About Us
Our vision
We want travellers to experience the authentic spirit of Lisbon, connecting them with people making a difference around the city.
With the Circular Pass, we are promoting a more responsible and conscious model of tourism that benefits travellers, local communities and the environment.
The NGO
The Circular Shift
We are a group of passionate travellers - some born and raised in Lisbon, others who discovered its charms before calling it home. We've seen how tourism can shape the city, and have often been frustrated by the realisation that a significant proportion of tourism spending doesn't benefit local communities, resources or businesses.
Yet we know from experience that many of us are looking for ways to contribute. We created The Circular Shift with the aim of making tourism in Lisbon more equitable by giving travellers an easy way to give back to the local community.
The Circular Pass offers tourists a way to support local businesses and environmental or social projects, ensuring that their spending benefits the people and places that make Lisbon so unique. It's not just about exploring the city - it's about giving back in a meaningful and sustainable way.
Our Commitments
Environmental Responsability
The situation is clear: we can no longer live as we have been if we want to preserve a liveable plane. It’s everyone’s responsibility to take actions to reduce their environmental footprint and push governments and companies to do the same.
We founded The Circular Shift as citizens committed to doing our part and giving travellers a simple way to play theirs. We want to promote a low-footprint consumption by connecting visitors to places like plant-based restaurants, artisanal products, local producers... so in the same time giving the money to people making a difference around Lisbon.
Transparency
As trust in an NGO is based on its credibility, maintaining full transparency in our accounts and mission is a top priority. We are committed to publishing annual reports and audited financial statements.
The social and environmental projects we fund are pre-selected through an open call for applications that anyone can view, and are funded based on the votes of passholders.
Social Justice
Much of the money spent by travellers around the world doesn't end up in the hands of local people, but instead flows to foreign investors. We sincerely hope to break this vicious circle by offering to connect visitors with the local population, ensuring that the Portuguese economy truly benefits from tourism.
As we say: without social justice, the fight to protect the environment would be gardening. Efforts to protect ecosystems must go hand in hand with the fight against inequality. That is why we support both environmental and social organisations.
Sustainable Travelling
We feel incredibly lucky to be able to explore the beauty of our planet and the richness of our cultures. We're committed to making this exploration more sustainable by offering authentic and meaningful stays.
To support this, we encourage everyone to choose low-emission transport such as trains, buses, trains, bicycles, sailboats, etc. Travelling by plane or cruise ship has an extremely high impact on the environment and we don't believe in the current carbon offset system as a solution.
The Circular Pass allows travellers to reduce their local impact and contribute to local sustainability, but it can't compensate for the footprint of high-emission travels.
About us
Our Team <3
If you meet us somewhere in the city, you'll be surprised to see this lively group of Portuguese, French, Germans, Irish... some engineers, some tourist guides, CEOs or lawyers.
We all love to explore, to venture, to travel. We have the same way of valuing social relationships and a common desire to protect our ecosystems.
You can find us dancing at music events or exploring art galleries across the city, climbing cliffs in Arrábida or sharing waves in Costa da Caparica. And if you do spot us in Caparica, please let us know, we’ll be happy to go to Bone free for a delicious vegan burger - it’s one of our partners ;)
