Ferula Viaggi – Slow Italy Tours is committed to minimizing its impacts on the environment, getting a more sustainable approach and inspiring others to take action.
Our company commits to continuous improvement of sustainability practices, including the ongoing monitoring and evaluation of our sustainability policy, with dedicated personnel and resources to achieve our sustainability goals.
All excursions and activities run by or on behalf of Ferula Viaggi – Slow Italy Tours respect local customs, traditions, cultural integrity, and natural resources.
Our company gives preference to excursions and activities that benefit local communities, respect animal welfare and support environmental protection. We commit to hiring qualified local guides, porters, drivers or other local staff, paying them living wages and providing safe and fair working conditions. Ferula Viaggi – Slow Italy Tours aims to send visitors to secondary or lesser-known tourist areas to avoid overtourism. Our company commits to positive contribution to the destinations in which we operate, by:
- Sourcing locally and responsibly, and supporting local and traditional arts and culture;
- Encouraging guests to shop responsibly and educating them about illegal/prohibited/forbidden souvenirs;
- Collaborating with other local tourism stakeholders [including local government, other tourism businesses, academia, community groups] to further the sustainable tourism development of the destination;
- Respecting and advocating for all human rights (i.e. children’s rights, women’s rights, labour rights, etc.) as well as land rights.
Here is our Sustainability Policy set up through Travelife platform.
- The Travelife standard for Tour operators and Travel agencies is based upon the full Corporate Social Responsibility themes, including labour conditions, human rights, environment, biodiversity and fair business practices. The management requirements are compatible with EMAS and ISO 14001.
- The Travelife Partner award is a recognition of our commitment towards social and environmental sustainability. We comply with more than 100 criteria related to sustainability management, office operations, working with suppliers and customer communication. We are working towards further improvements aiming to eventually reach the Travelife Certified stage.
- Travelife is a three-stage certification program for tour operators and travel agents: (1) Travelife Engaged; (2) Travelife Partner and (3) Travelife Certified. We are at the stage 2 – Travelife Partner. We are working to move forward to stage 3 – Travelife Certified.
Code of conduct
Ferula Viaggi – Slow Italy Tours follows laws and regulations in each country that relate to ethical, social, and environmental factors. By following this code of conduct, we ensure that our operations are run responsibly:
- We run a respectable business. We do not tolerate bribes and corruption. Nor do we accept gifts, payments, or other benefits that might affect business decisions and conflict with laws, commercial behaviour, customs, or good business practices. We strive for free competition and fair play on the market;
- We take gender equality, inclusion, and diversity challenges seriously. We encourage diversity at all levels within the group. We strive to ensure that nobody is discriminated against based on age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender-based identity or expression, religion or other beliefs, or sexual orientation. This applies to how we treat our employees. It also applies to applicants during recruitment and orientation processes. Employees who perceive themselves (or someone else) to be discriminated against or subjected to mistreatment are encouraged to report this to the immediate manager, the CEO, or the personnel department;
- We follow human rights and labour laws. We respect human rights and do nothing that violates them. It is equally important that we try to choose business partners that fulfill the same requirements. We select suppliers with care and strive for a transparent process when they, in turn, employ contractors and subcontractors;
- We care for our external relations. These core values influence everything we do internally and externally: close to customer, knowledgeable and flexible. All employees are expected to conduct themselves correctly during contacts with business partners. Through commitment, proactivity, good relationships, reliability, and responsibility, we strive to be customers’ first choice. We also expect our external relations to fulfill our rigorous demands regarding the environment, work ethics, and transparency, among other requirements;
- We care for each other internally. We see every employee as a business-critical resource. Everyone should feel secure and needed at Ferula Viaggi – Slow Italy Tours. We sincerely care about an individual’s personal development by offering continuing education and opportunities to develop within the company. We safeguard the health of our employees by having a good, safe working environment.
- We care about the environment. We endeavour to have as little negative impact on the environment as possible when it comes to our tours, experiences and services. Our fully licensed tour guides inform constantly our visitors about the environment, the protected areas, the protected species of our regional parks and our historic sites.