UZTRAVEL SILK ROAD Sustainability Policy

Uztravel Silk Road DMC aims to introduce and disseminate sustainability practices and influence the consciousness of our clients and colleagues.

Our Sustainable Policy has four main directions:

1.   SAVING NATURE
2.   HELPING LOCAL COMMUNITIES
3.   LESSENING THE POLLUTION
4.   COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAW

1.  SAVING NATURE

On our tours we aim to minimise our environmental impact by supporting environmental protection measures, reducing waste and protecting biodiversity:

• No littering.
• No open fire if there is dry grass or bushes around.
• We provide our guests with information on how they can reduce the environmental impact of their travels.
• We do not offer excursions that are harmful to people, animals, plants, natural resources such as water and energy, or that are socially and culturally unacceptable.
• Excursions and tours involving captive wildlife are not offered, except for activities that are properly regulated and in compliance with local, national and international laws
• We do not extract, consume, display or sell wildlife species except as part of a regulated activity that ensures their sustainable use in accordance with local, national and international legislation

Also, at our office, we contribute to saving the planet by the following means:

• We have eliminated the printing of unnecessary promotional materials, and double-sided printing or other paper-saving modes are applied to necessary documents by default.
• We have no disposable plastics in the office (we use water dispensers, reusable toner, no disposable cutlery, crockery, etc.)
• We use eco-certified cleaning products to clean the office space.
• We take active measures to monitor and reduce energy and water consumption:
• Switch off lights and equipment when not in use, set equipment to default energy saving mode and try to minimise the use of air conditioning.
• Prioritise low-energy equipment when purchasing new products.
• We have dual flush equipment on our toilets.
• Planting trees around the office building to cool down the area around and create a shadow.
• We comply with national legislation regarding waste management and separate materials that can be recycled and organise their collection and proper disposal (plastic bottles (purchased by employees for personal use), glass, paper, and organic waste). 
• We sort and do not dispose batteries in the general waste bin.

 2.  HELPING LOCAL COMMUNITIES

When we cooperate with local communities, we try to help them by advising our tourists to use their service / goods:

• Prefer and choose locally owned and managed housing. In Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva: living in small local traditionally styled hotels or guest houses rather than in big chain hotels.
• Ensure that the rights of children in our housing supply chain are respected and protected.
• We prioritise hiring local guides, drivers and service providers.  We ensure that they have the necessary qualifications and knowledge to teach tourists how to interact with local people. 
• Catering in local restaurants with traditional cuisine rather than in restaurants with Turkish or European cuisine.
• We present tourists souvenirs made in Uzbekistan (e.g. cotton shopper bags made of local cotton), rather than made in China or elsewhere.
• We do not carry out visits to schools or nurseries as this could be detrimental to the local community.

3.  LESSENING THE POLLUTION

When possible, we always offer tourists to use speed trains instead of buses or planes as speed trains cause less pollution and therefore less harm to the planet.

In future, we are going to cooperate with European companies that monitor CO2 emissions and we plan to pay them some amount of money for every group coming to Uzbekistan with us, helping them to save the planet.

4.  COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAW

The whole of our business and all our actions are based upon the law of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

• All our employees, including local guides, drivers and service providers, enjoy freedom of employment and fair working conditions in accordance with national labour laws.
• All our employees are over 18 years old, we never use child labour.
• We prohibit discrimination in recruitment, terms and conditions of employment, access to training and management positions and promotion on the grounds of gender, race, age, disability, ethnicity, religion/belief or sexual orientation.
• We are committed to complying with all national legislation, regulations and codes of practice.
• We ensure client confidentiality.
• Our marketing process to customers is clear and straightforward. We provide comprehensive product information, including a sustainability statement, and provide services strictly in accordance with the contract and programme.
• We systematically measure customer satisfaction and take the results into account to improve service and tour products. 

During our tours:

• We do not allow the purchase of souvenirs containing threatened flora and fauna species, any illegally obtained historic/archaeological artefacts, drugs or illegal substances, and abide by local and international laws in place to prevent this.
• We have first aid kits and a plan of action for staff in case of emergencies in the office and during excursions. We also periodically brief and train employees on their roles, rights and responsibilities in health and safety. 

Our sustainability objectives and actions are clear and realistic to maximise the positive impact and minimise the negative impact of our activities on tourism, and to encourage our customers and partners to do the same.