Protect the Earth

As “Protect the Earth” is in our name, we frequently reflect on our environmental impact. From an ecological, social, and cultural perspective, we aim to be a “for-impact” organization rather than simply “neutral.” While we certainly don’t have all the answers, we do run an environmentally conscious organization with a three-part approach to environmental protection. While we realize that our ecological footprint is inevitable, we believe we can minimize this impact by making smart choices in our daily actions. Additionally, we take steps to educate others about environmental conservation and fund projects that we believe help protect natural resources in the areas where we offer tours.

How do we do this?

Conscientious Choices - We assess each tour and our organization as a whole and take action to minimize our environmental impact. Although we offer a range of tours to meet the varying comfort needs of our participants, all tours are designed to offer participants greener options than they may have had with another tour company. We like bikes much better than cars. We ride buses instead of flying. We use fans in the office rather than A/C. During a PEPY tour, we expose participants to changes they too can make to conserve resources and offer the opportunity to learn more about responsible travel. It’s simple: the less we harm, the less we have to fix.

Investing in the Future - Supporting environmental education, both financially and through our tours, is part of the fabric of our organization. PEPY delivers funds and support to environmental and education programs throughout Cambodia. Working in cooperation with partner non-profit organizations, PEPY Tours sponsors environmental lessons to schools across the country. PEPY also raises funds for sustainable development programs such as Resource Development International Cambodia’s rainwater collection and water quality education programs. We invest in Cambodia’s youth in hopes that when Cambodia’s next generation begins to populate the government, they will make decisions that protect the local environment.

Go Beyond Carbon Neutrality - A recent addition to the environmental movement is carbon offsetting, a highly debated topic. At PEPY, we agree that the reasoning behind the movement is sound: our actions in the modern world are harmful to the earth and we need to mitigate that negative impact. Although we firmly believe education is the key to change, we also know we need to act now. While the current offsetting protocol requires an expensive carbon audit, we do not believe this is the most effective use of our limited funds. Instead, we utilize standards and resources found online to estimate the carbon emissions of transportation of our tours. We understand there are many factors to consider when calculating a carbon footprint, and we assumed some margin of error. To be safe, we multiplied our estimated carbon emissions by 10 and we have committed to offsetting that amount here in Cambodia. We researched ways to offset locally and for 2007 we have:

• Sponsored the planting of 200 acacia tree saplings, donated by the local department of the Cambodian Ministry of Forestry, in the community of Oreussei Kandal in Stung Treng province. Fifty trees were planted at the PEPY Friends School by a group of PEPY volunteers and Cambodian students. Additional trees were planted at the local primary school and given to community members to plant near their homes. The trees serve to beautify the community and therefore remind students and villagers of the importance of conserving and replenishing natural resources. We plan to continue tree-planting activities in 2008.

• Identified GERES Cambodia, an organization that endeavors to enhance the sustainability of on-going renewable energy services. GERES Cambodia’s projects aim to reduce fuelwood consumption, emissions of greenhouse and other hazardous gases, expenses for energy, and the negative impacts of household energy utilization on women. PEPY Tours has donated funds to these projects to help offset carbon emissions from transportation used during our trips in 2007.

In November 2006, our founder, Daniela Papi, made a commitment at the UNEP Sports and Environment Summit in Geneva that she would take action to offset the impact of PEPY Tours. Above we have outlined our three-part action plan to meet that commitment: minimize our daily impact, incorporate environmental education into our core mission, and donate to carbon reduction projects in Cambodia. We acknowledge that our plan is far from perfect, so we continue to search for new ways to nourish the environment of Cambodia and the world. PEPY invites other companies and individuals to examine their own impact on the environment. Working together, we can be so much more than simply “neutral.”