Sustainability
Sustainability
At Franz Josef Wilderness Tours, sustainability isn’t a box to tick, it’s woven into everything we do. Our approach looks at the big picture: environmental care, community connection, visitor experience, and economic wellbeing.
This holistic view of sustainability is part of our culture, our ethos, and it flows through every tour we offer. It’s also why we established the Wilderness Tours Regeneration Project Charitable Trust to give back to the land we call home, making sure we leave our place better than we found it.
Our Sustainability Initiatives:
1. Carbon Zero
We’ve identified and offset our largest contributors to our carbon footprint with Ekos New Zealand. We are continually working through ways to further reduce or eliminate our carbon output. The main areas of output we’ve identified are: Petrol, Electricity and Rubbish. All of these are a key focus for our future elimination approach.
2. Wilderness Tours Regeneration Project
We’re the founders of the Wilderness Tours Regneration Project, a charitable trust aimed towards regenerating the land we utilise on our tours. This project has been built with Tiaki values at it’s core, involving staff and visitors in our mission to leave our place better than we found it. Removing invasive species – and planting native’s for people to enjoy for generations to come.
3. Environment Education
The importance of restoring, enhancing and protecting our natural environment is important to us. We utilise the ‘take only photos – leave only footprints’ approach when operating our tours. On all our tours teach about local conservation, such as Operation Nest Egg on our tours. The Tiaki promise is embedded in company culture and is part of how we operate on a day-to-day basis.
4. Biodiversity
We’re lucky to operate within the rich biodiversity of Westland Tai Poutini National Park. In partnership with DOC, our team helped discover a population of long-tailed bats along local waterways. Through our own Wilderness Tours Regeneration Project and as active members of the Ōkārito Plant Project, we’re proud to support native plant restoration across South Westland — helping to protect and enhance the landscapes we call home.
5. Predator Free Initiative
We have partnered with Zero Invasive Predators and the Predator Free South Westland initiative by assisting with transport to areas along the Lake Mapourika and Kiwi Sanctuary shoreline. We also assist with responses they have had through their network of AI Camera and monitoring systems in the surrounding rainforest.
6. Community Engagement
Community engagement is really important to Franz Josef Wilderness Tours. We actively engage and in a variety of groups from our local Civil defence to the playgroup, school and scouts groups. We are involved as volunteers within Glacier Country Tourism. We donate over $8000 per annum in community donations.
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
Meet Dale, as he disusses our operation, and it’s conservation story. Opering within the rich biodiversity of Westland Tai Poutini National Park. In partnership with the Department of Conservation, our team helped discover a population of long-tailed bats along local waterways, a rare and exciting find that reflects the health of our environment.
To protect and regenerate the land around our quad bike tracks, we’ve established the Wilderness Tours Regeneration Project. Our own planting project focused on hands-on ecological restoration. This initiative deepens our commitment to sustainability, engaging staff and guests in meaningful conservation work and helping ensure the land we love is left better than we found it.
At Franz Josef Wilderness Tours, sustainability is more than a value — it’s part of our culture, our tours, and our future.
What Tiaki Means To Us
We proudly support the Tiaki Promise. As locals who live and work in this remarkable part of New Zealand, we’re committed to caring for our environment, respecting wildlife and leaving this place better than we found it. Our planting project has been built based on these core values and our mission to leave our place better than we found it.
