Sydney, July 26, 2023

Chimu Adventures' Managing Director Chad Carey has joined the IAATO Climate Change Committee with a mission to improve sustainability in the Antarctic tourism space. IAATO, or the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, is a member organisation founded in 1991 to advocate and promote the practice of safe and environmentally responsible private-sector travel to the Antarctic. Chimu Adventures is an Associate Member of IAATO. 

Following IAATO's April AGM, Carey was elected to a one-year term on the Climate Change Committee. The first step in the committee's work is collecting a baseline for fuel emissions. “Tour operators are now submitting all their emissions for the previous Antarctic season. That sets the baseline, and then the idea is to reduce that”, explains Chad Carey. 

Chimu Adventures is proud to have Carey working with IAATO to bring change into the Antarctic tourism space, it fits with the company vision of playing a part in the solution. “I think it's really the expedition cruise companies like us that are leading the way in the travel sustainability space, as Antarctica is its biggest destination in the expedition space. We are the ones that are focused on the environment. That's what we do. So, Chimu is uniquely positioned to be a body to help lead that industry transition to be more environmentally friendly in the polar travel regions”, says Carey. 

As Chimu Adventures is working towards B Corp Certification, Carey has big ideas to bring to the Climate Change Committee, particularly regarding improved sustainability in not just Antarctic ship fuel, but also infrastructure. “I think one of the main things that needs to be done is lobbying governments and private enterprises to build the port infrastructure that's needed for a sustainable energy future. 

We need a combined approach where we can lobby governments as an industry to actually provide the infrastructure before we build the ships.”

Chimu is committed to improving emissions on the ship they operate in partnership with Intrepid Travel, the Ocean Endeavour, as they believe it's every operator's duty to contribute to the solution. “We had a 10% reduction in fuel efficiency last year on the Ocean Endeavour through fuel management on board, but we want to do more. Why go incremental and save 10% when we can do the whole lot by 2030?”, says Carey of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, which aims to halve emissions by 2030. 

Carey hopes the Climate Change Committee will invest time into investigating ship improvements as well, such as water lubrication systems, turbines for reusing heat in the galley as an energy source, new propeller designs, and innovative ship management software.

If you design the propeller differently, rather than just being a static horizontal prop, Carey explains, you can actually change the angle of the propeller. Making it dynamic can increase the fuel efficiency of the ship. “It's not enough to just get more sustainable fuel. It's also about asking the question, how do you just reduce energy usage more broadly?”

Over the next 12 months, Carey looks forward to diving into the Climate Change Committee and working with industry partners to improve Antarctic tourism for the good of the planet. At Chimu, sustainability is incorporated into every voyage, including carbon offsets for every Chimu Adventures itinerary, comprehensive citizen science programs, some meat-free m, and partnerships with wildlife and environmental charities for the advancements of research. 

Image can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/kcugpynjeldgj01/AAAhuKswm63bybTR0weRgbq-a?dl=0 

For media enquiries, please contact: 

Meg Hall

PH: 02 94581211

E: meghall@chimuadventures.com

CHIMU ADVENTURES

Founded in 2004, Chimu Adventures are The Latin America and Polar Travel Specialists. Australian owned, we are the go-to for all Latin America, Antarctica and Arctic travel requirements, from small ship expedition cruises to tailor-made itineraries and small group tours, plus all international and domestic flight and transfer arrangements. Our specialist knowledge means we can offer the best options for everything. We use our own operations on the ground to access to an immense range of accommodation and activities and work personally with our traveller's style and budget, tailoring to their individual needs. 

Our team is committed to the destinations which we operate in and are proud members of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO), the Council of Australian Tour Operators (CATO) International Galapagos Tour Operators Association (IGTOA) Adventure Travel Trade Association and Latin America Travel Association. For more information visit www.chimuadventures.com.