Our Environmental Policy

As an organisation that works at a local level to assist in conservation efforts in protected areas in our expedition countries, Raleigh International (Raleigh) recognises that our day to day operations have an impact on the local, regional and global environments.

We aim to manage our resource use in a way that contributes towards the goals of sustainable development and recognises that our actions must be consistent with our work within the framework of Goal 7 of the Millennium Development Goals to ensure sustainable environments.

The work we do in partnership with international, national and local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as WWF India, Mescot in Sabah and government departments responsible for protected areas such as forestry ministries has a direct impact on protecting bio-diversity and sustaining the environment.

Recognising that flights are an integral part of what we do it is important to ensure that the value of the work that young people do when they are in countries for ten weeks offsets the carbon emissions of their travel. Every environmental project that we run provides a minimum of two years of person days labour to the conservation efforts. On average we run 15 environmental projects a year which equates to 30 years of person days of labour.

The environmental research that Raleigh has done over the past 20 years in conjunction with the Natural History Museum, the European Union and the Royal Geographical Society (both land and marine based) has provided valuable information for major biodiversity studies and has been important in advancing the development of management plans to support environments at risk.

Our policy of engagement and volunteering after expeditions as part of the Raleigh fourth challenge also ensures that our young people are active engaged citizens on issues of environmental responsibility for life.

Environmental impact assessment is a vital part of all project planning and every volunteer is trained on how to minimise their environmental footprint whilst on expedition. Environmental education is a part of our curriculum as is education on the culture and development of local communities where we work. We do this through discussion and talks from local NGOs as well as from our own staff on the ground, encouraging staff and participants to learn local patterns of waste disposal and water usage. What is responsible in the Western world is not always considered the same in developing countries.  We advise our participants to minimise their waste by using biodegradable products and limiting packaging and essentially to use water sparingly. ‘Leave only footprints, take only photos' underlies our approach.

Our work supports the conservation, not the exploitation, of ecosystems, including wildlife. Where we work on coral reefs to help with their repair, we work with environmentally friendly companies, using buoys not anchors on reefs.

Carbon offsetting is used at Raleigh to compensate for the emissions that are produced from the flights that our staff take with an equivalent carbon saving. There is no exact science to this but we believe that by supporting the Children's Eternal Rainforest in Costa Rica which is an innovative project that ensures the protection of primary rainforest, which is where the real environmental benefits lie, we can make a real contribution to environmental sustainability.

Employee involvement in environmental matters at all levels is fundamental and will be promoted through training, communications and a constant re-appraisal of working methods and techniques. Through this policy we aim to increase the awareness of staff, volunteers, partners and suppliers of environmental good practice. Facilities will be made available for staff to ensure that they are able to recycle and cycle to work. Our publications strategy is primarily electronic in order to minimise printing and paper use.

We will allocate resources appropriate to our size and turnover to enable the organisation to continue to improve its practice in this area.