Asuaire’s journey to Net Zero: A Process in the making

In today’s time, as the urgency to tackle climate change grows, companies face a crucial decision point where making a profit meets being environmentally responsible. Going for a sustainable future is no longer just a trend; it’s a must. Businesses now understand the importance of aligning their operations with the global effort to achieve net zero emissions.

Net zero isn’t just a trendy term; it represents a commitment to balance emissions by cutting, offsetting, and eventually eliminating the carbon impact of business activities. It’s not just about following rules; it shows a real commitment to corporate social responsibility and taking care of the environment.

This article embarks on an exploration of the journey of Asuaire Travel, a leader in the travel industry and sustainability in Costa Rica. 

From adopting 100% recycling of all their recyclable waste and implementing technologies to consume less energy and fostering a culture of sustainability within the organization, each action contributes to the overarching mission of achieving net zero emissions.

Asuaire Travel’s sustainability journey started from its beginnings, as taking sustainability as one of the pillars, here’s a timeline of Asuaire’s achievements: 

As you saw in the image above, Asuaire’s journey has begun very early, as a leader has pushed competitors to also become more sustainable and has had the opportunity to stand out in the markets we operate such as Denmark, Spain and the UK. 

As one of the latest achievements, is the update of Asuaire’s science based target (1.5ºC escenario) in 2023, that were set first in 2021, due to the pandemic of COVID-19 they needed to be updated and also to consider a wider scope on the Scope 3 emissions. The new updated version of Asuaire’s target is:

• Asuaire Travel commits to reduce absolute Scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions 63% by 2035 from a 2022 base year.

This new goal allows us to continue our work towards becoming a more sustainable business and to work with new initiatives with our value chain in order to achieve our target. 

Among the things Asuaire has done along these years is measure its carbon footprint since 2012, being part of the Costa Rican Government Carbon Neutrality Program. By the year 2022, Asuaire’s footprint was about 310 tons of CO₂e. But Asuaire didn’t stop there, we developed an action plan to reduce our carbon footprint and have implemented different actions, like composting 100% of its organic waste, recycling 100% of the recyclable waste and transitioning to LED technology. 

These results had been achieved thanks to a sustainability management system that works across the entire organization and is run by the sustainability department, not only focusing on the environmental impacts, but also on the social impact area. 

For the next couple of years, Asuaire plans to develop new initiatives across its value chain to start reducing its carbon footprint on the scope 3 emissions. It’s clear that our journey continues and our goal is clear.