easyJet Holidays Makes Strides Toward Sustainability Goals, Sets Ambitious Future Targets

EasyJet holidays issued its first Impact Report on Friday, outlining goals to make "sustainable holidays mainstream," an effort that includes everything from a commitment to net zero to developing destination-focused sustainability projects and championing responsible tourism.

As part of the report release, the package holiday travel provider (which is affiliated with easyJet flights) said it is working to ensure that sustainable travel choices are "affordable and accessible." 

To help make that possible, easyJet Holidays embarked on a variety of initiatives in 2024 and has ambitious continued goals for the coming years.

EasyJet's Impact Report says the company is committed to the following initiatives:

• Achieving net zero
• Expanding its certified sustainable range
• Developing destination-focused sustainability projects
• Championing responsible tourism through certification
• Education surrounding sustainability 
• Key partnerships designed to further sustainability goals 

The company is also working with hotel partners to achieve globally recognized sustainability certifications meant to help provide opportunities for travelers to make sustainable holiday choices at no extra cost.

Progress Toward 2024 Goals

In 2024, easyJet put a variety of new efforts into practice, including adopting an animal welfare policy and launching electric vehicle transfers in partnership with its destination management company in Greece. 

The company also joined forces with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council in 2024 to offer a dedicated sustainable tourism course for hotel partners in Spain, Greece and Turkey. The results of that effort included:

• More than 300 hotels signing up for GSTC sustainability training 
• 37 percent of the holiday provider's best-selling properties being certified 
• A new electric transfer fleet in Rhodes, Greece, has transferred more than 5,200 passengers 152,000km, saving the equivalent of 27 tonnes of CO₂e.  

Supporting Smaller Communities

The package holiday company says it is also increasingly supporting locally-owned businesses and communities in order to "maximize the benefits and minimize the negative impacts of travel and tourism. That includes a focus on lesser-known locations in order to offer customers experiences away from urban tourist hotspots, while also providing socio-economic and sustainability benefits to local economies.

Some of the benefits of this focus have included increasing employment for small communities and the introduction of food waste reduction AI technology. According to the easyJet report, results thus far have included:

• 56 percent reduction in buffet waste at Bahia Principe Sunlight Costa Adeje following the implementation of the Winnow AI Technology partnership, leading to an estimated saving of over €100,000 of food in one year 
• Increased income for the tourism sector in Akureyri, Iceland, following the launch of easyJet holidays last winter, along with more year-round jobs and reduced seasonality 
• Delivering 99 percent local employment for our destination management companies

Key industry Partnerships

EasyJet Holidays has said that it also hopes to drive broader, meaningful change within the travel industry, including "prioritizing working towards solutions to the biggest issues and asking better of themselves and partners in the supply chain."

As part of this focus, easyJet holidays has formed key partnerships with: 

• UN Tourism: Working to develop the first tourism-specific ESG Framework, including an investigative survey with hundreds of hotel and DMC partners, showcasing the wider supply chains engagement in sustainability practices 
• ICRT Global: As a founding partner of the not-for-profit organization, easyJet holidays is providing support towards ICRT Global training courses, helping to improve education and knowledge sharing on responsible tourism 
• ABTA: working closely with the UK's leading travel association on sustainability in travel and making progress towards joint ESG goals 

"Our first Impact Report marks a significant milestone for us on our journey to support our customers to holiday better," Matt Callaghan, easyJet holidays' Chief Operating Officer, said.  "And whilst we're proud of what we've achieved so far, in collaboration with our partners, it's clear that now is the time to deliver progress in order to meet both short and long term targets."

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