Hey Iceland´s Sustainability Policy

Hey Iceland is a travel agency, located in Iceland, and provides tourists with enjoyable and experience rich holidays in Iceland and abroad. The travel agency was founded by the Icelandic Farm Holidays Association on July 10th 1991 and is still largely owned by farms through the association.
 
We are committed to sustainable and responsible tourism, and domestically we work closely with the Icelandic Farm Holidays Association to provide travellers with meaningful connections to host communities in rural Iceland with emphasis on responsible travel in harmony with nature and local culture through all our operations.  
 
International travel presents significant environmental challenges, and we recognize our responsibility in being part of the solution. We strive to continuously improve our performance in collaboration with Hey Iceland members, employees, and other partners. With this policy we commit to maximizing the positive and minimizing the negative environmental, economic, and social impacts of tourism in Iceland and other areas of our operations.

WE AT HEY ICELAND COMMIT TO:

• Emphasize on improvements in operations and services, aiming to reduce harmful impact on the environment, including reduction of pollution by reducing the waste of assets, e.g. by reusing and recycling, along with saving energy and utilizing environmentally friendly materials,
• Give preference to goods and services produced locally and with minimal environmental impact, which does not adversely affect Hey Iceland’s operational activities, viability and environmental and social impacts,
• Hire employees living in the local area, whenever possible,
• Seek further education in environmental matters and share information internally with other employees and with members of our network,
• Inform customers of our sustainability policy and encourage protection of the environment,
• Work toward the distribution of tourists through time and space when organizing trips and if suitable,
• Make the sustainability Policy available on request to all interested parties and encourage them to participate in our efforts to protect the environment,
• Fulfill the provisions of laws and regulations to which the company subscribes,
• Revise the sustainability policy regularly and maintain Vakinn certification, the official quality and environmental label to strengthen the quality, safety, and environmental responsibility in Icelandic tourism.

First established in March 2002.