1. Preserving and respecting local culture and heritage
Indochina MICE promotes positive and meaningful exchanges between our business, our travelers and the local places we visit. We do this by:
• Respecting different cultures in all destinations we travel to.• Respecting local religions, religious places and rituals.
• Observing and respecting local customs and etiquette.
• Encouraging local interaction and understanding of the local way of life.
• Emphasizing appropriate dress standards.
• Asking permission before photographing.
• Forbidding the use of illegal drugs on our trips.
• Portraying destinations fairly and respectfully in our communications and marketing material.
2. Supporting responsible, local people and economic growth through tourism
Indochina MICE works to maximise the benefits generated by tourism for local economies and communities. We do this by:
• Employing predominantly local staffs and leaders within our operational teams
• Designing and operating trips to feature local suppliers or suppliers who directly benefit the local community and economy.
• Encouraging our travelers to purchase from local suppliers and use local service providers, as well as supporting social enterprises, local trade, arts and crafts.
• Purchasing sustainable and locally produced goods and services rather than imported products.
• Ensuring we have fair employment practices in place (and using suppliers who have similar employment practices).
• Involving the local community in decision making.
• Paying relevant taxes and send a fund to contribute to the community
• Not engaging in any form of bribery, corruption or fraudulent activities.
3. Preserving the environment
Indochina MICE aims to contribute to the preservation of natural and built environments in the destinations we visit, and to reduce the negative impacts our operations may have on the environment. We do this by minimizing the use of resources (energy, water, waste) and reducing our carbon emissions in our offices, on our trips and events, and in the destinations we visit.
In our offices
• Implementing energy conservation initiatives (such as more efficient lighting/equipment).
• Ensuring better waste management by using ‘avoid, reuse, reduce, recycle’ principles.
• Adopting better purchasing practices (eg. sourcing products with post-consumer recycled content).
• Implementing water-saving initiatives to reduce consumption.
• Operate and maintain company vehicles with due regard to environmental issues as far as reasonably practical and encourage the use of alternative means of transport and car sharing as appropriate;
• Using biodegradable cleaning products where available.
• Choosing sustainable supply sources where possible.
• Switching off electrical items when not in use and reducing water usage.
• Encouraging cycling or walking to work or sharing transport whenever possible.
• Providing the correct equipment with which to carry out required tasks.
• Maintaining company vehicles and equipment to a safe standard.
• Providing training on policy implementation and goals.
With our providers
• Sharing our sustainability goals and action plan with all suppliers.
• Selecting sustainable transport options whenever possible, giving priority to local companies to avoid unnecessary mileage.
• Encouraging transport companies to maintain their vehicles in good condition to improve efficiency and instruct their drivers on energy efficient driving practices.
• Encouraging transport companies to reduce their use of plastic bottles
Informing clients of transport options and sustainability impacts.
• Giving preference to accommodations which comply with sustainability and quality standards regarding their approach to energy, water, waste and human resource management.
• Encouraging partner accommodations to become sustainably certified.
• as far as possible purchase products and services that do the least damage to the environment and encourage others to do the same;
With our clients
• Offering events and activities which respect local natural and community welfare
• Providing clear information to guests about how to respect local culture nature and the environment.
• Promoting activities & accommodations which directly involve and support local communities & encouraging participation in local culture.
• Providing clear, honest information with indications about sustainable options where available.
• Protecting client information.
On our trips and events
• Using local transport where safe, reliable and feasible, and when this is not feasible, using private, locally owned transport.
• Ensuring our vehicles/fleets are well maintained and fuel-efficient.
• Encouraging travelers to minimize their waste and water usage on the trip.
• Encouraging our suppliers to adopt more sustainable practices or choosing suppliers who already have greener practices in place.
• Eating at local eateries (limiting food miles).
• Shopping at local markets offering local produce, items, souvenirs etc
In the destinations we visit
• Understanding the environmental issues in destinations and minimizing our direct impact.
• Ensuring our passengers preserve and do not contaminate the local water supply.
• Observing all national and marine park visitor rules.
• Using a ‘take in, take back out’ system of waste management in remote regions and national parks.
• Using established or existing tracks and paths.
• Minimizing the use of intrusive devices (such as lights) and keeping noise to a minimum at culturally significant sites and other sensitive places.
• Discouraging travelers from touching fragile environments (eg. coral or formations in caves).
4. Protecting vulnerable people (women, minorities and children) and animals
We protect and look after people – in particular, our most vulnerable – by observing basic human rights principles as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and ensuring we are promoting among our staff, travelers, local communities and suppliers/business partners, their right to be treated with dignity, equality, freedom and respect.
How we protect women and minorities:
- We promote equality through:
- Supporting enterprises run or staffed by women and/or minorities where available (such as local co-operatives, education initiatives etc.)
- Seeking women and minorities to be represented in decision-making that affects their local communities where possible.
- Ensuring we are not taking part in any activities or using suppliers/services that discriminate against, exploit or traffic women and/or minority groups.
How we protect children:
- We protect children (those 17 years of age and under) from all forms of abuse:
- We do not employ children, nor do we use suppliers or patron places that allow children to perform work that is illegal or likely to jeopardise the child’s health, safety or morals.
- We put in place strong measures to ensure that Indochina MICE’s respective suppliers, travelers and partners are not involved in the exploitation of children, including training relevant employees/leaders on child protection and raising awareness among our passengers on how to report incidents of child exploitation.
- We promote credible initiatives that safeguard and assist in the positive development of children (eg. schools and childcare initiatives).
- We do not visit children’s shelters or orphanages on our itineraries or on press/media trips.
How we protect animals:
We oppose any exploitative or illegal practices and those that have a negative impact on animal welfare. As a company we work towards promoting the five freedoms that should be available to all animals, wild or domestic:
- Freedom from hunger and thirst.
- Freedom from discomfort.
- Freedom from pain, injury and disease.
- Freedom to express normal behaviour.
- Freedom from fear and distress.
- We conduct appropriate research to ensure we do not promote, visit or participate in any activities that are failing to uphold the five freedoms listed above.
5. Giving back through NGO partnerships
We develop meaningful partnerships with organisations and projects that care for the community and environment through fundraising, advocacy or lobbying activities. We only work with organisations who can demonstrate:
• Good governance over their projects (that they are legal, transparent and accountable).
• Integrity to fulfil their mandate and measure and evaluate the impact of their programs.
• They do not participate in any activities that harm people, animals or the environment.
• They do not force religious or political affiliations on others.
• They are not solely reliant on funds from Indochina MICE.
• Peacefulness in their aims and objectives
• We do not offer short-term, unskilled voluntarism opportunities on our itineraries.
* Contact Info
Hanoi Head Office: 5 Ly Nam De, Hang Ma ward, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Ho Chi Minh City Branch Office: 5th floor, Halo Building, 3-5 Road 3-2, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Singapore Marketing Office: 547 Jurong West Street 42 #08-141, S640547
Hotline: +84 989345302 (phone/whatsapp/zalo)
Mail: sales@indochinamice.net
