasgow Declaration among contacts and networks.
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Work in a collaborative and constructive spirit with other members of Tourism Declares and/or signatories of the Glasgow Declaration.
To learn more, and join us in signing the Glasgow Declaration click here.(opens in a new tab)