Member Spotlight: Spirit of the West Adventures
Tell us a bit about your business. What makes you different?
Spirit of the West Adventures is a sea kayaking adventure company that offers guided tours through incredible natural environments across coastal British Columbia, Chilean Patagonia, and The Bahamas.
Beyond reducing our daily footprint while on tour, we use our business as an avenue to advocate for ethical outdoor practices, support conservation initiatives, and give back to our local community. We believe that travel can be nourishing for you and the people, places and wildlife you encounter along the way.
We have been Gold Level Sustainable Tourism Certified since 2015, and we are certified as Biosphere Sustainable, demonstrating action and commitment to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
Why is sustainability important to you/your business?
As a wilderness tour operator, our business and livelihood depends on a healthy environment. When wild salmon spawn, and humpback populations surge, and old-growth forests remain intact — we all thrive.
Our team cares deeply about the wild places and vibrant life forms we experience while on tour, and we love facilitating memorable outdoor experiences that are rooted in respect and reciprocity with our surroundings.
Why did you join Sustainable Tourism?
We joined Sustainable Tourism to more effectively measure our sustainability efforts and map out our continued improvements. GreenStep has provided us with useful resources and tools, and the opportunity to be part of a community of businesses that are committed to measurable change.
What sustainability related projects, policies or initiatives do you most want travellers to know about?
We’re excited to share some of our core projects and initiatives:
- We have been proud members of 1% for the Planet since 2007 and we have donated over $147,000 to non-profits over the years. We charge a Sustainability Fee on every booking that goes directly to local organizations protecting BC’s coastal environment.
- We always maintain a healthy distance from wildlife. We are founding members of the North Island Marine Mammal Stewardship Association (NIMMSA) to ensure best practices and responsible wildlife viewing standards for tourism operators.
- We are part of the Wilderness Tourism Association of BC (WTA), a nonprofit organization that identifies opportunities for a thriving environment and tourism industry to coexist.
- We led an epic 6-week Marine Debris Removal project in the Discovery Islands in Fall 2021, where we removed an overwhelming 45 tonnes of marine debris from remote coastal areas.
We’re also proud of our progress over the years to lighten our footprint in our everyday operations, from solar-powered basecamps and energy efficient showers, to e-bikes for local errands, limited food waste, and everything in between. It’s the seemingly small things that amount to big change over time.
What are some goals and/or actions you plan to take in the future to further increase the sustainability of your business?
As we continue strengthening our sustainability efforts, we are focused on reducing fossil fuel emissions. We’re getting some custom-made engine props created for our motorized boats, which should cut fuel consumption by more than 20%. We have a fleet of 3 hybrid vehicles that support our tours, and we’re working on adding an eclectic vehicle charging station to our office location.
We’re also working through carbon tracking and measurement to decrease overall use, but also to increase offsetting as we have our eyes set on being carbon neutral again in the future! We were many years ago, but chose to focus our efforts and resources more locally as offsets at the time were for overseas projects.
Learn more
You can you learn more about Spirit of the West Adventures and their sustainability initiatives at KayakingTours.com.
