Sustainability Policy 2026
Our 13 commitments to walk the talk — across people, planet and place. Signed by Cliff Waijenberg, Host & Owner.
Our mission
Walking Holiday Ireland is a small, family-run, self-guided walking holiday business. We believe seeing Ireland on foot, staying with small local businesses along the way, is good for walkers and for rural communities — and that the way we run our business matters as much as the trails we send our walkers down.
This Policy sets out our commitments to people, planet and place. It is structured around 13 essential elements adapted from the Sustainable Tourism Network framework and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Tour Operator Standard v4.01.
"Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities."
— UN Tourism (UNWTO) definition of sustainable tourism, adopted by WHI.
Walkers, staff & rural Irish communities
Carbon, waste, water, biodiversity
Ireland's landscapes & heritage
What we promise — to ourselves, our walkers, our communities.
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01
Mission statement
We are a small, family-run, self-guided walking holiday business committed to walking the talk on sustainability — across people, planet and place — in everything we do.
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02
UN Tourism alignment
We adopt the UN Tourism definition of sustainable tourism as the foundation of our work, and align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals 8, 11, 12, 13, 15 and 17.
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03
Energy
We measure our home-office energy use, prefer renewable tariffs, and ask every accommodation partner about their energy reduction plans through our annual Supplier Sustainability Questionnaire.
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04
Water
We identify the water-risk level of every walking area we operate in, and engage our accommodation partners on water-saving practices and reuse.
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05
Waste
We follow the waste hierarchy: prevent, reuse, recycle, recover, dispose. From September 2026 our walker kit is single-use-plastic-free. Every walker receives waste-reduction guidance in the pre-trip pack.
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06
Ethical purchasing
Our Purchasing Principles prefer local, fair, recycled and electronic — in that order. Single-use plastics are eliminated where feasible. Marketing materials are digital-first.
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07
Social responsibility
All of our accommodation, baggage-transfer and taxi partners are local businesses based along our routes. We will publish our first annual Rural Spend figure in our Sustainability Report (April 2027). We give preference to community-owned and entrepreneur-led businesses.
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08
Biodiversity
We commit to a named Irish conservation partner, with a recurring financial or in-kind contribution. We include Check-Clean-Dry invasive-species guidance in every pre-trip pack.
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09
Carbon management
We measure first, then reduce. We promote Rail & Sail over flights, and we will add a per-trip carbon estimate to booking confirmations (planned Nov 2026 – Jan 2027). If we support any offset or inset project, we will name it and say exactly what it does — and we will never use it to call a trip ‘carbon neutral’.
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10
Responsible marketing
Every sustainability claim we make is backed by evidence on file. We use real photography from real WHI tours. We do not greenwash, and we do not market ‘net zero’ we cannot prove. Our wording follows the EU Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition rules (EmpCo), in force since 27 September 2026.
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11
Continuous improvement
We commit to publishing imperfect first numbers and improving them year on year. We capture quarterly data on carbon, waste, supplier engagement and customer satisfaction.
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12
Annual review
Every November we hold a formal annual review and re-set targets for the year ahead. The outcome is documented and shared publicly through our Annual Sustainability Report.
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13
Sign & publish
This Policy is signed by the General Manager, dated and published on our website. German, Dutch and French versions will follow on each WHI domain. It is reviewed at least annually.
Self-assessed against the GSTC standard
This is our own self-assessment, not a certification or independent audit. We have mapped our Policy against every one of the 35 criteria in the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Tour Operator Standard v4.01. The full Gap Analysis sets out, criterion by criterion, where WHI is Aligned, Partially aligned, has a Gap, or is N/A. We commit to closing every documented gap on the timeline set out in our Action Plan 2026/27.
Aligned
Partial
Gap
N/A
Signed
"We don't claim to be perfect. We don't offset our way out of difficult decisions. We commit to publishing what we measure, year on year — and letting our walkers see the path we're on."
Cliff Waijenberg
Host & Owner, Walking Holiday Ireland
Dated 17 April 2026
