February updates from GreenStep Sustainable Tourism
MEASURING SUSTAINABILITY: THE STATE OF THE CANADIAN TOURISM INDUSTRY
Over the last decade, sustainability has become increasingly important as a value for visitors, and as a key component for a thriving tourism industry. In 2021, GreenStep launched the Sustainable Tourism 2030 Pledge in partnership with the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC), to encourage uptake towards a more vibrant and sustainable tourism industry in Canada.
The pledge asks tourism businesses and destinations across the country to measure their sustainability performance using the free online Sustainability Score assessment, recognized by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), and to make a public commitment to improve their performance each year until 2030.
With hundreds of tourism businesses across Canada now having taken the Sustainability Score assessment, the Sustainable Tourism Dashboard enables anonymous aggregation of the results to help tourism destinations, policy makers, and other industry stakeholders understand how the tourism industry is performing at a local, provincial, national, and eventually, international level.
Continue reading on our blog to see the key areas where support is needed to improve performance.
TIRES, WIRES, AND A WHOLE LOT OF PLASTIC: SPIRIT OF THE WEST ADVENTURES CONCLUDES MARINE DEBRIS CLEAN-UP PROJECT
If the average Gray Whale weighs between 40,000 to 60,000 pounds (we’re talking 4 to 5 elephants), let’s imagine for a moment what that would look like in waste.
Now, double it. Spirit of the West Adventures, Sustainable Tourism Certified member and sea kayaking operator based out of Vancouver Island, collected over 100,000 pounds of debris during their Marine Debris Clean-Up this past December. Undertaken during one of the rainiest and windiest seasons yet, the project spanned twelve weeks and covered an impressive 357 kilometers of shoreline along the Northern Discovery Islands. The entire project was conducted by just 18 youths, as well as 7 who identify as ‘young at heart’, and was encouraged and supported by local communities.
[Continue reading on our blog]
KOOTENAY ROCKIES BECOMES FIRST SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DESTINATION IN CANADA
We are proud to announce that the Kootenay Rockies region is the first destination to be certified by GreenStep Sustainable Tourism! As the official Destination Management Organization for the region, Kootenay Rockies Tourism Association underwent a rigorous assessment process and formal evidence review to achieve Sustainable Tourism Silver Certified Destination.
GreenStep is the first and only Canadian-based provider of tourism industry certifications for both tourism businesses and destinations. Our Sustainable Tourism Destination standards has achieved formal-recognition by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) and aligns with both the GSTC’s Indicators of Sustainable Development for Tourism Destinations and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, following global best practices for sustainable tourism destination management.
Said Angela Nagy, CEO of GreenStep, “We congratulate Kootenay Rockies Tourism Association for this important achievement in measuring and verifying the sustainability performance of their destination, and for putting in place their Sustainability Charter and action plan to help guide their continued improvement over time.”
[Continue reading on our blog]
SANDMAN HOTEL & SUITES KELOWNA PILOTS GO GREEN PROGRAM
Our team at GreenStep is thrilled to announce the pilot of Sandman Hotel & Suites Kelowna’s ‘Go Green’ program! The program was developed in collaboration with GreenStep, British Columbia Hotel Association and Rethink2gether, with the simple but powerful aim to identify energy conservation projects and sustainability opportunities for the hotel and their two Kelowna restaurants, Moxie’s Grill & Bar and Denny’s.
As part of this program, GreenStep will be conducting energy, waste, and water audits, as well as carbon footprint measurements across all operations of the hotel. The BCHA Energy Analyst will also provide a desktop energy assessment, and Rethink2gether will provide food waste measurement for the restaurants.
This program is supported and partially funded by GreenStep’s innovated EcoFund program, which creates a fund for hotels to invest in carbon cutting projects at their properties at no cost. We are proud to support Sandman Hotel Group in implementing real change for their hotels, the environment, and the communities that they serve!
GREENSTEP WELCOMES NEWEST EUROPEAN SUSTAINABLE TOURISM MEMBER, LIVTOURS!
Our team at GreenStep is pleased to welcome our newest European Sustainable Tourism member, LivTours! Situated in Rome, LivTours is a family-owned tour operator company that offers over 300 hand-crafted tours and experiences across Europe. Since its founding, LivTours has become recognized as a leader industry-wide for its unique guiding principles: to respect the rich, cultural and environmental heritage of the destination, and to share that same environment with each and every traveler along the way through the passion and eyes of the professional guides. In addition to certification, our team at GreenStep will be working closely with LivTours to measure the carbon footprint and impact of their tours, to be publicly reported and shared with guests to help them make informed decisions when booking.
Kirstin Karstendotter, Co-owner of LivTours, shares: “Working towards GreenStep’s Sustainable Tourism Certification is an important next step in our responsibility as a tour operator. Taking immediate action and gaining more knowledge on how we can lower our impact as a company while giving back to the communities we affect is evermore critical. GreenStep complies with international standards recognized by the GSTC, and provides simple and effective hands-on guidance through the certification process. We look forward to working closely with GreenStep on our certification journey, and we are proud to be leaders as the first tour operator in Italy doing so. We hope more tour operators across the global community will commit to this effort in making tourism more sustainable.”
GREENSTEP FREE WEBINARS FOR TOURISM BUSINESSES
GREEN ECONOMY’S EV CHARGER INCENTIVE PROGRAM
For Canadians, electric vehicles are set to become the new normal, perhaps sooner than you think. Just recently, Canada rolled out its mandatory target for all new light-duty cars and passenger trucks to be zero-emissions by 2035, set to reduce the country’s total GHG emissions by 25%.
Access to charging stations will soon become critical for residents and travelers alike, which is why Green Economy Canada has announced its $3.9M EV Charger Incentive Program, funded by Natural Resources Canada. Through this program, for-profit and not-for-profit organizations in Canada may be eligible for reimbursements of up to 50% of total project costs for installing EV charging stations (up to $100,000).
Please note: until March 21st, the program is only reviewing applications from organizations that self-identify as being majority-led or owned by individuals belonging to an Underrepresented Group (this includes, but is not limited to, women, 2SLGBTQ+, Indigenous Peoples, racialized peoples, youth, or persons with disabilities).
GREENSTEP EARNS 2021 CARBON NEUTRAL STATUS FROM OSTROM CLIMATE SOLUTIONS
GreenStep is proud to share our Offsetters Carbon Neutral Company 2021 status!
With Ostrom Climate Solutions Inc., we measured and offset our emissions by contributing to projects such as The Great Bear Forest Carbon Project, The Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve Project, and The Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project. These projects are verified and validated by third parties to ensure emissions reductions are real, additional, and permanent.
SEVEN BEST PRACTICES OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DESTINATIONS
Founder and CEO of GreenStep Angela Nagy was recently published in Destinations International, sharing the 7 Best Practices of Sustainable Tourism Destinations. This article identifies research-based sustainable practices for DMOs to maximize stakeholder engagement and advance their sustainability performance.
“Over the past decade, I have been working with and researching how tourism organizations at the international, national, regional, and local levels have been integrating sustainability practices. Through this work, seven best practices have emerged that we now use as the basis of our Sustainable Tourism programs. Before I dive into these best practices let’s take a step back and look at the origins of what we now define as sustainable tourism.
TOURISM TERRACE ADVANCES SUSTAINABILITY IN NORTHERN BC
Recently, GreenStep engaged with Carlysle & Co. to bring sustainability to the forefront of tourism planning and development for Tourism Terrace in Northern BC.
We’re thrilled to see smaller communities taking initiative to prioritize sustainability, helping the tourism industry make meaningful progress towards our collective global goals laid out by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). As part of this project, Tourism Terrace established their baseline sustainability performance by working through our Sustainable Tourism Destination Assessment, then in a guided effort with GreenStep, created a Sustainable Action Plan that aligns with their existing goals and objectives as a community.
UPCOMING INDUSTRY EVENTS
CONFERENCES
WEBINARS
Interested in learning more about how GreenStep Sustainable Tourism can help your tourism business or destination? Feel free to reach out at any time to chat, or schedule a free consult today: 1-800-469-7830 or info@greenstep.ca.