Our Commitment

African Environments is committed to responsible and sustainable tourism that protects Tanzania's wilderness, supports the people and communities who call Tanzania home, and continually reduces the negative environmental, social, cultural and economic impacts of our activities.

As a Tanzanian-owned and operated wilderness company, our business depends on healthy landscapes, wildlife, communities and people. Sustainability is therefore an integral part of how we operate our camps, vehicles, walking experiences, Kilimanjaro expeditions, safari programmes and office.

We recognise that responsible tourism is a continuous process. We do not expect to get everything right, but we are committed to continually learning, measuring, improving and being accountable for the impact of our decisions.

Our sustainability approach is supported by the Directors and senior management of African Environments.

1. Environmental Responsibility

Our camps and safari operations take place in some of Tanzania's most important and sensitive wilderness areas. We recognise our responsibility to minimise our environmental footprint and use natural resources responsibly.

We are committed to:

• Reducing, reusing and recycling waste wherever practical.

• Eliminating unnecessary single-use plastics.

• Using water responsibly and reducing unnecessary consumption.

• Improving energy efficiency across our camps and office.

• Maintaining and expanding the use of renewable energy, including our solar-powered camps.

• Considering the environmental impact, durability and lifecycle of products before purchasing.

• Prioritising repair, reuse and repurposing where practical.

• Avoiding unnecessary damage to vegetation, soil and wildlife habitats.

• Ensuring waste is handled and disposed of responsibly.

• Encouraging staff, guides and guests to follow Leave No Trace principles.

• Considering environmental impacts when undertaking camp construction, refurbishment and development.

Waste Management

African Environments works with OKOTA Waste Management to manage waste generated by our office and camps. Waste is collected and sorted, with recyclable materials diverted for recycling and other materials managed through appropriate disposal or upcycling channels where possible.

This allows us to better understand, monitor and reduce the waste generated by our operations.

2. Climate Change & Carbon

Climate change poses a significant threat to the ecosystems and communities on which Tanzania's tourism industry depends. We recognise our responsibility to reduce emissions where practical and contribute towards climate action.

African Environments is committed to:

• Operating our camps with renewable solar energy.

• Reducing unnecessary energy and fuel consumption.

• Considering carbon emissions when making operational and purchasing decisions.

• Encouraging responsible transport and operational practices.

• Supporting conservation projects that protect ecosystems and their ability to store carbon.

• Contributing US$25 per guest per booking towards carbon offsetting through our partnership with Carbon Tanzania.

Our relationship with Carbon Tanzania supports locally led forest conservation and provides communities with incentives to protect important natural ecosystems.

We will continue to investigate ways to measure our carbon footprint more accurately and identify practical opportunities for emissions reduction.

3. Wildlife, Conservation & Anti-Poaching

The protection of Tanzania's wildlife and wilderness is fundamental to our business.

We are committed to responsible wildlife tourism and to:

• Respecting wildlife and maintaining appropriate distances and behaviour around animals.

• Ensuring walking and safari activities are conducted by experienced guides who understand the environments in which they operate.

• Never deliberately feeding, disturbing or interfering with wildlife.

• Educating guests about Tanzania's ecosystems and wildlife.

• Supporting conservation initiatives that address threats to wildlife and habitat.

• Encouraging our guides, staff and guests to report suspected wildlife crime through appropriate channels.

African Environments is a founding partner of the Serengeti De-Snaring Project, supporting efforts to remove snares and reduce the threat of illegal bushmeat poaching to wildlife in the Serengeti ecosystem.

We also support KopeLion, an organisation working with local communities to reduce human-lion conflict and support coexistence between people and wildlife.

In addition, a contribution of US$1 per guest per bed-night from our Serengeti operations supports the Serengeti De-Snaring Project.

4. People, Employment & Staff Welfare

Our people are central to African Environments. We aim to create a workplace where employees are respected, fairly treated, supported and able to develop their skills.

We are committed to:

• Providing a safe, respectful and inclusive working environment.

• Promoting fair employment practices and appropriate working conditions.

• Providing training and opportunities for professional development.

• Supporting staff in developing hospitality, guiding, safety and operational skills.

• Maintaining clear communication between management and employees.

• Encouraging a culture based on respect, teamwork and responsibility.

• Taking employee physical and mental wellbeing seriously.

• Providing appropriate equipment and working conditions for the roles undertaken.

• Providing channels through which employees can raise concerns without fear of retaliation.

Kilimanjaro Porters

African Environments recognises the particular responsibilities associated with employing porters on Kilimanjaro.

We are committed to fair and ethical treatment of our mountain crews and work in partnership with the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP).

Our approach includes:

• Respecting established porter load limits.

• Providing appropriate food, accommodation and equipment.

• Ensuring porters are treated with dignity and respect.

• Supporting fair and transparent employment practices.

• Ensuring Tanzanian Head Guides receive equal pay for equal work.

• Working towards continued improvement in porter welfare and working conditions.

5. Health, Safety & Wilderness Risk Management

The environments in which we operate can be remote and adventurous, making health and safety particularly important.

We are committed to:

• Maintaining appropriate health and safety procedures across camps, vehicles and activities.

• Providing appropriate first aid training and encouraging relevant staff to maintain current qualifications.

• Supporting ongoing Wilderness First Aid and Wilderness First Responder training.

• Ensuring guides and staff understand emergency procedures appropriate to their roles.

• Regularly reviewing equipment, vehicles and operational practices.

• Identifying and managing risks associated with walking, safari, camping and mountain activities.

• Providing appropriate information to guests so they can participate safely.

• Encouraging staff to raise safety concerns without fear of blame or retaliation.

6. Child Protection & Safeguarding

African Environments recognises its responsibility to protect children from exploitation, abuse and inappropriate interactions within tourism.

This is particularly important where our operations involve family travel, community visits, schools or interactions with children.

We are committed to:

• Maintaining a zero-tolerance approach to child exploitation and abuse.

• Ensuring staff understand appropriate behaviour and safeguarding responsibilities.

• Never permitting sexual exploitation or inappropriate relationships between staff, guides, guests and children.

• Taking care when photographing or sharing images of children and respecting appropriate consent requirements.

• Ensuring community and cultural experiences involving children are conducted respectfully and do not compromise their dignity, safety or wellbeing.

• Including appropriate safeguarding expectations within our relationships with guides, suppliers and partners.

• Providing a clear route for concerns relating to child welfare to be reported to management and, where appropriate, the relevant authorities or safeguarding organisation.

African Environments will continue to strengthen staff awareness and training in child safeguarding as part of our wider responsible tourism programme.

7. Local Communities, Culture & Benefit Sharing

We believe tourism should create meaningful and lasting benefits for the communities living in and around the areas where we operate.

We aim to:

• Employ Tanzanian staff wherever possible.

• Support local suppliers, producers and businesses.

• Respect local cultures, traditions and community decision-making.

• Ensure cultural experiences are conducted with appropriate consent and in a respectful manner.

• Avoid treating culture as a commodity.

• Encourage genuine and mutually beneficial interaction between guests and communities.

• Support community-led initiatives that provide lasting benefits.

We value long-standing relationships and seek to work with communities rather than simply for communities.

Our relationship with the community around Mysigio has developed over decades and includes support for local initiatives such as school development and our Maasai apprenticeship programme.

Where guests participate in cultural or community experiences, we aim to ensure that the communities involved have a meaningful role in determining how these experiences operate and benefit from them.

8. Responsible Purchasing & Local Economic Impact

Our purchasing decisions have environmental, social and economic consequences. We therefore aim to purchase responsibly and maximise the positive economic impact of our operations within Tanzania.

Where practical, we will:

• Prioritise Tanzanian suppliers and locally produced goods.

• Consider the durability and lifecycle of products.

• Reduce unnecessary packaging.

• Avoid unnecessary single-use items.

• Consider social and environmental factors when selecting suppliers.

• Maintain good stock management to reduce food and material waste.

• Repair, reuse or repurpose equipment and furnishings where appropriate.

• Build long-term relationships with suppliers who share our values.

9. Food & Hospitality

Food is an important part of the African Environments experience. We aim to combine high standards of food, hospitality and safety with responsible sourcing.

We will work to:

• Source locally produced food where practical.

• Support local farmers, producers and suppliers.

• Reduce food waste through thoughtful purchasing, storage and menu planning.

• Minimise food spoilage.

• Maintain high standards of food hygiene and guest safety.

• Reduce unnecessary use of water, energy and packaging within camp kitchens.

10. Guests & Responsible Travel

We believe guests can become part of the positive impact of their journey when they understand the places they are visiting.

We encourage guests to:

• Respect wildlife, wilderness and local communities.

• Follow Leave No Trace principles.

• Use water and other resources thoughtfully.

• Reduce unnecessary waste.

• Respect local customs and cultural practices.

• Learn about Tanzania's ecosystems, wildlife and communities.

• Support conservation and community initiatives through responsible travel choices.

Our guides and camp teams play an important role in helping guests understand the environments they are visiting and how they can travel responsibly.

11. Grievance, Feedback & Reporting

We recognise that responsible tourism requires openness and accountability.

African Environments provides channels through which employees, guests, community members, suppliers and other stakeholders can raise concerns relating to:

• Health and safety.

• Employee welfare.

• Environmental impacts.

• Community relationships.

• Cultural concerns.

• Wildlife or conservation issues.

• Child safeguarding.

• Unethical or inappropriate behaviour.

• Any other concern relating to our activities.

Concerns can be raised directly with management or through the Sustainability Coordinator. Where appropriate, concerns will be investigated confidentially and handled without retaliation against the person raising them.

We will use feedback and complaints as an opportunity to identify weaknesses and improve our operations.

12. Certification & External Standards

African Environments recognises the value of independent standards and external accountability.

We are also currently working towards becoming a Travelife Partner, strengthening our systems for monitoring and improving sustainability across our environmental, social, employment and supply-chain practices.

Our sustainability programme is informed by recognised responsible tourism principles, including the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) criteria, where relevant to our operations.

We view certification not as an end point, but as a framework for continual improvement.

13. Measuring Progress & Continuous Improvement

We recognise that a sustainability policy needs to be supported by action and measurable progress.

African Environments will therefore establish and monitor practical sustainability indicators appropriate to the scale of our business.

Our current commitments include:

• 100% of African Environments camp and office waste to be managed through our partnership with OKOTA Waste Management.

• 100% of guest bookings to include our US$25 carbon contribution through Carbon Tanzania.

• 100% of our camps to continue operating with solar power as our primary energy source.

• Continue our partnership with KPAP and monitor compliance with our porter welfare commitments.

• Maintain our US$1 per guest per bed-night Serengeti contribution to the Serengeti De-Snaring Project.

• Progress towards Travelife Partner status and use the process to identify and document further measurable improvements.

• Review our sustainability policy and progress at least annually.

As our data collection improves, we will develop additional targets around areas such as waste volumes, energy and water consumption, local purchasing and staff training.

We will not set targets simply for the purpose of appearing sustainable. Our objective is to establish realistic, measurable commitments that we can genuinely monitor and improve over time.

Our Commitment to Continuous Improvement

African Environments recognises that sustainability is a journey rather than a destination.

We are a relatively small, hands-on Tanzanian company, and we believe meaningful change comes from practical action: improving how we manage waste, investing in our people, supporting conservation, reducing our carbon impact, strengthening community relationships and continually questioning whether there is a better way to do things.

Our Directors and Sustainability Coordinator are responsible for overseeing the implementation and review of this policy, while sustainability remains a shared responsibility across the organisation.

Our goal is simple: to ensure that the places we operate, the people we work with and the communities we are part of are stronger because of tourism, not weaker.

We want our guests to leave with extraordinary memories, while helping to ensure that Tanzania's wilderness, wildlife, people and cultures can thrive for generations to come.