A. Achievement & Success

1. Internal Management: Social Policy and Human Rights

Health and Safety

Participated in two sport events:

• Long Bien marathon: It is an annual international marathon held in Hanoi, Vietnam. The race takes place on a scenic course that winds through the city’s historic streets and landmarks, including the iconic Long Bien Bridge, which gives the marathon its name. We joined in the running competition in Hanoi with the spirit: Run together, win together – Footprint team’s pace sets the race!
• Stair climbing tournament with 3 rounds within 3 weeks of December within our office space, and Giang Nguyen emerged as the first runner. This tournament aimed to promote physical activity, foster team spirit, and align with Footprint’s commitment to a healthy lifestyle.

These sports activities have encouraged our employees to move and exercise more for good health.

Training and Education

Footprint organized two internal training sessions on:

• Green Office on August 24^th, 2023
• Responsible tourism for tour operators on Oct 18^th, 2023

After two trainings, all staff completed the basic training on the Travelife platform.

2. Internal Management: Environment and Community Relations

Green Office Campaign

In 2023, we relaunched our Green Office campaign to encourage employees to lead a green lifestyle and practice sustainable practices. A training session was organized to provide employees with a basic understanding of green criteria in the office, related to aspects of water, energy, stationery, waste, and space management.

During this campaign, a regulation to reduce single-use plastic consumption was agreed upon. Accordingly, we apply a small fee for each single-use plastic order to contribute to the environmental compensation fund. Money in this fund is planned to be spent on planting trees at a nature reserve.

Waste Management

We ensured the responsible disposal of electric waste. We collected 53 batteries and sent them to the Vietnam Recycles Programme for professional disposal. These batteries have been collected during the last three years. To reduce e-waste, we have changed to chargeable batteries since August 2023.

Environmental Initiatives: Refill Stations

Footprint Travel has cooperated with the Refill My Bottle initiative in Bali to expand the network of refill stations in Vietnam. After 6 months of restart, we have achieved some results:

• Review refill stations post-COVID-19, only 38/211 stations can return to the project. This is an unfortunate result, because, after COVID-19, many stations stopped their business and were unable to join hands in the project.
• Approach 123 new units to communicate about the plastic waste issue and the project spirit
• Expanding 35 new water filling stations to participate in the project

Green Travel

After launching the cycling-to-work movement, employees responded enthusiastically. Currently, more than 40% of employees have switched to bicycles, electric bikes, metro, etc. This activity is aimed at green travel to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Employees who go green are provided with a monthly allowance by the company.

3. Partners

We have always focused on the revenue generated for the local economy, social enterprises, and responsible suppliers. We have reviewed our suppliers’ commitment and actions towards sustainability to expand the list of sustainable accommodations. This list also includes local homestays which can help us make strategic decisions about promotions for the benefit of travelers as well as local and ethical suppliers. We have also encouraged our partners to switch from single-use plastic water bottles to refillable ones and provide refills for our customers.

4. Developing Responsible Products

We have reviewed our all programs to update the changes post-COVID-19. In 2023, we have applied ‘refill on tours’ in some tours, especially to nature and mountainous areas. On these tours, we inform our clients before the departure date to bring their bottles. During the tour, they can refill their bottles with the 19-liter water gallon that we set up on the van, or at a refill stations on route.

B. Difficulties and Solutions

• Refill on tours: The network of refill stations is still limited post-COVID-19. For small groups on a short excursion, it is inappropriate to use a 19-litre water gallon for clients to refill on tours.

Solution: Expand the network of refill stations or use 1.5-litre water bottles instead of 500ml bottles.

• Refill MyBolle: Difficult to approach businesses, especially the accommodation category due to potential disruption to their guests’ experience, cost generation, etc. Additionally, there is a lack of specialized staff/ departments in local businesses, leading to inadequate implementation and management of refill stations.

Solution: consultations on sustainable practices for local businesses.