Our Climate Action Plan
* Updated October 2024. Next update due October 2025.
‘The effects of the climate crisis caused by emissions, threaten the landscapes and communities which we – as responsible travellers – so keenly wish to visit and contribute to.’ Responsible Travel
Our planet is in a climate crisis. According to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), global carbon emissions must be reduced to at least 55% below 2017 levels by 2030 to keep warming within 1.5°C. A rise of 1.5°C will drastically alter weather patterns and devastate biodiversity worldwide.
We recognise the role of tourism in this crisis, with aviation contributing roughly 2% of global carbon emissions (IATA). As a tourism business operating in Mongolia—a country significantly affected by the climate emergency and one of the most remote, landlocked countries in the world – we are actively promoting flying as a form of transport and therefore we are opening ourselves up to accusations of greenwashing. This awareness underscores our moral responsibility to ensure that our operations are as sustainable as possible.
While the Covid-19 pandemic deeply impacted the travel industry, it also offered tourism a chance to reevaluate practices and commit to building back better. Tourism, employing 1 in 10 people globally pre-Covid, can foster positive growth and environmental protection, support economic development and meaningful cultural exchange when managed responsibly. With this ethos, EL joined the Tourism Declares movement, becoming a signatory to the Glasgow Declaration. These partnerships shape our Climate Action Plan and have also led us to join the Get Nature Positive movement.
Our Climate Action Plan is reviewed and updated annually, taking a comprehensive look at our business to identify impactful ways to reduce our footprint. This commitment to reducing impact is vital not only for the future of the tourism industry but also for the sustainability of the places and communities where we operate.
As a small company (serving 150-200 travellers per year) without stakeholders or investors, we operate differently from high-volume, multi-destination agencies. Our sole focus is Mongolia—a country we live in, love, and understand deeply. As a Mongolian-registered tourism business, we pay taxes locally, maintain Mongolian bank accounts, and employ local Mongolians, contributing to social security for our team. Our limited resources in both time and money mean we often have to make hard choices, but our small scale allows us the flexibility to chart our own path. We aim to drive behavioural change by setting a positive example, raising awareness, and providing responsible travel choices to make our small corner of the industry better.
This mission goes beyond offsetting emissions or planting symbolic trees. While we will incorporate offsets, we believe they must complement—rather than replace—the essential goal of reducing our carbon footprint. Our priority is actively managing and minimising our environmental impact.
We don’t claim to have all the answers, but we’re committed to reducing our carbon footprint in ways that are effective, impactful, and respectful of Mongolia’s unique context. While our modest budget and small team mean progress takes time, we remain focused on cutting emissions where possible, inspiring others to follow suit, and advocating for the systemic changes necessary to guide tourism toward a low-carbon future.
Measuring And Reducing Our Carbon Emissions
By signing the Glasgow Declaration, we are committed to a decade of climate action in tourism, which involves:
– Supporting the global target to halve emissions by 2030 and achieve Net Zero well before 2050.
– Developing a climate action plan within 12 months of signing—or updating our existing plans—and initiating its implementation.
– Aligning our approach with the Declaration’s five key pathways: **Measure, Decarbonise, Regenerate, Collaborate, and Finance**, to strengthen and coordinate climate action within tourism.
– Reporting our progress publicly each year, sharing both interim and long-term goals, as well as the actions taken to meet them.
Below are our current steps including the challenges we are facing.
- Our first challenge is measurement. While carbon consultancy firms offer private audits, their services are financially out of reach for a small independent company like ours. Many online carbon calculators exist, but they primarily cater to individuals or general businesses, not tourism-specific needs.
- Of the limited options available to small tourism companies, we’ve opted to use Carmacal. However, like most calculators, it only covers transport, accommodation, and a few specific activities, despite the fact that the primary contributors to a tourism carbon footprint—transportation, energy, food, and consumption—are far more extensive.
- 2022: To address these gaps, Jess collaborated with Kelly Hirschbuehler, a postgraduate student in the UNWTO-certified Responsible Tourism Management program at Leeds Beckett University. Together, they explored methods for measuring carbon emissions from meals, our office operations, and specific tour activities. Through Kelly’s research, we now have a more comprehensive—though still evolving—approach to calculating the carbon footprint of each trip we organise.
- 2023 & 2024: We’re also now collaborating with Responsible Tourism Consultant Léa Jacquot-Benson to formalise our measurement process. Together, we’ve developed a spreadsheet outlining key metrics for tracking the carbon impact of our tours, helping us establish a structured and consistent approach to assessment.
International Flights
Our trips do not include international travel to and from Mongolia, as we host guests from all over the world and lack the capacity to coordinate such complex logistics. However, as a tourism business in Mongolia—a remote, landlocked country—we recognise that promoting air travel may open us to concerns around greenwashing.
While we encourage alternative travel options like the Trans-Siberian train route through Russia or China, the ongoing situation in Ukraine, along with China’s decision not to reintroduce international routes post-pandemic, has made this option inaccessible for most international travellers.
Despite these challenges, we remain committed to operating as sustainably as possible. To support our guests in offsetting their travel footprint, we’ve partnered with C-Level to offer a “balance my flight” calculator on our website. This tool allows travelers to measure and mitigate the carbon impact of their flights. We actively promote this calculator in our emails and pre-departure materials to encourage conscious travel choices.
Atmosfair International Flights Carbon Measurement
On our website and in pre-departure guides, we highlight how guests can use the Atmosfair index to compare the carbon efficiency of the limited number of international airlines flying into Ulaanbaatar- https://www.eternal-landscapes.co.uk/carbon-measurement-mongolia-flights/
Domestic Flights
Given Mongolia’s vast size—comparable to Western Europe—and limited infrastructure, domestic flights are sometimes seen as a quick solution to connect key destinations. However, the environmental impact of domestic flights is significant due to high emissions per kilometre from frequent takeoffs and landings.
As part of our commitment to sustainability, we actively limit experiences involving domestic flights. For example, we avoid offering short 3- or 4-day “highlight loops” that rely on flights from one major attraction to another, even though this limits our income. See our section on “Creating Sustainable Experiences” below for more on our approach to minimising domestic flights.
- Whilst we are working towards the goal of measuring the carbon footprints of both our tours and office we will continue to make a donation per guest to the Pastures, Conservation, and Climate Action Project (known also as the Mongolian Nomad Project – see below) – managed by the Mongolian Pastureland Management Association. We wanted a high standard offsetting project local to Mongolia where the local community had a positive say in the scheme and its impact. It’s the first project of its kind in Mongolia – restoring traditional nomadic practices to enable ecosystem recovery and carbon uptake. We will also be offsetting into the same project – balancing our CO2 emissions by investing in Plan Vivo Certificates – environmental service certificates, each representing the reduction or avoidance of one metric tonne of carbon dioxide. The Mongolian Nomad Project we invest in through our carbon offsetting is of Plan Vivo Standard – based on ethical principles intended to deliver long-term climate, livelihoods and biodiversity benefits. We understand that these carbon offsetting schemes are not the full answer but they are one way that we can limit our environmental impact. We will not formally carbon offset in order to claim carbon neutrality or carbon positivity.
We believe it’s our responsibility to be transparent and to demonstrate our impact. With the guidance of Responsible Tourism Consultant Léa Jacquot-Benson, we are currently establishing specific metrics and goals to inform the publication of an annual impact report. While impact measurement involves a degree of subjectivity, we are focusing on the following areas:
People:
- Team: remuneration & employment, health & wellbeing, satisfaction & engagement
- Guests: satisfaction & engagement, equity, diversity, and inclusion
Place:
- Partners: including suppliers and community partners
- Biodiversity: conservation efforts and impact
Planet:
- Energy, waste, and water management
- Climate impact and pollution reduction
Prosperity:
- Ethical practices
- Profit and revenue
‘Our ‘foodprint’ is one of the more hidden costs of our holidays, calculated by the carbon produced by agriculture, packaging, transport, food miles and wastage.’
Responsible Travel
As Responsible Travel points out, the “foodprint” of holidays—covering the carbon impact of agriculture, packaging, transport, food miles, and waste—is often a hidden cost. In Mongolia, traditionally a nomadic herding society, the diet has been meat and dairy-based, shaped by the climate and geography. Mongolia’s limited agricultural land and short growing season (90-120 frost-free days per year) are further influenced by the Gobi Desert and mountainous forest-steppe.
However, following a more plant-based diet in Mongolia is increasingly feasible. While remote locations and limited facilities occasionally pose challenges, our EL team prepares most meals outside Ulaanbaatar (UB) using simple camping kitchens in our tour vehicles, allowing flexibility in meal types and preparation.
In Ulaanbaatar, our Welcome Pack includes a map and guide to locally-owned restaurants, cafes, and bars, highlighting options for vegetarians and vegans. Our team is encouraged to source local, seasonal produce to support communities along our routes. Ingredients like blueberries, strawberries, blackcurrants, wild onions, rhubarb, pine nuts, watermelons, cucumbers, tomatoes, and salad leaves are common. To minimise food miles, we avoid imported foods—no kale smoothies, Thai curries, or paella on the menu here! While we may spot a pineapple at the market, it’s likely to stay on the shelf.
Our team still prepares traditional Mongolian meat dishes but also offers vegetable-based options, catering to vegetarians, vegans, and guests with dietary restrictions. Food waste remains a challenge, and you can learn more about our efforts to combat it here.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 5 – GENDER EQUALITY
By promoting gender equality and supporting initiatives that empower women, we aim to address these critical issues. Our commitment includes ensuring fair employment practices, providing opportunities for women in our operations, and supporting community projects that focus on women’s economic empowerment. At EL, we invest in women’s futures by creating long-term employment opportunities for them as trip assistants on the Mongolian experiences we run. For our efforts, we have been awarded Gender Equality Champions by Equality In Tourism International.
Through these actions, we strive to create a positive impact on gender equality and help build a more equitable and inclusive society in Mongolia.
[Asia Foundation Women’s Economic Empowerment Project in Mongolia].
SDG 8 – DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
Goal 8 focuses on creating decent, long-term, stable work and income-earning opportunities for all, along with fostering sustainable economic growth that benefits entire communities. The United Nations has defined 12 targets for SDG 8, including Target 8.9: Promote beneficial and sustainable tourism that promotes local culture and products.
Tourism can play a pivotal role in achieving this goal by generating employment, stimulating local economies, and supporting the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage. Our commitment to SDG 8 involves:
- Providing fair wages and stable employment for our team members.
- Supporting local businesses and suppliers to ensure the economic benefits of tourism are distributed within the community.
- Promoting Mongolian culture and products through our tours and partnerships with local artisans and cultural organizations.
- Encouraging sustainable practices that ensure long-term economic and environmental health.
By aligning our operations with these principles, we strive to create a positive impact that resonates throughout the communities we work with, contributing to sustainable economic growth and improved livelihoods for all.
SDG 10 – REDUCED INEQUALITIES
SDG 10 is particularly relevant in Mongolia, where economic and social disparities are pronounced between urban and rural areas. Many rural Mongolian families rely on traditional herding and face limited access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities. Inclusive growth and better access to essential services are vital for reducing these inequalities, supporting more sustainable development across the country. Tourism, when thoughtfully implemented, can be a powerful tool for community development, helping to bridge these gaps by engaging local populations and stakeholders.
The UN’s SDG 10 includes targets like Target 10.2, which seeks to “empower and promote the social, economic, and political inclusion of all” and Target 10.3, which focuses on “ensuring equal opportunity and reducing inequalities of outcome.” Eternal Landscapes supports these goals by working in long-term partnerships with rural Mongolian communities, providing income opportunities and employment. Additionally, we prioritiSe hiring locally for all positions, including guides and drivers, and offer ongoing training to build skills, allowing locals to benefit directly from the tourism industry.
SDG 12 – RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION
Goal 12 focuses on the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources, leading to a better quality of life for all. This includes substantially reducing waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse.
In Mongolia, waste management faces significant challenges. The country practices commingled waste collection, with most waste being buried. Open dumping and burning of waste cause soil, water, and air pollution. While sorting and recycling are primarily handled by the private sector on an informal scale, Ulaanbaatar has a few small and medium-scale recycling plants in operation. The Mongolia National Recycling Association (MNRA), founded in 2005, operates numerous city-wide centers.
SDG 12 calls on us to sustainably manage and efficiently utilize natural resources, thereby reducing our ecological footprint and allowing for the regeneration of natural resources essential for human life and biodiversity.
At EL, we are committed to promoting sustainable practices in our operations and encouraging responsible tourism. Here are some of our key initiatives:
- Promoting Low Season Travel: By encouraging travel to Mongolia during the low season, we help spread the tourism impact more evenly throughout the year, reducing pressure on natural resources and local infrastructure.
- Reducing Food Waste: We carefully plan the meals we provide to minimize food waste. Additionally, we are exploring partnerships with local organizations to manage food waste more effectively.
- Sustainable Water Use: We have partnered with Water-To-Go to provide our guests with filtered reusable water bottles. This initiative reduces the reliance on single-use plastic bottles and ensures that our guests have access to clean, safe drinking water.
- Supporting Recycling Efforts: We actively support local recycling initiatives and encourage our guests to participate in waste reduction and recycling efforts during their stay.
By implementing these practices, we aim to reduce our ecological footprint and contribute to the sustainable management of natural resources in Mongolia. Our efforts align with the broader goals outlined in the Ulaanbaatar Waste Management Improvement Strategy and Action Plan (2017–2030), ensuring that we are part of the solution to Mongolia’s waste management challenges.
SDG 13 – CLIMATE ACTION
Tourism contributes significantly to climate change and should play a leading role in the global response to combating its impacts. By reducing its carbon footprint, tourism can help address one of the most pressing challenges of our time.
The annual mean air temperature of Mongolia has increased by 2.07°C from 1940 to 2014, with the ten warmest years in the last 70 years occurring since 1997. During this period, annual precipitation has decreased, and the seasonal rainfall pattern has changed. Key impacts and vulnerabilities include:
- Approximately 70% of pastoral land has degraded.
- The drying up of lakes, rivers, and springs and the melting of glaciers have intensified in the last decade.
- Water temperature and evaporation are continuously increasing, leading to declining water resources.
- The intensification of dry climatic conditions causes more frequent forest and steppe fires and increases the occurrence and intensity of forest insect and pest outbreaks.
These changes pose significant threats to Mongolia’s environment and its communities, and it is well documented that the tourism industry is a major contributor to global carbon emissions, which are a major part of the climate emergency. As a tourism business – especially one working in Mongolia, where most guests have no option but to fly – we have a moral responsibility to ensure our operations are as sustainable as possible.
We are dedicated to minimizing our impact on the environment and actively participating in climate action. Our initiatives include:
- Measuring and Balancing Carbon Footprint: We work towards accurately measuring and balancing the carbon footprint of our tours and operations. This includes assessing emissions from transportation, accommodation, meals, and activities.
- ‘Balance My Flight’ Calculator: In partnership with C-Level, we have created a ‘Balance My Flight’ calculator for our website. This tool helps our guests measure and offset the carbon emissions from their flights to Mongolia.
- Airline Carbon Efficiency: We highlight airlines that rank best for carbon efficiency (through atmosfair) for flights into Ulaanbaatar, encouraging our guests to choose more sustainable travel options.
- Signatory of The Glasgow Declaration: We have committed to The Glasgow Declaration, which focuses on aligning our operations with climate action goals, including reducing emissions and promoting sustainability in tourism.
By implementing these practices, we aim to reduce our carbon footprint and contribute to global climate action. Our efforts align with the broader goals outlined in the [UNDP Feasibility Study Pasture Use Fee Baseline Study Report], ensuring that we are part of the solution to Mongolia’s climate challenges.
Through these initiatives, we strive to lead by example in the tourism industry, demonstrating that sustainable tourism is not only possible but essential for the future of our planet and its people.
SDG 15 – LIFE ON LAND
SDG 15 focuses on sustainably managing forests, combating desertification, halting and reversing land degradation, and halting biodiversity loss. In Mongolia, soil degradation has become one of the most significant environmental challenges. An assessment of desertification and land degradation in Mongolia conducted by Mongolian researchers in 2015 showed that 76.9% of the total area is affected by these processes.
At EL, we are dedicated to sustainable tourism practices that help combat desertification, land degradation, and biodiversity loss in Mongolia. Our approach is small-scale and focused on minimizing our environmental impact. Here are some of our key initiatives:
- Small-Scale Tourism: We limit our number of bookings per year and keep our group sizes to a maximum of six. This small-scale approach reduces the environmental footprint of our tours and helps preserve the natural landscapes we visit.
- Sustainable Tourism Strategy: We have developed a Sustainable Tourism Strategy, a long-term project addressing 11 specific areas where we can reduce negative impacts. These areas include:
- Water Usage: Implementing measures to conserve water and reduce wastage.
- Plastic Use: Reducing the use of plastic through initiatives like our partnership with Water-To-Go and our Mini Plastic Free Mongolia Challenge.
Addressing Soil Degradation and Desertification
Soil degradation and desertification in Mongolia have severe socio-economic consequences. According to Darbalaeva, Mikheeva, and Zhamyanova (2020), these processes impact agricultural productivity, water resources, and the livelihoods of local communities.
Our Actions to Combat Desertification
- Supporting Local Communities: We work closely with local communities to promote sustainable land use practices and support projects that aim to restore degraded lands.
- Educating Our Guests: We educate our guests about the importance of sustainable practices and encourage them to minimize their impact on the environment during their travels.
- Conservation Projects: We actively support and participate in conservation projects that aim to restore degraded lands and protect biodiversity in Mongolia.
By implementing these initiatives, we aim to contribute to the sustainable management of Mongolia’s land resources and help combat desertification and land degradation. Our efforts align with the broader goals outlined in the assessment of desertification and land degradation in Mongolia, ensuring that we are part of the solution to these critical environmental challenges.
[Darbalaeva, Darima & Mikheeva, Anna & Zhamyanova, Yulia. (2020). The socio-economic consequences of the desertification processes in Mongolia.]
Our Daily Operations And What We Support
During the pandemic, we collaborated with Hannah Kellett, a postgraduate student from the UNWTO-certified Responsible Tourism Management program at Leeds Beckett University. Hannah developed an environmental plan for our Ulaanbaatar office, identifying ways to reduce our carbon footprint. This included examining our internet usage, electricity, gas, and paper consumption, water use, domestic flights, Jess’s international flights, and vehicle usage.
Following Hannah’s assessment, we are working to establish a sustainability team within our Mongolian staff, led by our office manager in collaboration with another team member. Together with Jess, they’ll focus on implementing sustainable practices in our operations. Although setting up this part-time role has been challenging due to the complex lives of our team members, our aim is to provide an annual sustainability update. Current goals include:
- Increase Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling Efforts: Ulaanbaatar has recently added recycling bins for cardboard/paper, plastic, and cans, and we aim to integrate this fully into our practices.
- Organise and Fund Annual National Park Community Clean-Up: We’re continuing our commitment to Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur National Park through our yearly clean-up event. Learn more about our clean-up efforts here.
- Minimise Single-Use Plastics: In addition to our (Mini) Plastic Free Mongolia Challenge, we are working with Water-To-Go to further reduce plastic waste in our operations.
- Reduce Food Waste on Tours: We’re evaluating the food footprint of our tours and exploring ways to reduce food waste.
Elsewhere in the business, we have:
- Become a member of Travelife – a certification initiative for tourism companies committed to reaching sustainability.
- Continuing our long-term support of local initiatives/projects such as the Mongolian Quilting Centre who create our welcome pack tote bags. By working with such projects we are able to educate our guests about the issues facing the country they are exploring and enable them to give something back through the support of local organisations and projects.
- Continuing to work on our Sustainable Tourism Strategy This ongoing strategy focuses on 12 areas for reducing our impact, including water use, accessibility, child safety, and animal welfare.
- As part of our commitment to making a difference, we do not outsource trip logistics to external guides or drivers. Instead, we invest in our own team, providing training and long-term employment to Mongolians—specifically Mongolian women who are interested in working in tourism, whether for personal growth or professional development. This approach has earned us recognition as a Gender Equality Champion by Equality in Tourism International.
- We will continue to look at ways we can connect our guests with Mongolia in advance of their journey and on their return – allowing them to get closer to the local way of life and give back to the community.
Creating Sustainable Experiences
Mongolia’s vast size and limited infrastructure make domestic flights the most convenient way to explore the country. However, we don’t design itineraries for guests to simply fly from A to B to C to check off a list of “must-see” sights. Instead, we prioritise slow travel, fostering meaningful connections with Mongolia’s people, places, and culture.
We personally research, design, and manage all trip logistics, working across the country to build long-term partnerships with local people, projects, and communities. These partnerships provide sustainable support, forming the core of our trips and creating opportunities for guests to connect with Mongolian life in respectful and impactful ways.
We never ask our local partners to alter their daily routines for our or our guests’ convenience. We believe in authentic experiences, avoiding staged or contrived interactions. Our goal is for guests to witness and appreciate Mongolian life as it is, rather than reshaping it for comfort or entertainment.
In line with our slow travel philosophy, we encourage longer stays, often with multiple nights in one location, for a more immersive experience. Moving forward, we’re committed to expanding the range of our immersive experiences to deepen these connections even further.
We actively promote low-season travel by offering a 15% discount for all experiences outside of peak season. This helps to spread tourism beyond the busy summer months, making our support for local communities more consistent throughout the year. By encouraging travel in the off-season, we’re helping to distribute income more evenly among our Mongolian team and our long-term local partners, while also mitigating the effects of overtourism. We remain committed to finding new ways to make low-season travel appealing and accessible.
Adventure-style travel is inherently lower in carbon emissions, especially with activities like hiking, cycling, and camping compared to business travel or luxury accommodations. Our trips are designed to be low-impact; we stay in small, locally-owned accommodations, source food from local markets, dine at locally-owned restaurants, and exclusively train and employ Mongolian staff. However, we strive to ensure each tour makes a positive social, economic, and environmental impact. To guide our efforts, we use the 7 principles of the Leave No Trace philosophy as a framework for designing our tours.
Using local transportation contributes to reducing carbon emissions, air pollution, and congestion. Although Mongolia’s limited transport options can make this challenging, we leverage our expertise as local specialists to incorporate local transportation as an integral part of our experiences, not just as a way to get from A to B.
Advocating For Change
As a business working in tourism, we have a moral duty to advocate for change whilst at the same time, balancing the need to sustain the livelihoods of our Mongolian team. Here are some of the ways we will be advocating for change including in the behaviour of our business, team, and our guests.
We’re committed to encouraging our guests and educating our team on ways to reduce the impact of travel by taking personal responsibility and adopting sustainable practices.
To support this, we’ve published a Responsible Travel Guide with practical tips for guests to minimise their tourism footprint, including carbon emissions. This guide – sent out with each booking – offers actionable advice, such as taking shorter hot showers, turning off lights, packing light, and limiting phone use to reduce the need for frequent charging.
Additionally, we utilise resources like the Fly Aware website to provide further insights into sustainable travel choices.
We actively encourage our guests and team to embrace sustainable practices, leading to the creation of our (Mini) Plastic Free Mongolia Challenge —a programme aimed at eliminating single-use plastics in our office and on tours. Through our partnership with Water-To-Go, we offer guests a 15% discount on reusable filtered water bottles, promoting sustainable hydration choices. Each tour vehicle is stocked with two 20-liter water containers, which our team refills at water stations across Mongolia. To further minimise plastic waste, we also provide Steripen water filters, supporting responsible water use throughout the journey.
Working together with Water-to-Go to help #beatplasticpolution
We will continue to highlight, campaign for, and/or promote sustainable travel practices and ethical travel issues and share new developments through our blog, social media, and newsletter. This includes creating posts that may help to encourage change in the tourism industry through to creating stories on climate change.
Transparency & Timing
We are committed to meaningful, long-term change and to continually enhancing our awareness of best practices and industry strategies to reduce carbon emissions. It’s our responsibility to address challenges directly, and we aim to be as transparent as possible, reporting annually on the progress of our Climate Action Plan, including both successes and setbacks. Where we fall short, we commit to learning from these experiences and identifying areas for improvement.
As a small company, we welcome any support or guidance as we work towards a low-carbon future. If you have insights or suggestions to help us improve, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Jess.
