Towards a Low Carbon Travel & Tourism Sector

In anticipation of the United Nations climate conference COP 15, global business leaders came together at the World Business Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen last month. There, the World Economic Forum presented a report titled “Towards a Low Carbon Travel and Tourism Sector” that was a collaboration between the United Nations and several key organizations. The study opens a discussion on how to shift progressively towards a sustainable low-carbon lifestyle and analyzes the impact of the travel and tourism sector on carbon emissions.

The expected growth of the tourism sector is 4% annually through 2035, and without further emissions reductions measures, carbon output may outpace that. The study points out how governments, industry stakeholders and consumers can collectively improve the sustainability of travel, which will enable the sector to be a point of sustainable economic development for much of the world. There’s an opportunity to fix environmental and social problems while we fix this economy, let’s hope they get it right this fall at the meeting. To read the full report, click here.

Swiss Airlines launches new fuel-efficient Airbus

SWISS’s first new long haul Airbus A330-300 embarked on its first revenue flight, taking off from Zurich punctually at 13:00 on LX 14 to New York last week.

“SWISS today stands on firm foundations in a turbulent business environment,” said company CEO Christoph Franz at the roll-in ceremony. “All our personnel have worked very hard for this moment. And in putting our first more efficient Airbus A330-300 into service, we are further consolidating our market position and underlining our ongoing strategic investments in our corporate future.”

The Airbus A330-300 also marks a further major step in SWISS’s endeavours on the environmental front. The new long-hauler consumes around 13% less fuel per passenger than the A330-200 it replaces, largely through its more advanced and fuel-efficient engines but also because of a number of innovations on board.

The latter include the new air cushions, which make the Business Class seat some four kilos lighter than they would be with conventional foam padding. The new seat technology alone will save over 650 tonnes of kerosene a year fleetwide, and this in turn will reduce annual CO2 emissions by more than 2 000 tonnes. Lighter materials have also been used for the inflight trolleys. Not only does this save a further 240 kilos per aircraft, and thus 380 tonnes of kerosene and 1 200 tonnes of CO2; the lighter trolleys are easier to handle and manoeuvre, too.

Going Green - Minimum Standards Towards a Sustainable Hotel
The International Tourism Partnership (wwwtourismpartnership.org) drives the responsible tourism business agenda. Together with its members of leading global travel and tourism companies, the International Tourism Partnership assists the industry to make a valuable contribution to the countries and cultures in which they operate, to their customers, their shareholders and future generations.
Download PDF.

Rainforest Alliance (website)
With more than 800 million people traveling each year, tourism is a growing source of revenue for people living in areas that are especially rich in plants and animals -- and threatened with destruction. While tourism can lead to problems such as waste, habitat destruction and the displacement of local people and wildlife, it also has the potential to provide incentives for conservation.
Find out more

Information on Sustainable Tourism Certification Programs

Recession May Hinder Sustainable Tourism
OneWorld US, Rainforest Alliance
The global recession threatens to reduce socially and environmentally responsible travel, an important source of income for many developing countries around the world.

"The tourism industry holds great potential for poor countries seeking to improve the lives of their citizens, but unless tourism is practiced responsibly and in harmony with the environment, it can lead to unchecked development, habitat destruction, waste, and pollution," says the conservation advocacy group Rainforest Alliance.
Read More

Green Globe International
The Green Globe brand and program, which traces its roots back to the United Nations Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992, where 182 Heads of State endorsed the Agenda 21 principles of Sustainable Development, has primarily been used in the travel and tourism industry but is now being expanded to include a growing number of environmentally responsible businesses in a variety of market sectors. The Green Globe brand is an ideal symbol for the world's increasing awareness of environmental responsibility and response to global climate change.
Announces agreement with Sustainability Intelligence for Green Globe Index Measurement Tool

The Icarus Foundation : www.theicarusfoundation.com

The Icarus Foundation is a not-for-profit environmental, policy, research and education organization focused on sustaining a climate friendly tourism industry. They provide practical information, programs and research that encourage and enable hosts and guests to minimize the greenhouse gases generated by tourism activity.

The Icarus Foundation envisions a prosperous tourism industry that operates in harmony with the capacity of the earth’s living systems to absorb waste and that is committed to reducing its impact on the production of greenhouse gases that lead to climate change.

The Icarus Report - March 2008 : Climate Change ~ Implications for the Tourism Industry

______________________________________________________________________

Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism - Website

The Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC Partnership) is a coalition of 32 organizations working together to foster increased understanding of sustainable tourism practices and the adoption of universal sustainable tourism principles.

The Partnership, which was initiated by Rainforest Alliance, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Foundation, and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), launched the Sustainable Tourism Criteria at the World Conservation Congress in October 2008. These criteria will be the minimum standard that any tourism business should aspire to reach in order to protect and sustain the world’s natural and cultural resources while ensuring tourism meets its potential as a tool for poverty alleviation.

The Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria - October 2008

______________________________________________________________________

World Travel & Tourism Council - www.wttc.org

Raising awareness of the importance of Travel & Tourism, promoting synergies between the public and private sector, generating profit as well as protecting natural, social and cultural environment, are the fundamental components of WTTC's mission, as outlined in the Blueprint for New Tourism.

WTTC is firmly committed to realizing our industry's potential for growth and ensuring maximum and sustainable benefits for everyone involved. As one of the industries which generates the most employment, Travel & Tourism needs the complete understanding and support of governments and international organizations in order to realize its full potential, for the benefit of all.

Leading the Challenge on Climate Change - February 2009

Blueprint for New Tourism - 2003

______________________________________________________________________