Sustainability Policy

Buenos Aires, August 1st  2020

In the framework of triple Impact management, MATER Sustentable has a philosophy that combines solutions to social and environmental problems with the creation of economic value.

We contribute to Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 1: No Poverty

Promoting local development through a management philosophy aimed at experiences designing and trading. This action is also linked to SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth and SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production.

SDG 4: Quality Education

Our participation in the academic field is the key to installing sustainability as a management model in tourism activity. We provide talks, workshops, and carry out consulting work for private and public sectors. Example: Training Workshop for the Municipality of Tigre, Awareness, Training, and Design of sustainable tourism tours for local tourism providers and representatives of public management from the municipalities of Aluminé, Las Lajas, Zapala (Neuquén province), Argentina Network of Rural Community Tourism (RATURC), Sustainable Tourism Network NOA, La Pampa Tourism Secretariat, National University of Lanús, UADE; Comahue University, TurTech Academy and tourist providers from different destinations, among others.

Watch: https://grupo.matersustentable.com.ar/category/informacion-general/

SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities

We implement traveler communication strategies focused on sustainability, for example, our participation in BIOFERIA 2018, 2019, and 2020. In addition, we work with strategic allies that implement good practices as hotels certified by their environmental management, and we are collaborators of Red Argentina de Destinos Turísticos Inteligentes.

SDG 17: Partnerships to achieve the goals

  • We are accompanied by experts in various disciplines, with whom we achieve the visibility of sustainable tourism, offering genuine travel experiences, supporting local communities, promoting cultural exchange and protecting the environment from a sustainable model.
  • Distinguished by Travelife certification in 2014, at MATER Sustentable we have demonstrated that the sustainable practices we promote meet the strict standards of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, in addition to contributing to the achievement of the goals established by 7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
  • Since 2014, we have collaborated with the Chubut and Misiones reforestation projects of the Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina (a member of the WFF). We acquire green bonds monthly, which allow us to offset the CO2 footprint generated by our trips, a fundamental contribution to sustainable tourism.
  • We actively collaborate with non-governmental organizations, institutions, social groups, and community tourism programs that guarantee that we continue to promote values ​​implicit in our DNA that identify us.
  • We work with tourist providers that offer services created under international standards of ethics and fair trade. We prioritize the enterprises, accommodations or services committed to minimizing the environmental impact, applying social economy policies and protecting indigenous cultural traditions.
  • We promote sustainable management in tourism, taking into account the fundamental pillars of sustainability: society, economy and environment, crossed by a fourth axis: public policy.
  • Our social commitment is to work with rural communities, peasant and indigenous in Argentina and Latin America. We offer accommodation in guesthouses from community families, pondering the authentic exchange with the residents.
  • From the economic axis, we provide resources, tools and information for the self-development of rural, peasant and indigenous communities. In addition to visiting local ventures on our tours and contributing to the strengthening of the economy, at MATER Sustentable we collaborate with the development and commercial empowerment of these communities through training and technical assistance.
  • It is important to stand out that in the rural community tourism programs, peasant and indigenous, in addition to the genuine income generated by each family, there are other positive impacts such as the preservation of their cultural and natural heritage, the revaluation of their customs, their identity and job opportunity for young people, so they stop migrating from the countryside to the city and stay in their homelands with a promising future thanks to tourism.
  • Our environmental commitment is related, first, to reduce the carbon footprint in tourism. For that reason, we recommend to our passengers to download the “Zero Carbon” mobile application that allows them to be aware of the carbon dioxide emissions produced by their flights, transfer services or electric current using. We also provide multiple options for carbon offset.
  • We look for local operators that reduce this footprint. We choose activities taking care of the ecosystem. We offer excursions where visitors learn to value the natural environment: we visit parks and nature reserves where they become aware of the preservation of the planet.
  • In each destination, we opt for accommodations that have active sustainability policies and if they do not have it, we make ourselves available to create them together. These accommodations comply with the commitment to responsibly treat waste, reduce environmental impact, and also take care of the natural environment, develop CSR actions and / or preserve cultural heritage, among other actions. As an example, we can mention some regenerative tourism programs such as trees planting in Moconá and contribution with the Torres del Paine Legacy Fund, both programs raise awareness among travelers, ensuring and promoting a sustainable future for those areas as for its surrounding communities.
  • In our office we implement several sustainable actions such as: energy saving (natural light throughout the working day, air conditioning until 24 °) recycle and reuse waste, avoid paper consumption, promote public transport or bicycle, and responsibly use of water and energy.
  • We know that there must be total agreement between our actions and the type of experiences that we promote among our travelers, for which we are committed to continuously improving this policy, keeping it documented and communicated to the entire organization, our customers, suppliers and general public. The sustainability policy will be periodically reviewed and updated.

 

This statement corresponds to the update of previous versions (2013, 2015 and 2017)