The kimkim Climate Action Pilot Program

We’re excited to launch a new partnership with ETC Africa and the Wilderness Leadership School, a South African non-profit with over 60 years of conservation leadership. Together, they are implementing the kimkim Climate Action Pilot Program, designed to help tourism play a more constructive role in addressing climate change.

The pilot has been shaped in close collaboration with Eco-Travel Boutique, who works closely with the participating properties and brings a long-standing commitment to responsible tourism. The 25 properties will be chosen because they are well known and frequently booked by kimkim travelers, grounding the program in trusted relationships and a shared appetite to understand impacts and improve over time.

The year-long initiative begins with onboarding and training workshops that introduce carbon footprinting as a practical sustainability metric, followed by baseline carbon assessments conducted by ETC Africa to establish tailored benchmarks and carbon budgets for each property.

Capacity building sits at the core of the program. Through virtual sessions and in-person cluster workshops, accommodation champions learn to measure and report emissions, implement reduction strategies, and communicate their efforts to guests. The program also supports localized, nature-based contribution projects, including community engagement, tree propagation, and education initiatives.

By the end of the year, participating accommodations receive a Climate Badge and guest-facing storytelling assets to share their sustainability journey. This partnership reflects our belief that thoughtfully designed tourism can influence behavior, build awareness, and support conservation economies at scale.