Our Story
At GLP, we are passionate about storytelling…and that goes for our own story, too. For 15+ years we’ve been working with destinations, brands, and tourism businesses to showcase the positive impact of sustainable tourism on local communities and the environment. We're honored to be a part of so many incredible stories.
A History of GLP
2008: Inspiration on the Highway
In 2006, Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" documentary film hit the screens and opened many eyes to the devastating effects of climate change. Among the countless people who were inspired by the film was Rob Holmes, a photographer and entrepreneur with 15 years of experience as a freelance photojournalist. Rob was moved not only by the message of sustainability but by the power of video as a medium for storytelling.
"At the time, I was traveling around presenting slideshows of my photographs," recalls Holmes. "After seeing Gore's film, I realized that video was a different, more powerful way to convey stories."
Holmes was ready to dive head-first into the unfamiliar territory of video, but he wasn't quite sure what form his endeavor would take. It wasn't until 2008 that this passion project began to take shape. As Rob traveled along the breathtaking Hana Highway in Maui, surrounded by lush green mountains and jungle, the name struck him at once: Green Living Project. And with that, the foundation of the business that would later become GLP Films was born.
2008-2012: The Early Years of Video Storytelling
In March of 2008, Green Living Project launched its first campaign. The 3-person team (Rob the director, Molly the writer, and John the cameraman) traveled to Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania for over a month with the goal of capturing and sharing positive stories of conservation through engaging video.
"There was no real strategy, no 'business plan' behind it," recalled Holmes. "We just wanted to capture cool, local stories about conservation that would encourage and inspire people."
This early work consisted of simple, honest video presentations of positive and inspiring stories.
“From there, we took off. I was hiring freelancers left and right, and we traveled around the country doing presentations of our work,” says Holmes. The team filmed projects around the globe, from Maine to South America to Africa, working with small partners and tour operators.
"Looking back at our early films, you can see how they were a bit plain," says Matt Weatherly, GLP's videographer, who first came on board back in 2009. "But after our first campaigns, we began to sharpen our storytelling skills and were able to focus on the most engaging way to present the people and the stories we were capturing.”
“I realized that video was a different, more powerful way to convey stories.”
2013: Rebranding to GLP Films
By 2012, when the Green Living Project team traveled back to Africa to capture a unique story about Okapi conservation, they had developed a very effective storytelling process and technique. Matt called the project a "big turning point," stating, "from the stories that we captured to the finished project--that was a bar-raising moment for us."
At that time, Green Living Project had a variety of different avenues of work, from an educational program to a mobile tour, but it was clear that the company needed a more concrete business structure and a more focused audience. In 2013, the new team, which now included new Laura Vassey (who would later become the Director of Marketing and Communications) identified and focused on its target market.
"This is where the business model really began," Holmes says. "We started to look at the current trends and scale our business."
Rebranding was a long process, but the team realized that all of their avenues of work--food, wildlife, conservation, and education--could be tied into the tourism sector. As they honed in on their video storytelling skills and the travel industry, Green Living Project morphed into GLP Films.
2016: An Award-Winning Turning Point
By 2016, GLP had come a long way from its humble beginnings, and that year marked a major "aHa!" moment for the team. The film crew had conducted a project on the Salkantay Trek in Peru in partnership with Mountain Lodges of Peru, and the film they produced won ATTA's Adventure in Motion film award.
“This was our first of many major awards,” Holmes remarks. “After eight years, we finally felt like a legitimate business.”
"We actually used a lot of fundamental elements in that film that we're still doing today," Matt recalls. "High-quality content and strategic stories–plus we had 5 staff and a 3-person film crew."
After winning this award, GLP Films began working with larger partners, including governments and DMOs. GLP collaborated on major marketing and video production projects with Raja Ampat, Georgia (the country), and Maine, and just as business was ramping up….COVID hit.
2019-2021: Focus on GLP’s Sustainability Roots
The COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill in 2020, and the tourism industry was hit especially hard. "COVID put a halt to everything," Holmes remembers. "So, we took that opportunity to slow down and rethink GLP’s vision."
Sustainability had always been tied to the mission of GLP, but it wasn't the sole focus prior to 2020. "I started GLP to tell positive stories in conservation. That’s the ‘Green’ in Green Living Project,” says Holmes. “Sustainability was not an industry term yet. But ironically, most of the stories we had told by 2019 did have a sustainability angle.”
“Sustainability was a strong passion of Laura's," Holmes and Weatherly agree. "She was incredibly impact-focused, and she was instrumental in shaping our team and our mission."
Throughout the pandemic, as the tourism industry took a respite to recenter and refocus, GLP restructured its mission and got back to its “green” roots. By focusing on sustainable tourism, the company hoped to be an integral part transforming the tourism industry to be more resilient. The company's messaging became more focused on educating people on the importance of sustainability and conservation in the travel industry.
“It’s not enough to just love your work–we wanted our work to make a real impact,” says Holmes. “So we shifted our mission to focus on ways that GLP could support destinations in reaching their sustainability goals in protecting nature, communities, culture and heritage through the lens of storytelling and content marketing…And we’ve stayed true to that mission to this day.”
Today: A Leading Storytelling Agency for Sustainable Tourism
As the world continues to recover from the pandemic, GLP is in a strong position to continue its mission of promoting sustainable tourism.
“We’ve built something really unique,” says Holmes. ““It’s been a rollercoaster ride, but we’ve learned a ton along the way, and we keep getting better. And what’s most satisfying to our team is our amazing global partners and reputation for helping moving tourism forward. Relationships are everything. And we thrive doing our part to help make tourism better.”
Recently voted the #1 Storytelling Agency by Newsweek Magazine, the GLP Team thrives on helping destinations succeed as sustainability leaders and pioneers in this new travel era. The company has a deep bench of talent, a wealth of experience, and a well-established brand that is recognized in the industry.
With the ever-increasing threats of climate change, environmental degradation, and overtourism, the travel industry needs to adopt sustainable practices now more than ever. In the years to come, GLP Films will undoubtedly continue to play a major role in shaping the way we think about sustainable travel and the impact we have on the world around us.
As Holmes says, “Together we can tell amazing stories to inspire and create important change. So let’s go! Because tourism needs us more than ever.”