Boulder, CO - Sustainable Travel International announced today that Escape Adventures has just received its highest honor yet, a 4 out of 5-star rating through its Sustainable Tourism Eco-certification Program� (STEP).

STEP is the only global certification system offered by a non-profit organization that is designed to assist the international travel and tourism industry in attaining sustainability. STEP addresses the major environmental, socio-cultural and economic problems facing the tourism industry and the planet at large including global climate change, loss of biodiversity, waste management, economic development, and social issues. �STEP is undoubtedly one of the most challenging sustainable tourism certification initiatives in the travel and tourism industry because of the regimented and thorough criteria,� said Brian T. Mullis, president of Sustainable Travel International. �We are hoping that this new precedent will raise the bar for other tour operators who may not be as �green� as they claim and hopefully give other responsible companies something to aspire to.�

�Many meticulous months of on-site and in house audits and the adoption of new sustainability programs finally paid off,� explains Jared Fisher owner of Escape Adventures �We�ve discovered that instituting environmental, economic and socially-conscious measures makes good business sense as it results in increased competitive advantage and market reach while helping us to sustain our natural treasures,� Fisher concludes.

Some of the best practices instituted at Escape Adventures that paved the way for the company to achieve certification include: � Collecting used kitchen vegetable grease from local restaurants to fuel their tour vehicles; � Growing their own organic produce for their guest�s consumption; � Recycling 90% of company and guest waste; � Using only recycled products and buy merchandise with little or no packaging; and � Installing solar panels at their warehouse, office and bike shops For more information on STEP, please visit www.ecocertification.org. For more information on Escape Adventures, visit www.escapeadventures.com.

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Media Contact: Brian Mullis brianm@sustainabletravel.com (720) 273-2975