New Statement of Sustainability
While Boundary Country Trekking has had a policy on sustainability for several years, this policy has been up updated. The following is our new sustainability policy-
Boundary Country Trekking Statement of Sustainability The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro- 1992 stated that sustainable development, " must meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
We agree with this statement and we seek to operate our business accordingly. We believe it is the right thing to do. It is being a good corporate citizen. We also believe it is good for our “bottom line.” While we are in business to make a living, our business also has a long-standing commitment to preserving and protecting our local neighborhood along the Gunflint Trail and our larger community in northeast Minnesota.
We support controlled-sustainable growth but only when such growth does not violate the "authenticity" of our community.
We support our local community by hiring staff and by purchasing of our supplies locally, as much as possible. We believe in treating our neighbor's life styles, businesses and professions with respect. We support paying our employees a decent wage– well above the dismal minimum wage.
While our company supports and practices, environmentally preferred purchasing, energy conservation, recycling, and the USFS's "leave no trace" program and so on, we understand that such individual acts are meaningless gestures in relation to the environmental peril facing our planet. While we understand neither our business nor us, alone, are going to change the world, we will attempt to do are part and we continue to strive to sustain and preserve our small corner of this planet. Globally and nationally, we support actions necessary to address what, we feel, are the two most pressing issues facing our planet today- global climate change, and poverty.
For more information on what we are doing to become a more sustainable business go to our Sustainable Business Practices Implementation Plan.
Ted and Barbara Young, Boundary Country Trekking and Little Ollie Lodging, Co-owners
June 12, 2007
Note: we consider this "Statement of Sustainability and our "Sustainable Business Practices Implementation Plan" as "works in progress." It is our intention to regularly review and alter these documents as additional and/or more pertinent actions are brought to our attention.