We’re wrapping up our Sustainable September Series with the unveiling of the first KoruGreen Annual Report. Sustainability is such an important part of what we do here – travel incentives are a vital element of what makes our programs work and are integral to the continued success of our client’s customer behaviour change and loyalty programs.
This feeling is shared by our clients – the world around us is so important, and with the advancements in technology, we feel confident that we can now find ways to give back and repair environmental damage inflicted by humans for centuries.
This is where 212F’s KoruGreen initiative plays such a significant part in the world’s future. By developing KoruGreen, we support other ways of life, and we feel that our travel incentive packages appeal on so many levels to our clients. This also allows them and their customers to experience a variety of different cultures without impacting the natural environment.
So, without further ado – let’s review KoruGreen’s goals, and see what we’ve managed to accomplish with the help of our clients!
Using the word ‘Koru’, which in Māori symbolises new beginnings, we decided in April of 2022 that we’d like to bring to life a new vision and pathway to a better and sustainable future. The main pledge of the commitment was for 212F Group (212F, Incremental, uChoose, and iChoose Prepaid Gift Cards) to be net zero across all travel and event programs by 2030 – at zero cost to our clients.
We strongly believe in the ‘zero cost’ element; we want to demonstrate to our clients the value we place on the planet over dollars. If you’re planning a travel or event experience, we will demonstrate how achievable this can be, with the cost impact 100% on 212F.
This is essential, but so is the ‘wow’ factor in a travel incentive. We’ll show you how to achieve net zero whilst still delivering to your guests the most beautiful, diverse parts of the earth that we’re so committed to assisting as partners in the sustainability program.
The way we ‘offset’ is by calculating the CO2e emissions from each program as it’s developed using 212F’s KoruGreen Calculator. This calculator has been designed to estimate the impact of travel and event program emissions, which are the highest-emitting domestic and international activities that we manage.
The kinds of aspects reviewed in this process are:
We then offset these unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions at zero cost to clients by investing in projects that reduce emissions via the United Nations Carbon Offset Platform. These are programs that reduce, avoid, or remove greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere and are implemented in developing countries to help undo the damage done by first-world countries that are more heavily invested in fossil fuels and the like.
So, with the background of the program out of the way, it’s time to announce what we’ve managed to achieve. From the 40 travel and event programs that the 212F Group delivered both domestically and internationally between April 2022 and March 2023, we have offset 1,361.72 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq).
For those not in the know, 1,362 tonnes of CO2eq represents:
However, the program is more than just carbon offsets. As we always say, 212F is about changing behaviour. We change behaviour of the clients of businesses we work with in B2B loyalty and reward programs, and that’s an attitude that we’ve taken with us into our KoruGreen commitment.
With all our programs, we seek to change behaviour by demonstrating how convenient green activities can be, offering them to clients and guests with zero disruption to luxury and lifestyle. Some of these carbon-neutral activities we’ve rolled out across our event and travel incentive programs include:
By demonstrating how simple it can be to go green, as well as providing important interactions with local communities and culture, we hope that we leave our partners a new-found appreciation and commitment to protecting our planet.
With our first year done, while we’re proud of the steps we’ve taken in providing sustainable B2B travel incentives and events, we’re not going to be leaving it at that. We’ve learned so much from the first year of KoruGreen it is importantly impacting how we design tomorrows sustainable activities, and what carbon-neutral elements we need to focus on when we design and execute travel incentives and events.
This achievement is just the beginning of our commitment to sustainability and our long term approach to making a positive and decisive impact on the planet.
True sustainability requires a comprehensive approach beyond providing carbon-neutral programs to customers. It requires consideration of each aspect of our business’s environmental, social, and economic impact, including our internal operations – a change in behaviour, if you will!
If you’d like to download a copy of our first KoruGreen Annual Report, please read on and enter your details. You’ll also be able to keep up to date with future plans and initiatives centred around sustainability and KoruGreen.
Whilst we strive to become thought leaders in the field of sustainability within B2B incentive programs, we cannot do it alone. If you’ve seen our sustainability efforts and would like to drive results in your next B2B loyalty, incentive, or rewards program in an ethically and environmentally conscious way, reach out today. Your clients will thank you.
