Sustainability
Our goal is to continuously reduce the environmental impact of our operations and travel products, while increasing the positive value tourism creates for local communities in Jotunheimen and Valdres. Here is why and how.
SUSTAINABILITY AT JOTUNHEIMEN TRAVEL – THIS IS WHY WE CARE
At Jotunheimen Travel, we are true nature lovers. Whether we are out hiking, skiing or biking, we appreciate our beautiful surroundings and everything in it. It is therefore of utmost importance to us to be active in engaging ourselves and to take responsibility to protect our planet for generations to come. On this page, you can read everything about our vision, goals and ventures regarding sustainability.
This is an ongoing work in progress, as we embarked on a years-long journey to develop into a more and more sustainable business. Frequent updates will follow here – take a look what we are up to!
CERTIFICATIONS
Why are certifications important? Certifications in sustainability demonstrate an organization’s genuine commitment to responsible tourism. They lead to operational savings, legal compliance, market differentiation, and increased demand from sustainability-conscious travelers. These certifications also play a critical role in supporting broader goals of climate action, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable development.
Our Sustainability Awards and Certifications
The Travelife Certified award is a recognition of our excellence towards social and environmental sustainability. We comply with more than 200 criteria related to sustainability management, office operations, working with suppliers and customer communication.”
Travelife is a three-stage certification program for tour operators and travel agents: (1) Travelife Engaged; (2) Travelife Partner and (3) Travelife Certified. We are at stage 3 – Travelife Certified. Our certificate is valid until 22 December 2027 and will be reassessed then.
See our certificate here.
Our Valdres region is part of the Sustainable Destination network in Norway. This indicates that there is systematic work to develop sustainable tourism, and a requirement to document substantial improvement every 3 years. It includes not only environmental improvements, but also improvements in terms of the impact on the local community and the preservation of cultural heritage. Take a look here or here for more information.
The Eco-Lighthouse (Miljøfyrtårn) certificate is a recognized Norwegian certification for businesses committed to environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility. It signifies that a company meets strict environmental standards in areas like waste management, energy efficiency, transportation, procurement, and health and safety. The Eco-Lighthouse is aligned with international standards like ISO 14001. JVB has been certified since 2023 and will be newly assessed in 2026 by independent supervisors.
Our Suppliers
To us it is very important that our partners are just as invested in being sustainable as we are. We are proud to say that many of our suppliers have already set examples on being a radiant actor by getting certified. It is our goal at Jotunheimen Travel to have as many certified partners in our supply chain as possible. In the future, we will prioritize suppliers certified by independent corporations such as B Corp, Eco-lighthouse, Green Key, or ISO.
Below you will see a list of our suppliers who have already been certified, including certificate and link for more information. Note that this list will be updated regularly as more suppliers get certified.
See the List Here
| Name of Company | Type of Supplier | Certificate | Year of Certification | Info Link |
| Thon Hotels | Accommodation | Miljøfyrtårn | 2015 | ⇒ |
| Gomobu Fjellstue AS | Accommodation | Miljøfyrtårn | 2021 | ⇒ |
| Ruten Fjellstue | Accommodation | Green Key / Hanen | 2021 | ⇒ |
| Bygdin Høyfjellshotell AS | Accommodation | Miljøfyrtårn | 2024 | ⇒ |
| Gjendesheim DNT | Accommodation | Miljøfyrtårn | 2005 | ⇒ |
| Danebu Kongsgaard | Accommodation | Miljøfyrtårn / Hanen | 2022 | ⇒ |
| DNT Oslo og Omegn | Accommodation | Miljøfyrtårn | 2003 | ⇒ |
| Preikestolen Fjellstue Drift AS | Accommodation | Miljøfyrtårn | 2018 | |
| Oset Fjellhotel | Accommodation | Miljøfyrtårn | 2023 | ⇒ |
| Norway’s Best | Activities / Accommodation / Transport | Miljøfyrtårn | 2021 | ⇒ |
| Dovre & Lesja Aktiv | Activities | Miljøfyrtårn | 2025 | ⇒ |
| Lemonsjø Fjellstue & Hyttegrend | Accommodation | Miljøfyrtårn | 2026 | ⇒ |
| Herangtunet | Accommodation | Miljøfyrtårn | 2023 | ⇒ |
| Beito Resort | Activities / Accommodation | Miljøfyrtårn | 2019 | ⇒ |
| De Bergenske | Accommodation | Miljøfyrtårn | 2019 | ⇒ |
| Lindstrøm Hotell | Accommodation | Miljøfyrtårn | 2012 | ⇒ |
| Fjord Safari | Activities | Miljøfyrtårn | 2022 | ⇒ |
| Panorama Hotell | Accommodation | Miljøfyrtårn | 2011 | ⇒ |
“At JVB Travel, we believe it is our responsibility to ensure that our guests can explore nature in a way that not only preserves but also enhances our natural environment and local communities. Our goal is to create positive impacts for society while minimizing our ecological footprint.”
OUR PARTNERS: CREATING A STRONG NETWORK TOGETHER
Sustainability cannot be achieved alone. Only a common effort as a team and as a strong network can really facilitate change and make a difference in the Valdres and Jotunheimen region. Whether it is accommodations, transport companies, destinations, or guides: We strive to be good influencers and raise awareness when it comes to environmentally friendly practices, to make sure we all work towards the same goals.
Here are some relevant partners in the network of Jotunheimen Travel:
Accommodations
Guides
Activity Providers
Destinations
Transport
Local Food Producers
Heritage Places and Sights
OUR TRANSPORT SYSTEM
Making sure our guests get from the airport or from the big cities Oslo and Bergen all the way to Valdres and Jotunheimen in a comfortable way is a big priority for us. Our aim is to book seamless, comfy and efficient journeys for our customers that are an equally nice part of their trip, alongside their hiking or cycling activities, and not only a bare necessity.
At the same time, we need to be honest: That these means of transport create CO2 emissions, is unfortunately something we cannot avoid at this point, but also something we strive to minimize as much as possible. This is why all of our trips are designed around existing train and express-bus services. We want to actively reduce the need for guests to use a private car for the main journey to and from the destination.
Our operating principle:
“Public and shared transport where available – private transfers when necessary.”
With including shared, scheduled transport such as public busses and trains wherever possible, we reduce greenhouse gas emissions per passenger in comparison to diesel or petrol cars used individually.
At the same time, we do need to book taxis for our guests when some public buses no longer run after the high summer season.
One example for our taxi use is the stretch between Eidsbugarden and Tyinkrysset for guests who have booked our Green Route plus the fjord cruise to Bergen as an add-on. If the last day of the trip happens after the Norwegian school holidays, no bus will run for these 24 km, and we will book a taxi for you.
More Facts About Transport at Jotunheimen Travel
- Luggage transport with our own luggage cars makes for quite a big part of our transport system, with over 20.000 km of driving in one season. Most of the Mjølkevegen, as well as parts of our hiking trips are covered by our luggage cars. Since 2025, we have used electric vehicles with zero CO2 emissions for this purpose.
- Public buses are part of our luggage transport system as well. These are not only very practical for us, but can also serve several functions (transport of people and luggage). This way, we avoid that a (combustion) vehicle must drive just for the purpose of carrying some bags.
PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH – WHAT WE CONTRIBUTE IN DAILY OFFICE LIFE
We don’t use “sustainability” as a buzzword – we demonstrate it in practice. Even though it is great when you strive to make big changes, the small things matter too! Here are some sustainability practices that we have incorporated in our everyday lives in the office:
- Since our welcome packages for our customers include a branded, reusable beeswax cloth for your lunch pack, we have grown very fond of that wrap too. Many of our empolyees use it every day instead of using single use wrapping paper.
- Since 2026, we have a new way to assemble our welcome packages so that no envelope is needed. This way, we saved 368 paper envelopes only in the summer season 2026.
- We have a strict waste separation management system.
- We prefer public transport for our business travels.
- Our luggage cars for the summer season 2026 are 2 electric Ford Transit with zero emissions. We have used electric vehicles since 2025. In 2025, we saved about 5 tonnes of CO2 emissions from our luggage car in comparison to 2024 with a diesel vehicle.
Quo Vadis – Our Sustainability Goals for the Future
We are not perfect and a lot of big changes take time. But we have our goal in mind to be the leading actor for sustainable, nature-based travel experiences in our region. And we have big plans.
Here is a list of tangible goals we are working on at the moment, on our way to become the most high standard, environmentally friendly company we can be:
- Sustainability communication to our guests: Inform about the CO2 emissions of each of our products on the specific product pages.
- Measure and compensate for unavoidable transport emissions included in package prices.
- Hosting an annual open partner event where sustainable tourism is one of the main topics
Do you have any questions on our sustainability engagement?
Get in touch with our sustainability manager Georg!