annual sustainability report - Heritage Expediciones

SUSTAINABILITYREPORT

2019-2020

CONTENTHow Sustainability Works at HeritageWe Care About Our EnvironmentWe Commit to Our PeopleWe Support Community Involvement & DevelopmentWe Involve Our Supply ChainThe “Community Supportive Tour”We Care About Our Guests, we share the knowledgeTop Responsible ProductsCompleted projects in 2019/20Our 2020/21 TargetsResponsible Hotels

HOW FUNCTIONS AT HERITAGE

SUSTAINABILITY

SUSTAINABILITY COORDINATORAt Heritage Expediciones, a dedicated sustainability co-ordinator isassigned and when it comes to sustainability related deeds, he will berepresenting Heritage. The co-ordinator ensures that the organizationis up to date with global sustainability practices and dissemination ofsustainability.

SUSTAINABILITY DRIVE AT HERITAGEWe comply with more than 100 criteria related tooperators’ office management, product range,international business partners and customerinformation. The Travelife Standard covers the ISO26000 Corporate Social Responsibility themes,including environment, biodiversity, human rights.We have developed a set of guidelines in keepingwith the Travelife certification scheme in order tomake a positive, sustainable impact on Sri LankaTourism.

Sustainability PolicyGuidelines for wildlife interactionConsultation guidelinesPurchasing PolicyDestination Do’s and Don’tsActivities Do’s and Don’tsBe a Responsible Traveller – A booklet by Heritage

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plastic wastepaper baskets with cane baskets,Plastic cutlery and bottles with reusable cutlery and glass bottlesdrinking water bottles with glass bottles

Single use plasticregiform boxespaper serviettes.

Bringing lunch in a reusable or sustainable packing Bringing own serviettes

We replaced,

We discontinued,

We implemented,

CARING FOR OURENVIRONMENTWE MAKE THE SUNSHINE OUT OF OUR PANELSIn keeping with the “Go Green”concept, we invested 3.6 Milion LKRand have converted our electricity to aSolar Concept. With this, one the bestand necessary things in life ended upbeing free as we currently run withZERO electricity bill.

WE REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE OUR PAPERSWe use FSC certified Fedrigoni Paper for all our printing. GFA certified company "ONVEL printing"is the partner in printing for us. All our maps, envelopes and bag tags on the sustainable paper.With all these measures, we assume that our printing done on sustainable paper materials isalmost 100%. All our employees contribute towards this by cause by reducing and reusing in ourdaily needs. 192 Kg of wastepaper (6/08/2019 –21/08/2020) was collected and donated toNeptune Recyclers

PLASTIC FREE OFFICE

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WE ARE PEOPLE FRIENDLYENGAGEMENTWe established our Sustainability Team with 04 voluntary staffmembers on the 28th of May 2019 after our initial sustainabilitytraining session. All team members are Travelife Certificate Holders.The team meet on a regular basis and work towards identifyingopportunities where the organization could contribute towardsSustainability and executing them.

Any employee is free (and is encouraged to) talk to thetop management directly, with regard to theirgrievances, complaints and concerns if any. Activemeasures are in place to attend to the concern andprovide a lasting and satisfactory solution.

WE GET EVERYONE INVOLVED OPEN DOOR POLICY

From the point we embraced sustainability concept, all our staff members aretrained on sustainability with workshops and online trainings. This includes ourchauffeur and National guides too.

AWARENESS

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WE STRIVE TOCOMMUNITY

SUPPORTAND UPLIFT THEWE BUY LOCAL

Our guests are given gifts in a bio-degradable cloth bag with a following Tag Line- “This Bio-Degradable bag is a product of our community project, byproviding this bag we project our commitment to sustainability, every useof this bag will help to protect our earth.”, the bag is produced by a local whois under one of our CSR Projects:We gift our clients locally produced tea and carvings.

WE DO OUR PARTTo support the local community, we have identified and promoted “Home Stay” concept toour clients where they get to stay with a local family and experience their way of life. Weencourage them to eat and buy local.All of our excursion providers are local businesses which are mostly owned by individualswho we have identified during our inspection visits.To support the traditional lace makers in our rural communities. We have madearrangements for our clients to visit the Beeralu Lace Industry in the south of Sri Lanka.We contribute towards Palmyrah industry in Northern part of Sri Lanka with makingarrangements for our clients to visit the village.

WE SHARE AND CARE74 children in Mulleriyawa were donated withstationeries and school bags. The bags werepurchased from a self-employed individualdry rations worth Rs. 30,000/= to the needycommunity in Colombo 10 to daily paidworkers, who faced difficulties due to thesudden lock down for Covid 1950,000 LKR contribution towards a RollerIroner to the Kandy General HospitalPsychology Assessment Tools were donatedto the Cerebral Palsy Lanka Foundation

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Compliance with applicable law in generalAccommodationSexual exploitation of children and adolescentsMonitoring and enforcement

We acknowledge our responsibility towards society by being a good corporatecitizen. To reach our goals within Corporate Responsibility, the companyworks closely with stakeholders including our own employees, customers,local communities, and suppliers. We emphasize that our hotel partners andall other suppliers should involve themselves in this action towards responsibletourism.

115 Hotels acknowledged our Code of Conduct for Hoteliers. The COCincludes

WE INVOLVE OUR SUPPLIERSCOMMITMENT

KNOWLEDGE27 chauffeur guides trained on sustainability along with12 chauffeur guides who were assisted with Travelifeonline trainings on guides, child rotection and Covid-19.

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WE CARE ABOUT OUR WE SHARE THE

BE A RESPONSIBLE TRAVELLER – A BOOKLET BYHERITAGE

The more the guest know about the destination, the better he / shecan understand and appreciate it. With this in our mind, we haveinvested our time and effort in creating the “Be a responsibletraveller” booklet which will be available on our website. This bookletwill also be printed on sustainable paper and handed over to theguest at the time of his / her arrival.

GUESTS

THESUPPORTIVEMAKING A DIFFERENCEThe “Community Supportive Tour” is mostly based on localhomestay programs and sustainable hotels. The tour is richwith environment friendly activities, such as nature walks,cycling, catamaran tours and village tours which areconducted while respecting sustainable practises andGuidelines of the company. Clients get the opportunity toexperience local culture, their way of life and the authenticityof the country while allowing them to travel in a sustainablemanner. They also get to contribute towards the needycommunity with activities such as enjoying a massage byblind therapists of ' Thusare Talking Hands' which will bringbright for the blind. Find out more.....

“COMMUNITY

TOUR”

KNOWLEDGEheritage.lk | 07

TOP RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTSA TASTE OF THE LOCALITYVisit the Local Market, which is the bestplace to get a glimpse of the localproducts. Then partake in the cookerydemonstration which is an interestingprocess where how the curries aregathered using spices such as chillipowder, curry powder, pepper, saffronetc is seen. Have a bath at the springwater well similar to how the locals taketheir baths. It is not like a shower but amethod where the water should bedrawn with a bucket from the well andpour it over the body. Enjoy the lunchwhich was just cooked.

BECOME A VILLAGER INWELLAWAYA

Indulge in a village walk with alocal guide followed by a FarmersLunch in a typical Local House.Experience the rural village life inSri Lanka and travel throughpaddy fields and traditionalvegetable farming fields

CONTRIBUTE TOWARDSTURTLE CONSERVATIONThe Rekawa Turtle ConservationProject is a marine turtle conservationsite that aims at protecting the seaturtles that visit the coastline.it becameimperative to safeguard the nestingsites and aid in the conservation of thespecies. experience turtle nestingand laying of eggs. This activitycommences after midnight. Acontribute towards this project couldbe made by a cash donation.

VISIT THE VILLAGE OF “WEWEYAYA” WITH AN “ORUWA”(CATAMARAN)

Crossing the Yoda Kandiya Lake in anOruwa” (Catamaran), have lunch in alocal house and enjoy a tour by “Oruwa”(Catamaran) in the evening with birdwatching in an island in the middle of thelake

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Heritage Expediciones Ltd. wound up the year2019 with a community project on 13 December2019 involving the Vidyathilaka Vidiyalaya inThimbirigasyaya. Located in close proximity tothe company’s premises,

“At the first point of meeting the Public HealthInspector of Dehiwala/Mount LaviniaMunicipality Shehan Rajapaksha he was verykeen to understand the mission of our cleanup. We indicated to him that we were involvedin inbound tourism and working towards agoal of becoming a sustainable tour perator.The location he offered us was very badlylittered, nevertheless we took up the challengeto clean it. At the end we looked back at thisblissful beach which was a hive of pollution afew hours before! Find out more.....

COMPLETED PROJECTSIN 2019/20

HERITAGE EXPEDICIONES ENGAGES IN BEACH CLEAN-UPThe team of Heritage Expediciones Ltd.engaged in a beach clean-up sustainabilityactivity along the west coast of Sri Lanka(Dharmarama Road in Ratmalana) on 4October.

HERITAGE EXPEDICIONES HELPS VIDYATHILAKAVIDIYALAYA THIMBIRIGASYAYA

The school’s building which houses the Year 1, 2 and 3 classrooms were inneed of refurbishment. The team at Heritage Expediciones volunteered to dothe painting of the walls, desks and chairs. The project carried out on 09thDecember and was an immense success with the team working tirelessly tomake sure these kids come back to a beautiful classroom in their new year ofschool.- Find out more.....

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OUR TASK FOR 2020/21sustainability and responsible tourism areour priorities and core, we take all effort tomake a sizable impact to promotesustainability among our suppliers andguests.

Sri Lanka Tourism, in line with the guidance received from theMinistry of Health (MoH) and the World Health Organization(WHO), have ensured the adoption of right measures to minimizechances of re-entry and/or community spreading of COVID-19within the country. Planning the operation under those guidelinesand health protocols is completely a new challenge as pastpractices cannot be continued under the covid-19 circumstances.As of our task for 2020/21, we plan to adhere to the aboveprotocols and service the travellers with the best availablesustainable resources.

Jetwing - YalaHeritance - NegomboJetwing Lighthouse - GalleHeritance Tea FactoryHeritance - AhungallaRoyal Palms Beach HotelJetwing BeachHeritance Ayurveda MahaGedaraJetwing BlueHeritance KandalamaHikka Tranz by CinnamonCinnamon Bey - BeruwelaClub Hotel DolphinRiu Sri Lanka

98 Acres resort & spaPolwaththa EcolodgesElephant Watch HutAMBA EstateRafters RetreatBig Game Camps & LodgesWild TrailsKirinda WalauwaGalkanda walawwaThe FortressUlagallaRanweli Holiday Village

RESPONSIBLE HOTELSIN SRI LANKA

TRAVELIFE GOLD CERTIFIED OTHER RESPONSIBLE OPTIONS

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