Corporate social responsibility policy

What We Do

Discover the World is a travel related services company with global operations in over sixty countries. We provide sales, marketing services, business process outsourcing, and risk management for our global clients and partners. Our business operates in compliance with all relevant laws and regulations, and we strive to uphold the highest ethical standards in all our activities.

Through our global office network partnerships and our hybrid working policies we employ directly or contract with over six hundred sales and marketing professionals. Head quartered in the USA and the UK, we are committed to upholding the highest standards of our responsibilities to our environment, our communities and our people.

Policy Statement

At Discover the World we are committed to making a positive impact on the world through our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives and Step Up Programme. As a global organisation in the travel industry we recognise our responsibilities in helping to protect the environment, in promoting ethical business practices and in supporting the people we employ. We are on a journey to reducing our environmental footprint and introducing sustainable practices to help protect our planet for future generations.

By integrating CSR into our core business strategy, we aim to create long-term value for our stakeholders and contribute to a more sustainable and equitable world. Together, we can make a difference and Step Up to building a better future for all.

Our CSR strategy and policy is guided by our company values; Brave, Spirited, Strong and True and is the cornerstone of our Discover the World Step Up Programme, “sharing our journey for a better sustainable world”

The Environment

As a global organisation in the travel industry we recognise our responsibilities in helping to protect the environment and we are committed, amongst other initiatives, to:

• efficient printing, including only printing when absolutely necessary, using recycled materials where possible and turning off printers when not in use;
• reducing the amount of waste produced by the business;
• ensuring that water/electricity is used responsibly by our staff;
• recycling materials as extensively as possible;
• using technology to lessen the need for travel;
• using public transport or electric vehicles wherever possible when travelling is unavoidable;
• sourcing the most sustainable services and products when planning and running events;
• sourcing and selecting sustainably accredited event venues and hotels;
• promoting  and encouraging energy saving measures throughout the business;
• running internal campaigns to promote and engage our team in our sustainable initiatives;
• building an ongoing team of Champions who live by our values and sustainable goals;

Charitable/community work

Discover the World brings together a network of charitable activity under one inclusive theme celebrating our shared journey that inspires us all to ‘Step Up’ and get involved. Our goal is to raise funds for causes close to the heart of Discover’s belief in the importance of freedom, protecting the environment and the power of travel and donating to our global partner charity as well as locally chosen charities. 

Our new ‘Step Up’ partner is World Bicycle Relief.  This organization empowers people in rural communities by providing bicycles as a mode of transportation, delivering life-changing mobility to children, families, and communities.

We encourage our local country teams to select a charitable cause that they find inspiring and in line with our values and we support our teams with paid days to work on community related initiatives.

Discovering and Delivering Career Opportunities

We recognise the importance of educating and promoting our exciting industry in a responsible and supportive way to both our current and potential new workforce. We are committed to creating career opportunities through;

• the UK Apprenticeship scheme
• mentoring schemes
• event attendance and presentations
• volunteering
• partnerships
• our learning and development support
• onboarding and training programmes
• funded courses
• our global reach
• internal workplace surveys
• our recruitment strategies

Our People

Our people make the difference, they are Discover the World, our product is our people, the very DNA of our company, built on our core values, culture and history.

We are totally committed to supporting our people and our teams and ensuring we create a workplace environment where our staff feel valued, involved and celebrated through;

• our Red Shoes global award programme
• our staff engagement surveys
• our policies and procedures
• our internal communications
• our meetings and events
• our learning and development opportunities
• our Monday monthly drop in meetings (People Meets)
• our H.R. support team
• our accessibility
• our sharing of success

Equal Opportunities

Discover the World is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to equality of opportunity and to providing a safe employment environment by following policies which are free from unfair and unlawful discrimination. Our aim is to ensure that no person receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, or is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be relevant to performance. We seek to ensure that no person is victimised or subjected to any form of bullying or harassment.

Business partnerships

At Discover the World, we are ensuring that our supply chain policies reflect our commitment to ethical, sustainable, and socially responsible practices. Our  supply chain initiatives are designed to promote transparency, integrity, and a positive impact through;

• Our Supplier Code of Conduct and procurement ethics
• Our commitment to Human Rights
• In reducing our Carbon Footprint through collaboration with our suppliers
• With transparency and accountability
• By Training internally and with global stakeholder engagement

Ongoing commitment

We are fully committed to the principle of CSR and will review our CSR policy and strategy regularly to ensure we stay aligned to our guiding principles and values.