Tour Operator & Business Brochure

Global Travel. Local Giving.

Tour Operator & Business Brochure

Welcome to iJourneyGreen! It is an honor to have your tour operator join our team! In the eternal words of St. Augustine, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” Here at iJourneyGreen, we believe those words have never been more true. Travel is essential to understanding culture, perpetuating peace and visiting monuments and people so unique, the memory will stay with us for a lifetime. After years of first hand evaluations of the detrimental impact of travel on both the environment and local communities, we were prompted to design a solution for the travel community at large. From this most basic passion emerged the idea of a Travel Credit™, a charitable donation that is shared between an environmental project and community project of a traveler’s choice. It seeks to reverse the damage of travel; to ensure that generations of travelers will be able to be inspired by the same sites, cultures and places which we all love. iJourneyGreen seeks to be more than simply an educational resource, we strive to actually make a change in the world! The mission at the heart of iJourneyGreen is one that nearly all travelers can engage in: to encourage travelers to develop lasting and meaningful connections to the places they travel.The wonderful part about iJourneyGreen is that it will provide your clients with the knowledge that your business is actively engaged in promoting sustainable travel and we will assist in advertising your good work! We are delighted to have you join in our quest to travel to save the planet.

Warmest regards, Jessica Finley and Christina Aushana

Table of Contents: PART I: iJOURNEYGREEN AND THE TRAVEL CREDIT™ SYSTEM 1. A Traveler’s Obligation 2. Our Travel Credits™ 3. Elements of Sustainability - Environmental Projects - Community Projects - Chart I: The Solution for Travelers PART II: OUR CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM 1. Why Choose a Corporate Membership? 2. Corporate Membership Levels & Package Details - Chart II: Corporate Membership Table PART III: TOUR OPERATORS AND SUSTAINABLE TOURISM 1. The Role of Travel Providers in Promoting Responsible Travel 2. Offering Your Clients Travel Credits™ - Chart III: How It Works PART IV: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

PART I: iJOURNEYGREEN AND THE TRAVEL CREDIT™ SYSTEM

A Traveler’s Obligation: “The encounters engendered among peoples through travel are not only a condition for the realization of peace but a positive contribution towards peace.” - Pope John Paul II, 1985 Every traveler is familiar with the joys and wonder of travel, but we do not always take time to reflect on its detrimental impact. As travel impacts the 1.) environments 2.) the places and 3.) the people we visit, truly sustainable travel needs to support and invest in all three. Travel is the leading cause of global warming; planes, boats and cars emit more CO2 than any other single source. Additionally, the socio-economic benefits associated with tourism are rarely dissipated among a country’s people. As an industry, travel is one of the most harmful on the environment. We burn fossil fuels in the use of electricity, our cars, flights and other transportation methods we use while traveling. Through a build up of these greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, global warming is on the rise. According to the calculations of the Edinburgh Center for Carbon Management in Scotland, a Boeing 747 spews out about 440 tons of carbon dioxide on a round trip from New York to London. That is about the same amount that 80 S.U.V.'s emit in a full year of hard driving (NY Times, January 22, 2009). Generally, the travel community agrees and recognizes that sustainable travel is the only way in which we can hope to preserve the beautiful places in the world. However, thus far there has not been a mechanism for travelers to get involved. The solution is annual Travel Credits™, a holistic approach to combat travel damage and promote sustainable tourism.

Our Travel Credits™: a. What Are Travel Credits™? Travel Credits™ are charitable donations travelers purchase through iJourneyGreen’s website. Each Travel Credit™ purchased is a donation that is shared between an environmental project and a community project of a traveler’s choice, making it the first credit of its kind to support healthy travel in two capacities instead of just one. Travel Credits™ are the first ever sustainability credits tailored specifically to the needs of travelers across the globe, from individual adventure-seekers to global tour operators. A Travel Credit™ is a holistic approach to making all forms of travel green and sustainable by providing local organizations with much needed financial and social support systems. These credits, which are offered exclusively through our website, provide individuals, businesses, and tour operators with the ability to support the multifaceted aspects of life in communities worldwide.

b. Why Choose Travel Credits™? As opposed to carbon credits, which merely offset carbon emissions in the Earth’s atmosphere, Travel Credits™ are concerned with the entire spectrum of issues that affect local communities around the world. These issues span across a wide range of sideeffects that result from tourism, such as environmental and cultural degradation. As global travel and tourism impact the environments, cultures, and people we visit, Travel Credits™ support and invest in all three. In this way, iJourneyGreen supports sustainable travel that strives to protect all areas and aspects of a community’s well-being we impact as global travelers.

c. How Do Travel Credits™ Work? A Travel Credit™ is a charitable donation shared between an environmental project and a community project.

Environmental Projects

Travel Credits

Community Projects

Chart I: The Solution for Travelers

Travel Credits™ seek to provide global aid and assistance in two major capacities: Environmental Projects We partner with a wide range of local environmental projects worldwide, many of which are involved in creating renewable energy projects, energy efficiency programs, and actively engaged in reforestation and forest protection efforts in their respective communities. iJourneyGreen strives to find local environmental projects that are in the most need of funding and are implementing unique sustainable solutions to the environmental issues they are facing in their communities. Here are two environmental projects we are partnered with that exemplify these traits: • The WindAid Project,located in Trujillo, Peru, works alongside local communities and volunteers to provide wind energy as a renewable, affordable, and accessible energy source to communities in Peru without access to electricity. By bringing together volunteers from all over the globe and local individuals from these communities to construct wind turbines, the WindAid Project illustrates the beauty of collaborative work across differences in culture and language. • The Great Baikal Trail Project, located in Irkutsk, Russia, is a local environmental project that aims to promote local sustainable development through low-impact ecotourism. The Great Baikal Trail has carried out many trail-building projects around Lake Baikal, providing hikers with environmentally friendly trails and locals with ecoconscious alternatives to industrial development. Along with volunteers, projects concentrate on environmental education, restoration, preserving indigenous cultures and traditions, and also promoting intercultural interaction.

Community Projects Through our donation model, iJourneyGreen’s Travel Credits™ include charitable donations to local community projects promoting sustainable community development and implementing social programs directly in the regions travelers are visiting. Such prorams and projects o more general social programs which help these communities to thrive amidst the effects of poverty. Here are two community projects we are partnered with that exemplify these traits: • The Kranti Project, located in Mumbia, India, is a women’s rights organization that rescues trafficked girls and socially disadvantaged young women by providing them with safe housing, a comprehensive education and personalized career opportunities. By equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and confidence necessary to build fulfilling futures, the Kranti Project empowers these women to become agents of positive change in their communities and the world. • The Village Network Africa Project, located in the Kibaale District of Uganda, collaborates with rural villagers across communities in countries like Tanzania and Uganda to implement sustainable improvements in water resources and health training of volunteers. Village Network Africa is currently working in Terrat Ward in the Arusha District of Tanzania and assisting local communities by building rain catchment and check dam systems to provide clean water and to teach health promotion and disease prevention techniques to community members.

Your purchase of Travel Credits™ will help make your company a pioneer in the world of sustainable travel!

PART II: OUR CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM

Why Choose a Corporate Membership? At iJourneyGreen, we understand the many challenges that local businesses and striving companies alike face when attempting to make sustainable practices a part of their daily operations. With these concerns in mind, iJourneyGreen has created an innovative Corporate Membership Program, allowing companies of all sizes to participate in giving back to the communities and environments they impact with their travels. While our Travel Credit™ program provides individual travelers and groups of adventure-seekers with the opportunity to support sustainable travel initiatives, our Corporate Membership Program also allows companies the ability to support and invest in all aspects of sustainable tourism, from the ecological consequences to the cultural impacts of global travel.

Chart II: Corporate Membership Table We have four annual membership packages specifically tailored to the needs of businesses and tour operators of different sizes. By buying into one of our membership packages, a company can make a responsible decision to support sustainable tourism by purchasing a membership on behalf of its employees. Each membership package also comes with a variety of perks that will enable companies and tour operators to learn more about sustainability while benefitting from the cause marketing opportunities available to them as a result of partnership with iJourneyGreen on a membership level. For more specific details regarding the contents of each membership, please read on.

Corporate Membership Levels & Package Details

Online Marketing Opportunities

One Leaf Member: • Your company/business name on our website on our Partners Page • Blog feature written on your company and featured on iJourneyGreen’s website • Your company featured on our Facebook and Twitter feeds • Profile on your company featured in our monthly e-newsletter • iJourneyGreen members avatar/button provided for your website • iJourneyGreen stickers, bags, and other promotional materials shipped direct to you Two Leaf Member: All Benefits of One Leaf Membership Package Press release on your company written by GoGreenPress.net Press release written about your company will be featured on Earth-list.com, an online hub of information about the latest eco news, green products, and environmentally friendly living • Your company featured in our promotional press packets • • •

Three Leaf Member: All Benefits of the One Leaf Membership and Two Leaf Membership Packages Partner’s information will be presented at quarterly lectures given to local universities via iJourneyGreen as an opportunity that will market your company as a support of sustainable practices. • Promotional material and profile on your business will be presented to San Diego State University Students and University of California, San Diego students • Funds donated from your membership to a local community project supported by your company. For example, one of our projects in Kenya, known as Widows for the Environment, will plant a tree in their sustainable garden with a wooden plaque that will have your company's name painted on it • •

External Marketing Opportunities

Four Leaf Member: All Benefits of the One Leaf Membership, Two Leaf Membership, and Three Leaf Membership Packages • iJourneyGreen Member For Life Button for your company’s website • Funds from your annual membership go toward the production of a wind turbine to be built near a rural town in Peru and will help provide electricity to the local community. Plaque with your company’s name will deem the wind turbine a gift from your company and images will be sent your company for promotional use that will illustrate your company’s commitment to sustainability. •

PART III: TOUR OPERATORS AND SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

The Role of Travel Providers in Promoting Responsible Travel: While the primary responsibility of a tour operator lies in connecting their clients to some of the most beautiful travel destinations around the world, a tour operator’s commitment to sustainable tourism is becoming an increasingly important factor to more travelers every year. No longer is the idea of ecotourism a quaint notion or a fleeting fixation of eco-conscious individuals; it is becoming an industry standard practice for the tour operator and travel provider community. In a recent survey conducted on UK travelers, it was noted that demand for sustainable travel practices is rising, and that more “than 50% of tourists...endeavor to book accommodations that focus on minimizing negative impacts on the environment” (Adventure Travel News, June 12, 2011). In this way, it is clear that sustainable tourism no longer resides in the realm of a niche market; it is a trend that many travelers want to participate in. With this fact in mind, it is imperative that tour operators and travel providers of all sizes tailor to the needs of travelers and this new market of eco-conscious jet setters. However, sustainable tourism does not mean revamping every trip a tour operator offers in order to make it more eco-friendly; this would simply be inconvenient. To incorporate sustainable travel practices, tour operators need only provide their clients the option to minimize the impact of their travels on the environment and local communities in the travel destination of their choice. By partnering with iJourneyGreen, this level of sustainability can be easily implemented by offering clients and travelers the option to purchase Travel Credits™ for a local environmental or community project of their choice.

Offering Your Clients Travel Credits™: A tour operator’s attitude toward sustainable travel will inevitably have a lasting impact on their clients and the destinations, people, and cultures they plan to visit. By actively engaging in sustainable tourism practices, tour operators who choose to offer their clients the opportunity to become responsible travelers through the purchase of Travel Credits™ will have have accomplished two noble pursuits - to allow their guests to make a meaningful and lasting connection to the places they visit and to positively impact the destinations they serve as arbiters of sustainable tourism. In order to tailor to the needs of individual tour operators, our non-profit will partner with your business in order to integrate our Travel Credit™ model into your tour operator’s daily operations. A partnership could be as simply as this: you provide us with a list of travel destinations you offer guests and will provide you with a list of local environmental and community projects we are actively partnered near the destinations you serve. When clients decide to book a trip through your business, either you could allow them to donate to a project of their choice via a Travel Credit™ purchase or you could

purchase Travel Credits™ in bulk for a party of travelers booking a trip through your tour operator. For a sample timeline of how this dynamic would function between iJourneyGreen and your business, please refer to Chart III: How It Works. If a partnership of this nature interests your business and you would like to discuss your options, please feel free to contact us via our website, by e-mail, or by phone number. Phone: U.S. - 949-616-5848 Email: [email protected] Web: www.ijourneygreen.org

iJG calculates annual membership costs based on number of tours per year.

60 days before departure of the tour, Travel Credits™ will be purchased Community Project

iJG distributes funds to travelers’/tour operator’s project of choice Environmental Project iJG profiles Tour Operator on iJG Website, Facebook page, & Twitter feed

60 days before the departure of the tour, iJG will send out packages to clients

Chart III: How It Works

PART IV: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 1. What is iJourneyGreen? iJourneyGreen is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that provides a way for travelers to give back charitably to the people and places they visit. 2. How does iJourneyGreen choose its partners and projects? We have chosen our partners through a mix of pre-existing relationships and continued reviews of their progress. Additionally, we rely on reputable third-party organizations, to which we have 3. What is sustainable travel? There is a lot of debate of what this term really means, but we think it is important to tell you how iJourneyGreen views this definition. While we feel that travel is brilliant, we feel that it needs to incorporate giving back to the cultures, environments, places and eco-systems we all enjoy visiting. To this end, we have created a platform that enables travelers to travel responsibly and actively invest in the sustainability of every place we cherish in this world. Our annual membership packages both educate travelers, as well as tangibly create change. 4. What is a Travel Credit™? Travel Credits™ are the first ever truly holistic approach to making all forms of travel both green and sustainable for individuals and businesses. As travel impacts the environments, the places and the people we visit, truly sustainable travel needs to support and invest in all three. Thus, Travel Credits™ invest in environmental causes, microfinance, and social causes in the regions individuals and businesses visit. To learn more click here 5. Why purchase Travel Credits? iJourneyGreen is changing the way in which we travel. With your donations, we are able to ensure that the places we all love to visit are around for generations to come. By working with our trusted partners we can ensure money is directly invested in local projects helping to support environmental, social, and charitable causes. 6. Travel Credits™ vs. Carbon Offsets One of our favorite descriptions of our organization was offered by someone just learning about our Travel Credit™ program. She called iJourneyGreen, “Carbon Offset Plus”, signifying the next generation of offsets specifically for travelers. While Carbon Credits offer travelers a way to neutralize the carbon from their trip by balancing a measured amount of carbon released with an equivalent offset, travelers impact many areas during

a standard trip beyond just carbon emissions. iJourneyGreen’s Travel Credit™ program invests in all areas travelers impact on a trip: the environment, cultures, infrastructure and local resources. 7. How do Travel Credits™ create sustainability? There is much debate on the true meaning of sustainable travel, but we think it is important to tell you how iJourneyGreen views this definition. We feel that real sustainable travel is more inclusive than solely engaging in environmental preservation. It extends beyond environmental preservation to cultural preservation and the socioeconomic well-being of communities around the world. Thus, we have created a platform that enables travelers to travel responsibly, while actively investing in sustainability. Our Travel Credits™ tangibly create change through donations to grassroots environmental and community projects in the region of a traveler’s choice. 8. How can your trip have a positive impact on the environment and local communities worldwide? Our partner, CarbonFund.org, supports three types of carbon-offset projects: renewable energy, energy efficiency and reforestation. While each is different, they all play an important role in the fight against climate change. The projects CarbonFund.org supports meet the same high standards and certifications relied on by thousands of companies, organizations and governments to ensure quality environmental protection. We support a combination of the three types of carbon offsets CarbonFund.org offers. 9. How are donations made? We have spent a substantial amount of time determining which areas of the world we support based on travelers’ plans. As much as we’d like to promise that each Travel Credit™ could support a project in the specific destination a traveler is visiting, that isn’t always possible. There are many areas of the world (Arctic, Antarctic, remote parts of Africa/Asia) in which there are local projects we are not yet partnered with. With this fact in mind, we make sure to donate travelers’ funds to the applicable region they are visiting. For instance, a traveler may visit Benin (a small country on the West coast of Africa) and there might not projects available there. In that instance, we would donate to projects within the same region – maybe Ghana or Nigeria – to ensure we are targeting donations to the next best area. 10. What percentage do you take from each Travel Credit™ purchase and Membership Package? iJourneyGreen receives a 20% fee from each Travel Credit™, a percentage which allows us to continue expanding our network and assisting new causes around the world.