Building Systems That Take Everyone Into Account

The Decision Brief Darrell Wade, Co-Founder & Chairman, Intrepid Travel Moderated by Sarah Kopit, Skift THE VERDICT Most sustainability commitments in travel measure what companies control directly. Wade said Intrepid measures its ‘cradle to grave’ influence — including the flight the customer takes to reach the trip. He said Intrepid now tracks emissions per journey, including flights it doesn’t transact, and has committed to reducing emissions 8% per passenger per day by 2030. That standard changes the product: which trips, which destinations, and what the guest sees on the ground. PATHS FORWARD Measure the full footprint. Wade said Intrepid decided to include flights in its emissions accounting even though science-based targets don’t require it because the company doesn’t transact them. He said in practice that often means redesigning the trip, developing more products closer to source markets, so a U.S. traveler might fly to Mexico instead of Morocco. Any travel company that measures only what it can control directly is drawing the boundary around the easiest part. Make decarbonization visible to the guest. Wade said Intrepid created a carbon fund that “will actively decarbonize where clients see it,” for instance EVs in Africa and installing solar panels at remote camps. He said travelers want to see that “this isn’t just talk or some theory. This is actually happening.” Design the product around the experience. Wade reframed “will customers pay more” as: “Do people want a planet that their children can still live on? Everyone will say yes. So not everything relates to price.” He said the correlation between price and carbon efficiency “isn’t close.” Companies that assume sustainability always costs should test the assumption. WHAT TO WATCH Wade said the U.S. political environment has set the sustainability agenda back and called it “disappointing.” He said Intrepid has been doing this for 30 years and will keep going. “The more we invest in our communities and our staff and the planet, the more we keep growing.” The open question is whether companies that are holding their commitments through the backlash emerge with stronger brands and more loyal customers. Wade said AI has been deployed across 19 workflow areas at Intrepid, and productivity is benefiting, but “it actually doesn’t change our business at all” because Intrepid is a last-mile operator. He said the more travelers engage digitally, “the more they love getting that actual firsthand real life experience on the ground.” In this way, last-mile operators may actually have an opportunity to be most rewarded by AI’s expansion. Access all the Skift Takeaways from this event, as well as full session videos, presentation documents, and more editorial coverage at our Skift Global Forum attendees hub.