Phone:
+64 6 356 6676
Email:
info@isenz.com
About ISENZ Trips
ISENZ strives to educate our students during our trips about our special and unique country, and of the importance of kaitiakitanga – protecting, preserving and caring for our land.
New Zealanders have a special connection to the land and nature, and we want to teach our students that it’s not only the people who live here, but also the people who visit here who have a responsibility to care for and preserve it. It is our role and responsibility to ensure that the kaitiakitanga of our land and environment is well maintained and protected on our trips, and we seek to continually improve our systems and processes to minimise our overall impact on the environment.
Current Initiatives
Our current sustainability initiatives include:
- recycling wherever possible (esp. food and drink containers, packaging). Using our own plates, cups and cutlery sets for meals, instead of opting for the convenience of one-use paper plates/cups and plastic cutlery. Our kitchen team and student helpers take care of the dishes and cleaning up.
- using eco-friendly cleaning products in the office and on trips
- using minimal paper (where practical) and opting for electronic alternatives (e-tickets, documents, etc..). However, due to some areas we visit having limited internet coverage, and the risk of phone/laptop batteries going flat… paper copies are sometimes health and safety necessity!
- using a Qualmark Gold accredited charter coach service that uses Euro enviro standard vehicles and whose company policies adhere to best sustainability practices
- wherever possible, using accommodation and activity operators that are Qualmark accredited (or similar independent quality audit, like Top 10), to ensure that our providers also follow best sustainability practices
- Encouraging a minimal food waste philosophy among staff and students. Our Kitchen Manager has the uncanny ability to purchase only what is needed each day with very little left over. Any food left over is either eaten the next day or left in the holiday park fridges with a dated “HELP YOURSELF!” sign written on it
- providing all meals on our trips (3 x meals per day) for the entire group, reducing energy used and waste created – rather than students cooking individually for themselves or purchasing their own takeaway meals
- instructing students to bring their own refillable water bottle on the trip, as we strongly discourage single-use drink bottles. We provide filtered water to students on the bus from large refillable containers
- educating students of the importance of Kaitiakitanga (showing respect, preservation and care for the environment) and leaving the areas we visit just as we found them. These include obvious ones such as no littering, to the more culturally significant ones such as advising of protocols in ‘tapu’ areas (no touching the water, or taking ‘keep-sakes’ etc.)
- using LED lighting in our offices
