WHAT DRIVES US

"The wild beauty of the coastal landscapes at this western edge have inspired and shaped who we are and what we stand for. We’re all too aware of the gargantuan challenges ahead of us as we play our part in re-shaping the we live to balance the needs of a thriving planet. Meeting those challenges means building the best delivery team we can and looking after the places and people that look after us as though our future depends on them." 


Andy Middleton, TYF Founder and Chief Exploration Officer

  • pEOPLE
  • Planet
  • Place

Head, heart and soul, we’re committed to running TYF in a way that maximises the well-being our teams, customers, suppliers and community. As a certified Living Wage Employer with progressive work practices, we try to walk the talk and share what we learn widely and freely with others. 


We manage our retail business in line with our values too, working with B Corp suppliers such as Patagonia, Thought, Maier Sports and Kleen Kanteen as well as mission-based makers like Sherpa who reinvest profit where it matters.  

Suppliers

UNICEF

“Some 1.2 million children are now estimated by the UN to be trafficked annually. Around 246 million children are also thought to be involved in child labour.”

Can we justify buying goods produced by child and slave labour? Are we willing to sit back and watch other companies abusing the environment and their host communities? Absolutely not! 


We’re been working with the valued support of No Sweat, CIPS (Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply) and ETI (Ethical Trading Initiative) to enable us to work to ensure that all of our suppliers respect people, planet and place. 


We’ve got a great deal of work ahead of us, but we’re already making good progress click the links below to find out more. 

Fairtrade

Harriet Lamb, Fairtrade Foundation

“Rising sales of Fair Trade chocolate and cocoa show that it is possible for cocoa buyers to pay a stable, equitable price to farmers and still succeed commercially.” 

Can we justify buying food that is unfairly traded, locking small farmers into a cycle of poverty, vulnerability and desperation? No! 


When commodity prices fall it can have a catastrophic impact on the lives of small-scale farmers and result in crippling debt, the break-up of families and the loss of their land and homes. We buy Fairtrade wherever possible to give these small farmers a better chance.

Customers

Stacy Marklew, TYF

“We’re on a journey to re-design retail so that it helps our customers make better decisions and get better products every day, wherever they are."

We help our customers step up and forwards on a lifetime journey of care, adventure and pursuit of worthwhile goals in line with the limits of this one planet of ours. We want to learn, grow and develop together, for generations, not transactions. 


Every product or service we provide do carries a personal guarantee of trust, care and quality. We respect our customers and work to ensure that their time spent doing business with us is 100% positive.


We don’t often get things wrong, and if we do, try to learn fast and well. If our customers are ever unhappy, we do something about it. Guaranteed.If there’s anything we can do to fix something that wasn’t what you expected, or you come across something that others are doing that would work at TYF, please call or e-mail talk@tyf.com  

Team

Our Team

Friendships spanning three decades

We’re proud to have a team of mission-focused professionals driving TYF year-round. They’re joined by 25-30 seasonal adventure, education and retail specialists for our main delivery season. They are the driving force that inspires our customers and are rewarded well, with benefits including:

  • Real Living Wage
  • Extensive training and growth opportunities
  • Surf Time Policy - work (often) can wait when the waves are firing
  • Being part of the coolest business tribe on the planet - B-Corp
  • Able to make a difference though what they do, every day.

Our extended team includes many of the few hundred adventure, retail and organisation development maestros who cut their teeth at TYF and still keep in touch for work and play. If you’ve got skills, passion and magic to add to the TYF mix and could be interested in joining us full time, seasonally or as an associate, then drop a line to samantha.m@tyf.com or come and see us at 1 High Street, St. Davids, Pembrokeshire, SA62 6SA

Pro Bono

WaterAid

Over a billion people do not have access to safe water and over two and a half billion people in the world lack adequate sanitation.

We’re not in favour of ‘giving back’ – that smacks too much of having taken something that you maybe shouldn’t have. As a mission-driven B Corp, everything that we do at TYF is impact focused and we create as much value as we can, every day – our dream is to become a regenerative, net positive business. 


We regularly give our time for free to help others do more with theirs. We give talks through Speakers4Schools, provide loads of work experience and provide free advice to impact businesses that aren’t in a position to pay yet. Now and then, we’re lucky enough to build long-term relationships with charities; Water Aid is one of those. 


In case you didn’t know WaterAid’s strategy is to make water, toilets and hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere. Water Aid run a canny programme, Business4Life, that brings together young water professionals to learn and fund raise together. We provide a team programme for their new intakes and since WaterAid in 2003 we have helped them raise over £300,000. Read more here 

Located in the stunning Pembrokeshire Coast National Park in Wales, The TYF Group knows a thing or two about a great environment and how to provide the best sustainable adventures.


The local area offers some of the cleanest coastal waters in Europe. It is also very rich in wildlife and features some incredible landscapes and seascapes. We’re taking action to protect our planet for future generations, and hope that our initiatives inspire others.

Pembrokeshire Outdoor Charter Group

Pembrokeshire Outdoor Charter Group

“The Charter ensures that adventurous activities do not negatively impact on Pembrokeshire's beautiful coastline, local communities and the wide variety of wildlife that call the area home."

The Pembrokeshire Outdoor Charter Group was started by TYF Adventure and a collection of other outdoor activity businesses, environmental education centres and conservation organisations, this group works to minimise the damaging environmental impacts of outdoor activities within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. 


Members follow a strict code of conduct and encourage the careful selection of outdoor adventure sites. The group also promotes a better understanding of the wildlife and countryside of Pembrokeshire, and works to encourage the sustainable use of the Pembrokeshire countryside. 

  • Protecting the natural environment
  • Operating safely
  • Showing consideration for local communities
  • Reducing the wider environmental impact and sharing this with others
  • Attend our training events which we hold regularly to develop and share best practice methods

Surfers Against Sewage

Surfers Against Sewage

"Together, we are the voice of the ocean"

By supporting SAS’s campaign for clean, safe recreational waters, we help the campaign to keep the seas free from raw and partially treated sewage, toxic waste and nuclear waste. SAS constantly challenges industry, legislators and politicians to end their ‘pump and dump’ policies. 

Carbon Neutral

Andy Markham, WWF

“Climate Change is not some slow, controlled change – It’s fast, it’s unpredictable, and it’s unprecedented during human civilisation.”

We use our business activities as a force for good and we have been carbon neutral for over a decade, helping us to combat climate change, the greatest environmental threat facing the planet. 


TYF Adventure was the first carbon neutral outdoor adventure company in the world, and is committed to providing the very best in sustainable adventure. 


We use a combination of Solar and Biomass to help reduce our emissions and keep energy use as efficient as possible. 

Green Energy

The TYF Group buys all of its electricity from Good Energy, the only UK supplier providing 100% green electricity produced from the natural energy of wind, sun and running water. By using green electricity, we help combat climate change by reducing our carbon dioxide emissions. 


To find out more or sign up for green energy in your home, business or other organisation, visit www.good-energy.co.uk.

St. Davids Eco City

St. Davids Eco City

The worlds first carbon neutral city

This exciting project aims to make St. David’s the first carbon neutral city in the world and demonstrate how we can all help reduce the environmental damage caused by climate change. 


The project isn’t run by TYF, but it was Initiated and supported by Andy Middleton, TYF’s Chief Exploration Officer, together with a number of other highly-motivated local people and organisations.

B-Corp

We believe business must create value for society, by addressing challenges and improving the quality of life in our communities. We want to associate with businesses who care about the long term, not short term profits. 


The TYF Group Ltd became a Certified B Corporation in 2015. B Corps are a new type of company that uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. B Corp certification is to business what Fair Trade certification is to coffee or USDA Organic certification is to milk. 


We were certified by the non-profit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. We’ve evaluated how our practices impact our employees, our community, the environment, and our customers. 


Today, there are over 1,300 Certified B Corps around the globe, including Patagonia, Method, and Klean Kanteen. We are proud to join them in redefining success in business, so that one day everyone uses business as a force for good. To learn more about our certification, check out our B Corp profile here

Act Locally, Think Globally…We address world issues such as climate change and pollution of the seas by taking action locally. 


We also work to support the local community and economy as much as we can by providing employment, buying local produce, using local services, and protecting the local environment. 


TYF staff regularly spend time on local community projects, either through an individual employee’s choice or as a group intervention. A couple of the activities we have recently supported are:

Youth Groups

Youth Groups

Coasteering, Kayaking, Surfing, Climbing & SUP Sessions for local groups

TYF has supported local scout, brownie and youth groups since the very beginning introducing thousands of young people to a lifetime of adventure.


We also run an after school adventure club for more information email learn@tyf.com or call 01437 721 611. 

Local Schools

Local Schools

Running workshops and activity sessions for all year groups

TYF work closely with local schools, and offer subsidised adventures and school workshops such as Compass for Life. 


If you are a school interested in working with TYF please email learn@tyf.com or give us a call on 01437 721 611. 

RNLI

RNLI

Established in St. Davids in 1869

Our close relationship with the ocean means that we have a deep respect for the RNLI, a charity that provides a 24-hour lifesaving service around England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The RNLI’s crews give up their time and comfort to carry out rescues in difficult and often dangerous conditions. 


The charity relies on support in order to train and equip the volunteer lifesaving crews. Some employees have served on the local lifeboat crew and we work hard to raise funds for them. 

Porthmawr SLSC

Porthmawr SLSC

Established in St. Davids in 1960

Our relationship with Porthmawr SLSC goes back three generations to when it was started by Dr. George Middleton. We continue to support them today, running our activity sessions for their nippers and supporting different fundraising campaigns during the year. 


To join the club or find out more visit www.porthmawrslsc.org.uk

Environmental Policy

We aim to run our business as a leading example of sustainable business practice and, in doing so, demonstrate that sustainable business makes good sense. To minimise our impact on the environment, influence others and protect the environment for future generation we will continue to:


Tackle Climate Change

 - Maintain carbon neutral status, by supporting international renewable energy and energy efficiency schemes. 


 - Actively integrate climate change awareness and action into all TYF products and services. 


 - Use only 100% Green Electricity generated from renewable resources, including our own PV array and strive to reduce consumption. 


 - Work to minimise the use of fossil fuelled transport due to business operation and by our customers getting to us.


Green Our Supply Chains

 - Procure stock and supplies that are manufactured from organic and/or recycled materials, wherever possible. 


 - Maximise the amount of goods sold in the shop that come from leading ethical brands such as Patagonia, Thought, Keen. 


 - To work with other retail suppliers to improve their environmental performance.To stock products that have a long lifetime and help customers live sustainably. 


 - Purchase only high performance light bulbs and the most energy efficient electrical appliances. 


 - Use eco-friendly paints and other materials for building alterations and maintenance.


Reduce, Reuse and Recycle 

 - Recycle at least 95% of waste glass, tins, plastic bottles and paper. 


 - Compost all suitable organic material. 


 - Minimise printing and the use of paper for printing. 


Work in partnership with others to protect the environment 

 Continue supporting environmental charities, including through our commitment as a certified B Corp.Encourage customers, suppliers and staff to become more sustainable in their daily lives.Develop and contribute to the Pembrokeshire Outdoor Charter Group, which works to minimise the damaging environmental impacts of outdoor adventures within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.Promote a cycle to work scheme.The TYF Group will also continue to:Have a significant annual review and operate an ethical and environmental management system linked to B CorpMonitor and improve environmental performance on an ongoing basis, keep up to date, and comply with all environmental legislation and avoid pollution.Enforce the TYF Group’s ban on the use of synthetic horticultural pesticides on company property.The TYF Group’s sustainability & environmental policy is constantly maintained, developed and updated, and undergoes a significant annual review.