Greening Tourism

MBA IN LEISURE & TOURISM MANAGEMENT MLT 309- TOURISM & THE ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM

Caring about the environment I. Following green practices in the tourism industry

May, 9, 2007

Oriol Miralbell

[email_address]

Caring about the environment I. Following green practices in the tourism industry

Why good practices?

Greening – the concept / the principles

Greening – the actions

Reasons for Greening – tourism

In class practice:

The greening tourism corporation

The greening tourism destination

Critical issues for Greening

Greening solutions – some examples

In class practice:

MBA IN LEISURE & TOURISM MANAGEMENT MLT 309- TOURISM & THE ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM © Oriol Miralbell – May,09,2007 [email_address]

Following green practices in the tourism industry Why good practices?

Does it make any sense?

Do practitioners gain any advantage?

How does it affect the business?

Is it at no cost?

Who appreciates it? Do we get any reward?

Who is involved?

Is it an ongoing practice?

What are bad practices, and why?

Who cares about good practices?

Is there any guidance?

When shall we start?

Following green practices in the tourism industry Greening – the concept / the principles

Good practices – based on

self consciousness

networking – knowledge sharing

cooperation

innovation

self consciousness

be aware

be convinced

be conscious

be informed

be connected

networking – knowledge sharing

talking

discussing

brain-storming

conferencing

cooperation

working together

finding common strategies

helping providers

advising

innovation

Green Hotels MBA IN LEISURE & TOURISM MANAGEMENT MLT 309- TOURISM & THE ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM © Oriol Miralbell – May,09,2007 [email_address]

Following green practices in the tourism industry Greening – the actions

Networking

Research

Education

Planning – Government

Balancing Greening & Policy

Organizations

Tourism and Hospitality Institute for Sustainable Development

http://www.thisd.org/

Their Mission:

To provide support, research, education and training on tourism and hospitality sustainability practices and procedures . We will work with partners committed to ‘moving the agenda forward’ in reducing the negative and enhancing the positive economic, environmental and social-cultural impacts of tourism, hospitality and related industries.

The Wuppertal insitute

Sustainable development requires an integrated approach to policy and science because many of the issues it raises cannot be addressed within a single department or using the tools of individual scientific disciplines. This is where the Wuppertal Institute's research programme begins - by taking an interdisciplinary approach and working towards systems understanding. Applied sustainability research is the Wuppertal Institute's stated mission.

The Institute was founded in 1991 under the direction of Professor Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker.

http://www.wupperinst.org/en/home/index.html

El CSIC

Dispositivos desarrollados por el CSIC para construir en Oviedo un hotel ‘inteligente’

El Proyecto Gemas, desarrollado por investigadores del Consejo

Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), aportará a la

construcción iniciada en Oviedo de un hotel inteligente ahorro de

energía, mayor confort y control de numerosos procesos con mayor

seguridad. En opinión de sus responsables, se trata del primer edificio

de Europa que contará con todos estos dispositivos en su estructura.

El proyecto cuenta con una subvención del Ministerio de Economía y

Hacienda a través de la Ley de Incentivos Regionales, se realiza en

cooperación con las empresas Proyectos Herca y Hernández Cabeza

Hoteles. El diseño y funcionamiento del futuro edificio se resume en los

siguientes tres apartados.

El CSIC

Dispositivos desarrollados por el CSIC para construir en Oviedo un hotel ‘inteligente’

ENERGÍA

El edificio utilizará energías renovables, que lo convertirán en

medioambientalmente sostenible. Los objetivos son alcanzar un coste

energético 0 y consumir el mínimo posible de materias primas, en

especial, de agua.

El hotel contará, entre otros, con los siguientes dispositivos:

• Robots captadores de energía solar térmica y fotovoltaica

• Robots captadores de energía eólica

• Sistemas de captación de energía geotérmica

• Pila de hidrógeno generadora de energía

• Sistema de captación, aprovechamiento, reutilización y reciclado

de agua

Sustainable Tourism Department

http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/sust-tourism/about.htm

About Sustainable Tourism

Sustainability, for tourism as for other industries, has three interconnected aspects: environmental, socio-cultural, and economic. Sustainability implies permanence, so sustainable tourism includes optimum use of resources, including biological diversity; minimization of ecological, cultural and social impacts ; and maximization of benefits to conservation and local communities. It also refers to the management structures that are needed to achieve this.

Some organizations prefer to speak of sustainable development of tourism, rather than sustainable tourism, for two main reasons:

For tourism to be sustainable it needs to be integrated into all aspects of development.

Some aspects of tourism, such as long-haul air travel, may simply not be sustainable with current technologies and best practices.

For more information on sustainable tourism:

The Convention on Biological Diversity

S ome important documents that discuss the concept of sustainable tourism are:

UNEP Principles on Sustainable Tourism

Biological Diversity and Tourism. The Convention on Biological Diversity International Guidelines for Sustainable Tourism (concise version)‏

UNEP input on Tourism to the CSD VII

WTO

EU Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas

Manila Declaration on World Tourism

Acapulco Documents on the Rights to Holidays

Tourism Bill of Rights and Tourism Code

The Hague Declaration on Tourism

Lanzarote Charter for Sustainable Tourism

Agenda 21 for Tourism & Travel Industry

Hainan Declaration - Sustainable Tourism in the Islands of the Asia-Pacific Regions

Québec Declaration on Ecotourism

Djerba Declaration on Tourism and Climate Change

What we do

Envolve is an innovative organisation, pioneering new approaches to help people live in more sustainable ways.We have over 12 years experience providing consultancy and managing excellent projects with businesses, community groups and schools. Uniquely, we deliver nearly all of our work alongside other organisations such as Housing Trusts, Councils, Universities and local community groups.

We are a charity. We also run a business consultancy and are responsible for running Green Park Station in Bath.

Why real tourism?

• The costs of ALL resources are rising - electricity, gas, oil, petrol, even landfill.

• Being resource-efficient makes simple business sense.

• It's good for marketing - increasingly, visitors want to see evidence of environmentally friendly behaviours. A 2002 survey by the English Tourism Council revealed that 84% of visitors would choose an accommodation provider who was part of a green accreditation scheme and that 68% would pay more to stay there.

• More tourism businesses are doing it (Envolve alone has helped more than 100 tourism businesses in this region to gain green credentials in recent years).

• The trick is to find the ways that best suit your business ...

... that's what real tourism is for .

Green Meeting Industry Council

The Green Meeting Industry Council is leading the meeting industry in improving meeting management by supporting collaboration and the development and dissemination of resources and opportunities that improve the environmental performance of meetings and events. The GMIC is the central location for information and tools to provide you with the green edge in creating meetings and events that:

* achieve economic objectives

* tread lightly on the earth

* contribute to host communities

Following green practices in the tourism industry Reasons for Greening – tourism

There is a demand (concerned tourists)‏

Sustainability (business concern)‏

Ethics (personal / social beliefs)‏

Trends (business innovation /

new demand / political innovation)‏

Innovation (business strategy)‏

Following green practices in the tourism industry Reasons for Greening – tourism

In class practice:

Debate on balancing political and private

Greening initiatives (20 minutes)‏

Following green practices in the tourism industry The greening tourism corporation

The greening entrepreneur

The greening management

Following green practices in the tourism industry The greening entrepreneur

Social entrepreneurship is attracting growing

amounts of talent, money, and attention.

But along with its increasing popularity has

come less certainty about what exactly a social

entrepreneur is and does. As a result, all sorts

of activities are now being called social entrepreneurship.

Some say that a more inclusive

term is all for the good, but the authors argue

that it’s time for a more rigorous definition.

Social Enterpreneurship

by ROGER L. MARTIN & SALLY OSBERG

Following green practices in the tourism industry The greening entrepreneur MBA IN LEISURE & TOURISM MANAGEMENT MLT 309- TOURISM & THE ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM © Oriol Miralbell – May,09,2007 [email_address] David Taylor and E. E. (Liz) Walley (2003)‏

Following green practices in the tourism industry The greening corporation

1. INTERNAL MANAGEMENT

Improve the sustainability of office operations

Minimise the impact of paper use

Follow responsible labour practices and respect human rights

Train staff on sustainability issues

2. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT

Select sustainable destinations

Design sustainable holiday packages

3. SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

Develop a ‘sustainable’ supply chain policy and action plan

Support suppliers in their efforts to improve performance

Promote compliance with sustainability standards

4. CUSTOMER RELATIONS

Communicate sustainability messages to customers

Advertise holidays responsibly

Protect customer rights

Provide opportunities for customers to express satisfaction and offer feedback

5. COOPERATION WITH DESTINATIONS

Build partnerships with local stakeholders

Philanthropy and charitable donations

MBA IN LEISURE & TOURISM MANAGEMENT MLT 309- TOURISM & THE ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM © Oriol Miralbell – May,09,2007 [email_address] UNEP, 2005

Following green practices in the tourism industry The greening tourism destination

Improving mature destinations

Fostering sustainable and green tourism

Helping economic development

Ethic tourism – social / fair tourism

Concepts & Definitions (1)‏

Sustainable Development of Tourism

Conceptual Definition (WTO, 2004)‏

"Sustainable tourism development guidelines and management practices are applicable to all forms of tourism in all types of destinations, including mass tourism and the various niche tourism segments. Sustainability principles refer to the environmental, economic and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development, and a suitable balance must be established between these three dimensions to guarantee its long-term sustainability.

Thus, sustainable tourism should:

1) Make optimal use of environmental resources that constitute a key element in tourism development, maintaining essential ecological processes and helping to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity.

2) Respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities, conserve their built and living cultural heritage and traditional values, and contribute to inter-cultural understanding and tolerance.

3) Ensure viable, long-term economic operations, providing socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders that are fairly distributed, including stable employment and income-earning opportunities and social services to host communities, and contributing to poverty alleviation.

Sustainable tourism development requires the informed participation of all relevant stakeholders, as well as strong political leadership to ensure wide participation and consensus building. Achieving sustainable tourism is a continuous process and it requires constant monitoring of impacts, introducing the necessary preventive and/or corrective measures whenever necessary.

Sustainable tourism should also maintain a high level of tourist satisfaction and ensure a meaningful experience to the tourists, raising their awareness about sustainability issues and promoting sustainable tourism practices amongst them."

Following green practices in the tourism industry Critical issues for Greening

Climate change ( sustainable economy, threats, opportunities)‏

Demographic charge / fatigue (limits of growth, social interaction,

cohabitation, negative environmental impacts)‏

Energy (consumption, provision, economy)‏

Local economy (commerce, food, handicrafts, diversification)‏

Mobility / communications (pollution, cost, charge, trends)‏

Natural environment (exploitation, balance /

sustainability, protection/ preservation of fragile constituents)‏

Real estate – urban planning (charge, culture, landscape,

service provision)‏

Social equity (labour, culture, traditions, identity)‏

Waste (recycle, accumulation)‏

Water (quality, supply, consumption)‏

Following green practices in the tourism industry Greening solutions – some examples

Accommodation

Transport / mobility

Intermediation

Leisure

Ecotourism

Accommodation Environmental Terms Definitions

Allergies:

Alternative Energy:

Bulk Soap and Amenities:

Compostable Disposables:

Composting:

Cotton Towels and Linens:

Donating to Charity:

Durable Service Items:

Eco-friendly Food Served:

Educate Guests About "Green":

Educate Staff About "Green":

Energy Conservation:

Environmental Cleaning:

Fresh Air:

Gray Water Recycling:

Guestroom Recycle Bins:

Hotel Recycle Bins:

Maintenance for Conservation:

Newspaper Program:

Non-Smoking Rooms:

Organic Food Served:

Participate in Green Programs:

Promote "green" in Their PR:

Recyclable Disposables:

Sheet Re-use Program:

Towel Re-use Program:

Transportation:

Water Conservation:

Xeric Gardens:

as used by the Environmentally Friendly Hotels

Solutions

Solutions...

What is TourBench?

TourBench is a freely available, practical and easy-to-use web-based, multilingual monitoring and benchmarking instrument that enables you to scan your accommodation with reference to/ on the basis of environmental issues . It helps you to determine the environmental impact of your accommodation over a period of years , based on the input of your company's consumption of (and costs for) energy, water, chemicals and waste production. Furthermore, it enables you to compare this impact with other, similar accommodation in your country or similar accommodation all over Europe. The input of data and the comparison with other accommodations is treated in confidence by the project partners.

What are the benefits?

The strengths and weaknesses of your accommodation with reference to their environmental impact are quickly made clear by the comparison with similar accommodation . In other words: what is the saving potential? Based on your own input, TourBench provides the necessary information to enable you to determine which investments might be profitable for you. Furthermore, TourBench informs you about success stories and gives tips on how to apply for national and international environmental certificates for the European Ecolabel (the EU flower) or for EMAS, the official European Eco-Management Scheme.

By saving the environment, you will save costs!!

TourBench helps you to improve the sustainability and the quality of your business continuously . Please contact one of the project partners for more information.

Integrating sustainability into tour operators' business practices

Effectively integrating sustainability into the tour operators' business means considering environmental, social and economic aspects throughout the process of developing a holiday package.

The key operating areas where tour operators can integrate sustainability practices are:

Internal management , by taking into account sustainability principles in the management of human resources, office supplies and production of printed materials;

Product development and management , by planning tours and selecting holiday package components that minimise environmental, economic and social impacts;

Contracting with suppliers , by integrating sustainability principles into the selection criteria and service agreements of suppliers;

Customer relations , by guaranteeing privacy, health and safety standards, and providing customers with information on responsible behaviour and sustainability issues at their destinations; and

Relations with destinations , by supporting destination stakeholders' efforts to address sustainability issues and proactively contributing to conservation and development projects.

Moreover, to ensure that activities targeted toward sustainability are comprehensive, credible and lead to long-term positive changes, it is important to integrate sustainability principles into corporate policy and management systems , and to monitor and report on performance.

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