Grand Tours Project has joined the global B Corp™ movement

After a rigorous assessment and verification process regarding a multitude of social and environmental issues, Grand Tours Project was awarded B Corp certification in May 2022

“Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet high standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.”

To us ‘B’ means Being the Best FOR the world; Benefiting our workers and local communities, Boldly showcasing the diverse environments through which we ride; and with care, Balancing the wishes of our guests with the needs of all our stakeholders. Finally, Grand Tours Project aims to always improve and Be Better.

Our Score

As a cycle tour operator, our focus is on providing the best service to our guests. But with that comes the responsibility of caring for and protecting the environment, staff, and communities that make this possible. Our score is 80.6 and so there is room for improvement - we will set up an action plan to improve that score and become better over the next 3 years for recertification and Become Better.

Definitions of the 5 impact areas assessed in the B Impact Assessment for the B Corp certification

• Governance evaluates a company's overall mission, engagement around its social/environmental impact, ethics, and transparency.

• Workers evaluates a company’s contributions to its employees’ financial security, health & safety, wellness, career development, and engagement & satisfaction.

• Community evaluates a company’s engagement with and impact on the communities in which it operates, hires from, and sources from. Topics include diversity, equity & inclusion, economic impact, civic engagement, charitable giving, and supply chain management.

• Environment evaluates a company’s overall environmental management practices as well as its impact on the air, climate, water, land, and biodiversity. This includes the direct impact of a company’s operations and, when applicable, its supply chain and distribution channels.

• Customers evaluates a company’s stewardship of its customers through the quality of its products and services, ethical marketing, data privacy and security, and feedback channels.

Why join the B Corp movement?

A belief in making a fair profit, recycling as much as possible; protecting the places we ride through; promoting cycling as a sustainable tourism; showcasing the many varied communities and using local produce; and caring for our staff…these were already values that we identified and sought to address and ameliorate. B Corp Certification was our next step.

And despite the disruptive nature of the COVID lockdowns and restrictions, this period was also an opportunity to undertake the rigorous assessment, documentation and verification process to achieve certification.

“A sustainable future for our world is exciting, fascinating, fun, full of opportunities, and achievable. Cycling can play a big role in creating this bright future. It's energy efficient, it gets you close to nature, it creates friendships, it clears your mind. This is why I created the Grand Tours Project: I want our guests to live meaningful experiences on the road while having the best holiday of their lives. Cycling is not just a sport: it’s a lifestyle and a philosophy” - Keith Tuffley, Founder of Grand Tours Project.

Finally, in becoming a certified B Corp company, we are able to access resources available to the B Corp to improve our positive impact, network with all other B Corps and to be able to share knowledge and expertise.

There are over 5,900 B Corps in 86 countries, representing 158 industries with one goal to transform “ the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet”.

Grand Tours Project will be creating new tours to specifically address global challenges around the SDGs’, focusing in climate action, Sustainable communities, Life on land and below Water, Gender Equality, as a call to action to help reimagine a better future for everyone by 2030. Grand Tours project supports the Global Goals and we wish to have a positive impact on people’s lives for those who join us - help with mental health and wellbeing.

Promoting ourselves through B Corp also promotes and shares the values of the whole community and Becomes a global force for good.

Join us on our journey to Being a Better Business: a B Corp Business

About B Lab Switzerland

B Lab Switzerland is the Swiss branch of B Lab, an international network that creates economic systems change through standards, policies, tools, and programs for business, and certifies companies—known as B Corps—who are leading the way. B Lab Switzerland supports businesses in the B Corp certification process and provides them with the tools to measure and improve their impact. B Lab Switzerland has also developed a solution-oriented sustainability program called the Swiss Triple Impact (STI).

To date, the Swiss community includes over 80 B Corps and at global level, over 5900 companies are Certified B Corps, in 86 countries and 158 industries. More information: https://blab-switzerland.ch/