Sustainability Code of Conduct – A&K Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia, Singapore)
This Sustainability Code of Conduct was created to define the main principles of our core values and implement sustainable policies to provide a base for our corporate culture and a better understanding for our working team’s engagement. As the company grows, we recognize the importance of regularly reviewing and updating our sustainable commitments to adapt to the demands of this constantly evolving industry.
Mission Statement
A&K Southeast Asia transparently communicates our strong commitment to the social and environmental sustainability of our business and as such, it represents a clear approach towards this commitment for all A&K employees and business partners. To accomplish this, we have created and are implementing our Sustainability Code of Conduct throughout every level of our company.
We Climate Compensate
A&K Southeast Asia is committed to offsetting our carbon footprint by participating in C02 programs that compensate for the negative impacts that may be caused by emissions from flights and other travel-related activities. Wherever possible, A&K Southeast Asia ensures that sustainable energy or other offsetting units are purchased with specialist partners in the field.
We Have Engaged Employees
A&K Southeast Asia has appointed a Green Team made up of staff volunteers who have each made a two-year commitment to engage in, initiate and supervise sustainability projects and practices on behalf of the company. The Green Team is made up of representatives from various departments and the company provides support and resources to ensure the Green Team goals are met.
We Encourage Employees to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
A&K Southeast Asia provides employees with reusable shopping bags and refillable water bottles to reduce our use of single-use plastics both inside and outside of the workplace. We also encourage employees to recycle paper and plastic wherever possible. The company has discontinued the use of branded wrapping paper and branded ribbon when packaging gifts in order to reduce waste.
We Print Green (or Don't Print)
At A&K Southeast Asia, we think before we print. We print as little as possible and when we do print, we use eco-friendly printing paper from farmed trees. Our use of paper is minimized by printing double sided by default, and, wherever possible, any single-side printed paper is recycled and used as notepaper. We produce digital marketing brochures to reduce waste from over production of printed materials and encourage partners and clients to refer to our websites and other online resources for information about our products and services. Our team communicates with guests via electronic means such as phone or WhatsApp rather than sending printed cards or welcome messages. Abercrombie & Kent has recently launched a mobile application where guests can access their itinerary and other information relevant to their booking which reduces the need for printed documents.
We Think Local and Choose Responsible Products
A&K Southeast Asia chooses to support local communities by purchasing locally made products. Preference is given to goods and services that are fair-trade and eco-labeled and we bulk purchase wherever possible to reduce waste from excess packaging. We minimize purchases of products from overseas to reduce our CO2 emissions and the negative impacts of long-haul transportation. We prefer to work with partners that offer environmentally friendly alternatives such as electric vehicles or upcycled products.
We Support Local Communities
A&K Southeast Asia is actively working with local communities to provide sustainable tourism products that are enriching to both the traveler and the community. We have developed an engagement with a community that provides skills and opportunities to women and helps to preserve traditional village crafts. Our team is working with the community to develop customized sustainable crafts to be offered as gifts for our travelers.
We Care for the Environment
We respect the world we live in and provide opportunities for our A&K Southeast Asia community, including staff, partners, clients and guests, to participate in environmental projects such as wildlife monitoring, tree planting or other conservation programs. We develop products and services that minimize negative environmental impacts and avoid activities that may be harmful to nature or animals such as elephant riding.
We Care for Our Communities
A&K Southeast Asia is a partner of the ChildSafe Movement. As such, our company commits to implementing all ChildSafe best practices in our activities, including preventing child abuse and training our team on the appropriate code of conduct when interacting with children.
Moreover, A&K fights against any form of modern slavery, whether in our offices worldwide, in our supply chain or among the communities we engage with. Comprehensive policies on our ethical business standards have been drafted and shared with all our collaborators, and each A&K employee is obligated to ensure compliance with these policies.
Additional Resources
Sustainable Supply Chain Policy
Ethnic Cultures and Community Based Tourism Policy
Our Guide to Responsible Travel
Our Guide to Responsible Shopping
Our Guide to Ethical Souvenirs
