The changes include the replacement of Intrepid’s carbon offsetting program with a new Climate Impact Fund redirecting $2 million each year into practical emissions reduction initiatives.
Another significant change will be moving away from the Science Based Targets Initiative, which Intrepid committed to in 2020.
To find out what these changes mean in practical terms, we spoke to CEO James Thornton, who revealed just how Aussie travellers will benefit from the moves.
Q: What is the rationale behind stepping away from carbon offsets and abandoning prior emissions targets?
JT: Intrepid has been carbon neutral since 2010 and carbon offsets played an important role in our journey, but they do not drive the immediate, measurable decarbonisation our business and the planet urgently needs.
Our previous targets did not capture the majority of emissions related to our product (notably customer flights to and from trips).
We create the demand for travel and feel responsibility for those flights, even though they are outside the global accounting carbon protocols for tour operators.
As a result, we’ve retired the offset programme and Climate Active certification to redirect funding into tangible decarbonisation activity and a lifecycle-based approach that reflects our true footprint.
Q: How will the new Climate Impact Fund operate and will it involve or benefit Australian projects or travellers?
JT: We are redirecting approximately $2 million a year from offsets into the Climate Impact Fund (from 2026).
The Fund will invest in concrete, measurable emissions reductions, for example: switching owned/leased vehicles to EVs, investing in renewable energy at our owned hotels and our offices, and product redesign to lower carbon intensity.
We will also support supplier decarbonisation (for example loans or finance for EVs, or solar installs) in high-volume destinations.
Q: What practical changes might Australian travellers see? Fewer long-haul itineraries, more regional/flight-free options?
JT: Intrepid operates more than 900 trips around the world and Australian travellers will continue to enjoy this wide choice of ranges and styles of travel.
We will be focused on decarbonising trips in our high-volume destinations (such as Vietnam and Cambodia) and we will continue to focus on expanding our closer to home offering – allowing Aussies to have the same Intrepid experiences, just closer to home and without a long-haul flight.
We will also be disproportionally increasing the supply of lower-impact trips, including more flight-free tours and additional walking and trekking product, for example our new Premium Walking and Trekking range, as well as the expansion in our Rail product.
Q: Will there be a revised or alternative emissions/environmental ambition (for example “carbon intensity” targets) and how will those be verified?
JT: Our commitment is an 8% reduction in carbon intensity per customer trip by 2030. This is a lifecycle-based target that covers the full lifecycle of travel – trip emissions plus customer-booked flights to and from trip start/end.
In addition, we’re committing to a 21% absolute reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions (offices, owned/leased vehicles, accommodation) by 2030 from a 2024 base year.
Verification and transparency continue to be important for us which is why we made sure that the lifecycle target would be independently audited and reported in our Annual Report, which will be publicly available.
We developed the approach with our Global Environmental Impact Manager, Dr Susanne Etti, alongside external specialists (E Collective) and we will subject our measurement and reporting to independent assurance to ensure credibility.
