Sustainability at Swoop

Swoop exists to give our customers transformative experiences at the ends of the earth. To do this and minimise our impacts on the fragile ecosystems we visit, we have developed a sustainability strategy to  address tourism’s impacts and harness our ability to drive positive change.

The four pillars that underscore this strategy are: Protecting Biodiversity, Cutting Carbon, Thriving Team and Partners, and Leading the way.

Every year, the Swoop Impact Report looks at how we are progressing in these key areas, so that we can focus our time, resources and creativity on the areas where we can make the biggest difference.

The world is undergoing a biodiversity crisis. Across the globe, wildlife populations are decreasing and Patagonia is not immune from this. Swoop’s commitment to responsible tourism means that we contribute to conservation projects across the region.

One of our main tools for this is the Swoop Conservation Fund, which we set up in 2024 allowing us and our travellers to directly support conservation projects. We also promote local partners in Chile and Argentina who are offering the most sustainable adventures, and when we are designing  work with them to understand the challenges and opportunities adventure travel presents for conservation – from issues around responsible wildlife watching to green energy and waste water disposal in national parks. 

Swoop and our travellers can play an important role in helping our destinations flourish. With this in mind, we created the Swoop Conservation Fund. By donating 1% of our revenue to the fund and enabling our travellers to make their own contributions, we can financially support non-profit organisations that make significant positive impacts in the destinations we visit.

In its first year, the Swoop Conservation Fund disbursed US$75,000 of funds. This money went to organisations that support our values working in Patagonia and Antarctica, working in conservation, education, biodiversity and the long term removal of CO₂ from the atmosphere, including the Legado Chile Foundation and Rewilding Chile. 

The tourist industry accounts for 8.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Swoop is a signatory of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, which commits us to halving our emissions by 2030 and reach Net Zero as quickly as possible before 2050.

The first stage in this has been carrying out a detailed carbon audit. Between 1st April 2023 and 31st March 2024, we saw a reduction of 3% in our carbon emissions compared to the previous year. We are currently developing a long term phased decarbonisation plan, prioritising high-impact areas, as well as working with our partners to better understand their emissions.

The full details of Swoop’s carbon footprint (including our methodology to calculate), are set out in our impact report.

In 2023, Swoop became the only travel company working across all Patagonia to be B Corp certified. By doing so, we joined a global movement of businesses that are committed to people and the planet, putting our social and environmental responsibilities at the core of our business.

Becoming a B Corp required Swoop to be comprehensively audited across our entire organisation and measured against pillars of business sustainability.

Our B Corp status is our promise that your adventures contribute to a more sustainable future for our destinations.

Swoop may be the Patagonia experts, but we can only maintain this by listening to and learning from our dozens of brilliant local partners across the region. We do this throughout our regular working day, and throughout the year as our team members spend time travelling through Chile and Argentina.

As well as knowing that our close relations with our partners result in better experiences for our travellers, formal meetings and interviews with our partners has allowed for the creation of a platform for sharing best practices on local sustainability practices. By sharing knowledge across the sector, we can work collaboratively to tackle challenges affecting tourism in the region. 

In March 2024, Swoop partnered with the Chilean tourist board, SERNATUR, to create a responsible tourism campaign for Aysen – one of our favourite regions in Patagonia, and one where adventure tourism is growing rapidly. We interviewed our partners, community leaders and NGOs about responsible tourism to share the voices of Aysen and identify opportunities to work together to offer more sustainable options for our travellers.

The campaign was awarded the best marketing campaign in the Latin American Travel Association (LATA) Responsible Tourism awards, and this increase in attention has allowed us to better support Aysen’s economic growth in the region, while ensuring that local voices remain at the forefront of protecting the culture, landscapes and wildlife of the region.

As firm believers in the power of travel as a force for good, we know that our responsibility to ensure that our trips have the most positive impact they can doesn't end with our local partners. 

Swoop's true success isn't just measured by the experiences we offer our customers, but also by helping them become ambassadors for change, both in our destinations and at home. Our dedicated customer service team supports all our travellers by giving them the tools and support they need to travel better during their time with us and beyond.