We believe that a key part of responsible travel involves giving something back. We actively support a number of social and environmental charities and projects around the world and in the communities around our offices. This is done through donations, including fundraising by Audley staff, and through volunteer work.
Biannually we also vote for a charity of the year to support and we work closely with them over the course of two years to reach fundraising goals through the efforts of both our staff and our clients.
Why we voted for Plastic Oceans UK
350 million tonnes of plastic are being produced each year... That’s 34 million tonnes more than the weight of humanity ...
Since the age of plastic began, hundreds of millions of tonnes have been dumped into the oceans, putting all aquatic life at risk. For example, more than 50% of turtles and whales have consumed plastic, and one albatross chick was found to have died with 450 individual pieces of plastic in its stomach.
Plastic pollution affects us too, as plastic enters the food stream. Chemicals in the plastic increase the risk of cancer, birth defects and developmental problems.
Plastic Oceans UK believes that we can end plastic reaching the oceans within a generation. Sir David Attenborough lauded its documentary, A Plastic Ocean, as “one of the most important films of our time”. The film ignited mass consumer awareness.
It’s now the charity’s mission to inspire action. The educational material it produces helps people consider:
• Why we should care about our oceans
• What behaviours we can change
• How we can become plastic intelligent
By giving schools access to its educational material, Plastic Oceans’ aim is to empower children to inspire change within their communities. These STEM-based challenges also teach the value of plastic and how to respect such a versatile material.
By supporting Plastic Oceans UK, we hope to aid its efforts in reducing the use of single-use plastic, educating businesses in how to lower their plastic footprint and raising awareness of the environmental impacts of plastics in the younger generations.
You can donate to the Audley Just Giving page here.
Charity of the year 2018-2019: ShelterBox
Since 2000, ShelterBox has helped more than one million people rebuild their lives after natural disaster or conflict has left them homeless. ShelterBox supplies emergency shelter and essential tools for families who have lost everything, in the form of its ShelterBoxes and ShelterKits.
Equipped with these emergency supplies, families can start to repair their homes and rebuild their lives straight away. The charity delivers aid to some of the most remote communities in the world.
As a company we were able to raise £100,000 ($128,000) in support of ShelterBox.
