At Polarsteps, we believe that travel has the power to transform lives — but we also know that it comes with environmental and social costs. That’s why we’re committed to supporting sustainable travel, both internally and through the platform itself.

Here, we’ll share the story of our sustainability journey — where we started, the progress we’ve made, the challenges we’ve faced, and what’s next. 

Why? Not to oversell our efforts with big claims or promises, but in the spirit of transparency, and to share how we’re learning and growing along the way. 

Why sustainability matters to us

Travel is at the heart of what we do, and we want to ensure that the places we and our users love to explore stay worth exploring for future generations. One of our company’s core values, "Be good, do good," sums it up:

“It is our Polarsteps moral compass, not profits, that guides our actions — whether that’s the partners we choose to work with, the way we treat our people and users, or our larger impact on the world. Our aim is to make the world a richer place, not the other way around.”

We see an opportunity to contribute to more sustainable travel in the tech space. That means taking steps to reduce our own footprint and supporting a community of responsible travelers with an app that helps them make sustainable travel decisions.

Where we started

While sustainability had been considered in various ways from the start, 2020 marked a more formal shift — when our editorial team created the first formal sustainability guidelines for Polarsteps Guides.

“When thinking about sustainability in terms of our Guides, it became clear that we had a responsibility not just to help travelers document their journeys, but to actively shape more responsible travel behaviors,” says Senior Travel Editor Claire Bissell.  

The more destinations we researched, the more we had to assess the activities, accommodations, and restaurants we included through a sustainability lens — highlighting points such as the importance of highlighting off-peak travel, offering alternatives to overcrowded sites, and seeking out activities that empower underrepresented groups and promote positive community development. 

Some casual brainstorming sessions and small initiatives followed, and in 2021, Polarsteps formed a dedicated Green Hub. Over the years, the Hub has continued its commitment to sustainability, with long-time members maintaining our core vision and institutional knowledge and new members bringing fresh ideas and energy. 

"When we first created the Green Hub, it was just a few of us meeting with big ambitions but limited resources," recalls Project Manager Sara van Geloven. “Seeing how it's evolved from those humble beginnings to driving company-wide initiatives has been incredibly rewarding.” 

Those early steps continue to shape our sustainability efforts today.

Key milestones and achievements

In the years since, we’ve continued making progress, little by little. Some of our more noteworthy achievements include:

Carbon offsetting: From 2021 to 2023, we offset CO₂ emissions through Southpole, covering Travel Book production and business flights (80 tons in 2021, 203 tons in 2022), and, starting in 2023, our IT infrastructure (568 tons).

As of 2024, we're redirecting those funds into verified regenerative projects with measurable impacts, including reforestation initiatives and community-based conservation efforts.

Train Teleporter: In 2022, we upgraded our Teleporter (a company perk where we send each team member to a surprise destination each year) by introducing the Teleporter 2.0, giving team members the option to travel by train instead of flying. To make it more appealing, we added €400 in spending money and an optional 7-day Global Interrail Pass.

Sustainable trip inspiration: We launched a "Slow Travel" category in the Explore tab in 2021, showcasing lower-carbon journeys that our users are making by bike, boat, or rail. We also regularly feature these eco-conscious adventures across our social media channels, helping to share knowledge and inspire lower-impact travel among our community.

Everyday efforts: We’ve also tackled smaller initiatives around the office, from straightforward improvements like making sure the air conditioning isn’t running all night (easier said than done) to company favorites like our Fairtrade coffee beans and the Polarsteps Swap Shop — a place for staff to exchange their used clothes, books, and household items.

Challenges and learnings

Our journey hasn’t always been straightforward, and it has come with many learnings. Here are some of the biggest hurdles we’ve faced and how we’re navigating them:

Balancing priorities: It can be tricky figuring out where sustainability fits within our core mission to lead a global movement towards more adventurous travel, and building it into our goals when time and resources are limited. Our Green Hub, with CEO involvement, helps set realistic objectives.

Offsetting vs reduction: While we recognize that carbon offsetting isn’t an ideal solution, we adopted it as a first step in acknowledging our environmental footprint. It’s given us a tangible way to take immediate action, helped us establish baseline measurements, and created internal awareness about our carbon-intensive activities. Moving forward, we're focusing on direct emissions reductions while exploring more rigorous and verifiable environmental investments that go beyond traditional offsetting.

Reducing air travel: Swapping flights for trains can be easier said than done. With initiatives like the Teleporter 2.0 and train options for company trips, we’re making some progress — 12% of our team took the train to our company trip to the Costa Brava in 2024, inching up to 13% for our 2025 Slovenia adventure. We're still figuring out how to make sustainable travel options more appealing, accessible, and practical.

Product impact: Our Travel Books drive revenue but are also our biggest emissions culprit. We currently use FSC-certified paper, and are working to reduce reprints due to errors, but we recognize that rethinking production would have the biggest impact — something that remains a future possibility, not a current initiative.

Measuring impact: Outsourcing emissions tracking didn’t give us the insights we needed or save us the effort we hoped. In 2024, we returned to in-house tracking based on our own data. This approach allows us to gather relevant data efficiently, giving us a clear picture of our progress and areas that need improvement.

Technological/Financial constraints: Our servers and AI tools contribute significantly to our carbon footprint. While more environmentally friendly alternatives exist, they currently exceed our budget and scalability constraints. We're monitoring developments in green technology and costs, and looking for the right intersection of environmental benefit and financial feasibility as our business grows.

Feeding the team: We confess our delivery-service days weren't our proudest moment, and while taking turns cooking for the whole team was exciting, it proved too complex as we scaled up. We’ve evolved to a combination of catered lunches with vegan options (3x weekly) and in-house prep — a balance that cuts back on waste and supports a great local catering company directly (not all change has to be hard, right?).

Sustainability being more integrated into decisions: As a company and individually, our people care about sustainability. Even so, it doesn't factor into every OKR or decision. Other priorities often take precedence — performance improvements, bug fixes, or the excitement of far-away travel — leading to some missed opportunities. We're developing a multi-year plan to better integrate sustainability into our long-term objectives so they have a clearer place in short-term goals.

Tracking and reporting

To ensure we make consistent progress, we're focusing on measuring what matters and using that data to drive our decisions.

Starting in Q4 2025, we’ll share a yearly internal sustainability report that pulls together the numbers that matter most — from our biggest impact areas to the progress we’re making (or not). It’ll cover both the wins and the uncomfortable parts, and help connect the dots between our everyday choices and long-term goals.

This report will be our yearly gut check — a chance to pause, reflect, and adjust where needed. It’s not about having all the answers, but about ensuring that sustainability remains part of the conversation, even when it’s not the loudest voice.

The road ahead

Our sustainability efforts at Polarsteps are still evolving. As a company, we face real constraints, make imperfect choices, and encounter new challenges regularly. Each setback teaches us something new, and as we grow, we’re committed to learning, adapting, and sharing our progress along the way. 

Sustainability isn't a destination we'll suddenly reach, but rather a series of better decisions and steady improvements we're working to make. By openly discussing our struggles and small wins, we hope to inspire more thoughtful travel and spark more meaningful conversations about travel's environmental impact. Because the heart of adventure lies not just in discovering new places, but in ensuring they remain worth discovering.

Cover image: Dmitry Molchanov/Shutterstock