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Environment Policy

Every time we set foot in a fragile landscape — forests, mountains, glaciers, peaks and the like — there is some impact on its ecosystem. Yet that impact can be managed and these ecosystems protected even as we carry on with the most exhilarating pursuits like mountaineering, trekking, skiing and rock climbing.

As a community of committed adventurers, Frontpoint Adventures works to preserve the ecological balance of every ecosystem we visit — whether the Himalayas, the Nilgiris, the Aravallis or any other natural setting. Having grown up around these mountains, we hold them in deep respect. Every one of our staff and guides appreciates how human presence affects the environment, and each is committed not only to protecting but also to conserving the ecosystems we enter.

To honour our pledge to keep our footprint as small as possible, we have drawn up a policy we are firmly committed to following. It comes in two parts: the first focuses on preserving the ecosystem by doing no further harm — “How we strive for a zero footprint” — while the second covers the new steps we are trying in order to conserve or improve it — “What we can do better”.

An ecosystem is a broad idea — it takes in people, animals, birds, landforms, vegetation and the interplay among them. Since influencing how the humans, birds or animals within it behave lies outside our remit, this policy concentrates on protecting and conserving the physical features: mountains, trails, rivers and other water bodies, grasslands, trees, campsites, snow-covered areas and peaks.

How we strive for a zero footprint

1. Avoid over-crowding

We know that some places, the Himalayas especially, are so popular that heavy visitor numbers already put them at environmental risk. Avoiding overcrowding is therefore our first principle, and it underpins most of our other commitments, because capping how many people reach an area at once is the first step towards letting nature recover. We manage this in two ways:

  • Maximum 15 people in one batch — we keep every group to between 12 and 15 people. Smaller groups generate less waste at any one time and let us manage it tidily.
  • Maximum of 250 persons per trek in one particular season — this is a major commitment that, frankly, makes little commercial sense for us — which is exactly the point. Short-term economics aside, these landscapes have to endure over the long term.

2. Managing waste efficiently and effectively

We handle three categories of waste:

  • Bio-degradable organic waste (food, etc.) — we keep this to a minimum wherever we can. Our team understands how precious food is, particularly in hard-to-reach areas, and we brief every participant on this — which, happily, works well. Thanks to our participants’ responsible behaviour, very little of this waste is produced, and we are grateful for it. Whatever is generated goes into pits dug deep enough (at least 3 feet) and covered over with earth. It breaks down quickly and can feed nearby vegetation with the nutrients it contains.
  • Toilet waste (urinal & latrine) — this is the hardest waste to deal with. India still lacks sufficient systems and processes to collect such waste and lodge it at proper facilities, so we take a two-part approach:
    • Low-altitude areas — where the ground is low-lying and earth is available, we dig deep pits (4 × 2 × 1 ft) and cover them with soil. We accept this is not the perfect answer, but it is what India’s mountaineering authorities (NIM & IMF) currently accept. We are also looking into carrying the waste out in biodegradable bags, though most towns in the Himalayan states lack proper sewers and the bags on offer are not robust enough for long carry-outs.
    • High-altitude areas — where deep snow, rock, moraine or glacial ice makes digging impossible, we pack the waste out in disposal bags, ultimately emptying them into earthen pits lower down or into sewers where these exist.
  • Non-biodegradable (plastic or glass) waste — this is the most harmful waste for any ecosystem and poses the greatest threat in places as remote as Himalayan terrain. We cut down on plastic wherever we can — using reusable steel or aluminium eating utensils and steering clear of sweets and junk snacks in plastic wrappers — and we encourage participants to do the same. Even so, avoiding plastic entirely is not realistic today, so every one of our tours follows a firm rule to carry out all plastic waste generated. We bring it all back to civilisation and deposit it in the bins set up for non-biodegradable waste at the nearest available point.

3. Keeping the water source clean

We set up our camps carefully so that water sources stay free of contamination, and we brief both team and participants on the precautions to observe when camping near natural water. Among others, three key precautions help us keep water sources clean:

  • Keeping toilet areas well away from the water source.
  • No littering and no washing of dishes or utensils near the water source.
  • Avoiding any use of soap or chemical cleaners in the stream.

The measures above represent our best efforts. We have published this policy not only to inform you but also to invite your feedback and suggestions so we can do better. Write to us at frontpointadventures@gmail.com with any thoughts.

What we can do better

On most of the treks and expeditions we run, we come across litter already lying about — and, most troublingly, scattered plastic. Below are the initiatives we have started to cut the waste on every trail and area we visit.

Be a “Plastic Eradicator”

We have kicked off our biggest-ever plastic-collection drive. Everyone who signs up with Frontpoint Adventures can take part, and the idea is simple — gather as much non-biodegradable waste as you can and win prizes!

  • Part 1 — any batch that together hands in more than 500 grams of non-biodegradable waste on one of our expeditions earns a “Rag-Picker” award — a Frontpoint voucher worth INR 300 per participant.
  • Part 2 — we keep a batch-by-batch record of plastic deposited, and the batch that turns in the most in a given month receives a “Recycle Bin” award — a Frontpoint voucher worth INR 1000 per participant.

*The contest runs on all our expeditions of two days or more, per the standard itinerary published on our website.

Be the “Idea-tor”

Frontpoint Adventures also welcomes ideas for managing waste better on our expeditions and for recycling plastic. Send any suggestions to frontpointadventures@gmail.com.

We will work with you personally to explore whether we can take the idea forward together and put it into practice. Even if we cannot implement it, we will share it across our forums with full credit to the “Idea-tor”, so it raises awareness and rallies volunteers.

And if you have articles or other creative material that could raise awareness and encourage people to act more responsibly on environmental sustainability, please pass them our way.