What we do
Your invoices, fuel records, accounts and operational data already contain a picture of how your business performs. ETC Africa turns that information into a credible carbon baseline, benchmarks it against relevant tourism operations and helps you understand what the numbers are actually telling you.
You don't need perfect data. You just need somewhere sensible to start.
93 tourism assessments · 400,000+ guest bed nights · 1,000+ environmental datapoints
Tourism operating context
Occupancy, generators, game drives, staff accommodation, remote logistics, full-board kitchens, solar systems, water infrastructure and seasonality all shape environmental performance.
That's why context matters. A litre of diesel or a tonne of carbon tells you very little on its own. Meaningful analysis requires understanding how the operation actually works, and comparing it with businesses operating under similar conditions.
What shapes the numbers
Guest bed nights drive nearly every intensity metric.
Generators, solar and battery systems in constant negotiation.
Vehicle fuel that no office building will ever report.
Long supply runs, charter flights, seasonal resupply.
LPG, cold chain and food volumes tied to guest numbers.
Boreholes, treatment plants and on-site disposal infrastructure.
Core capabilities
We measure environmental impact, put performance into context and help tourism businesses understand what to do next.
Establish credible Scope 1, Scope 2 and relevant Scope 3 baselines.
Compare carbon and operational performance with relevant tourism peers.
Investigate unusual consumption, variances, inefficiencies and data-quality problems.
Compare properties, identify outliers and understand where attention or investment will matter most.
Develop practical priorities, reduction pathways and performance tracking.
Support evidence-backed reporting and buyer information, with a pathway to Verified Impact through the Eco Travel Foundation.
About Verified ImpactA practical start
Real-world environmental data is rarely perfect. Fuel records disagree. Invoices go missing. Waste figures are incomplete. Different properties record the same information in different ways.
That does not mean you cannot begin. It means the first step is understanding what exists, what is reliable, what is estimated and what needs to improve.
01
Invoices, accounts, fuel records, utility data, occupancy information and operational knowledge.
02
Identify reliable evidence, reasonable estimates and obvious gaps.
03
Create the best credible baseline the available evidence supports.
04
Strengthen records and systems so future assessments become easier and more confident.
Better environmental information is one of the outcomes — not an entrance requirement.
Three common starting points
Almost every tourism business we work with begins in one of three places.
01 — Establish a baseline
Start with operational and financial information and build a credible carbon baseline.
Emissions by scope
Total
412 tCO₂e
Intensity
14.6 kgCO₂e / guest bed night
Illustrative values only
02 — Understand performance
Benchmark performance, investigate unusual results and identify practical opportunities.
Carbon intensity
22% below benchmarkkgCO₂e / guest bed night
kgCO₂e / guest bed night
Illustrative values only
03 — See the portfolio
Compare performance across operations, identify outliers and prioritise attention or investment.
Portfolio carbon intensity
kgCO₂e / guest bed night
Illustrative values only
This is not an environmental raid
The purpose is not to arrive with clipboards, interrogate the lodge manager and go looking for something embarrassing under the desks.
The purpose is to work with your team, understand how the operation functions and build the clearest picture the available evidence reasonably supports.
We work with the systems and records that actually exist.
Your operational knowledge matters as much as the spreadsheet.
Estimates and uncertainties are identified rather than disguised.
Each assessment should make the next one easier, stronger and more useful.
From reporting to management
The inventory is the foundation. Its real value comes from using the underlying information to understand operations, improve evidence and make better decisions.
01
“What did we emit?”
02
“How do we compare?”
03
“Why are we different?”
04
“What should we do about it?”
A carbon footprint shouldn't disappear into a PDF once a year.
How the process works
Tell us what you are trying to understand and what information currently exists.
Invoices, accounts, utility information, fuel records, occupancy data and relevant operational knowledge.
Calculate the inventory, document assumptions and identify evidence gaps.
Put performance into context and explore what is driving important results.
Strengthen data systems, prioritise practical action and track change over time.
The first assessment does not need to be the final word. It needs to be an honest and useful starting point.
Better data is part of the outcome
A first assessment often reveals where environmental information is strong, where it is uncertain and how future reporting can become easier. Data confidence can improve alongside environmental performance.
Sometimes the finding is excellent performance. Sometimes it is a broken meter. Both are useful things to know.
You do not need a finished sustainability system, a perfect spreadsheet or complete confidence in every number. Tell us what you are trying to understand and we will help work out the sensible next step.
