Green Globe's Road From Rio
In the early 1990's the term sustainable tourism was in its infancy and the concept of triple bottom line was spoken about mostly in academic circles. Pioneering tourism operators concerned about the effect their operations had on the environment and how best to measure that impact, were often categorised into special interest tourism. Now, these same operators are reaping the benefits of future planning - the kind of planning Green Globe has built its reputation on.
Green Globe was developed to provide a way forward for tourism organisations who were keen to firstly measure their environmental impact and secondly to develop and then implement strategies to reduce those impacts. Green Globe has been a part of the road forward ever since, providing a framework, as well as the proprietary science and technology for organisations to achieve triple bottom line solutions to sustainable tourism and development.
The foundations of Green Globe's framework are based on Agenda 21 principles endorsed by 182 heads of state at the United Nations Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992.
The Rio Earth Summit aimed to address the environmental dilemma of economic development - acknowledging that it cannot stop, but must change course to become less ecologically destructive.
The Earth Summit was unprecedented for a U.N. conference, as it was the first time world leaders acknowledged, as a group, that consumption of non-renewable resources was leading to environmental degradation.
Following the Earth Summit, the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg provided the structure for Green Globe to assist businesses achieve the desired outcomes for sustainable tourism. All of this has been combined to comply with the Mohonk Agreement, which summarises the guidelines for an International Sustainable Tourism Certification Programme.
Green Globe is making all of the above principles a working reality for companies by focusing on solutions that provide economic gains, increased community support, and an adherence to corporate social responsibility principles.
To learn more please contact us here
Green Globe Expands its List of Benefits
Green Globe is preparing to roll out a number of exciting new initiatives. Not only will these enhancements cement Green Globe's position as the world leader in the travel and tourism market for environmental sustainability, but they will also encourage more Green Globe participants to strive for the desired goal of benchmarked and certified status. Green Globe has also introduced tiered levels of participation which will enable more and more organisations to benefit from involvement in the programme.
In mid-October an enhanced Green Globe website will go online to provide a streamlined service for applicants and participants. The website has been developed as part of a new campaign to assist participants move through the benchmarking and certification process in a timely manner.
Additionally the new interactive site will ensure participants have the necessary tools to help minimise the impact from new challenges such as global warming, climate change and the need for carbon neutrality.
As mentioned above Green Globe, through its association with the "Earthcheck" brand, is introducing a new level of entry for organisations wanting to sample the benefits of benchmarking the 3 core indicators of energy, water and waste before moving on to the broader Green Globe benchmarking process.
These changes have been undertaken with the end user in mind, and have been developed from the findings of participant surveys, planning workshops and evaluation of feedback from our customer support and relationship management team. The role of this team is to provide continual support to Green Globe participants and to ensure that at all times both the participant and the participating organisation gains maximum benefit from its involvement in Green Globe.
Green Globe participants will also be able to manage their own profile, giving them the ability to write their own promotional material, and upload photos and web links of their operations. They will also be able to expand website descriptions to include valuable marketing information.
The entire Green Globe team is excited and looking forward to sharing these benefits with both existing participants and extends a warm welcome to new participants to visit the Green Globe website at www.greenglobe.org
Green Globe announces changes
As Green Globe prepares to roll out the exciting new enhancements mentioned throughout this newsletter, it would be remiss not to also announce the departure of Jason Keating and acknowledge the important role he played as the driving force behind Green Globe Asia Pacific for the past 2 years.
Our very best wishes are extended to Jason as he moves forward to the next exciting stage of his career.
A replacement for Jason will be announced shortly.
In line with these new initiatives we have also announced a new company structure. This new structure will ensure that Green Globe participants and partners continue to receive the high levels of support expected from the world leader in the travel and tourism market for environmental sustainability
Should you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact:
Melinda Watt - Vice President - Relationship Management
Telephone 61 7 3211 4726
Email
Paula Quirk Russo - Vice President - Brand Development & Distribution
Telephone 61 7 3238 1904
Email
Tourism Industry Action Plan on Climate Change
Sustainable Tourism CRC and its commercial arm EC3 Global, the managers of the Green Globe Brand, have been invited to provide strategies to address the effects of climate change on the tourism industry. The strategies were outlined in a recent report presented to the Federal Minister for Tourism, Hon Fran Bailey by Sustainable Tourism CRC.
The Tourism Industry Action Plan on Climate Change report opens much needed dialogue across industry as to the challenges faced by tourism stakeholders and presents a plan to combat the potentially devastating effect climate change could deliver to Australia's third largest industry.
The report asserts that benchmarking, sustainable best practice, carbon neutrality and aggregate destination carbon footprints must become a part of tourism industry practice.
As the world leader in sustainable tourism technology, Green Globe's proven role in these areas is vital. The use of current Green Globe technology to develop a new carbon offset scheme and a way to measure and track destinations has been recommended by the Sustainable Tourism CRC report.
These existing services, particularly in benchmarking carbon footprints, will assist tourism organisations to actively assess their current environmental performance and to help decrease their environmental impact in the future.
Australia's $20.5 billion per annum industry can significantly reduce its carbon emissions by adopting Green Globe's scientifically accredited services and in the process help to maintain Australia's attractiveness as an inbound and domestic tourism destination.
The Action Plan also identifies a wide range of strategies that can assist in maintaining Australia's tourism market as well as addressing risk areas that may hinder tourism operators. Many of these relate to the detrimental effect international regulatory bodies could have on the industry if Australia is not seen to be proactive in finding solutions to combat climate change.
Dollars and Sense in the Otway's
The Australian Tourism Development Program has matched dollars with sense, awarding three hundred and eighty thousand dollars to develop a submission by the Geelong Otway region to implement a long-term sustainable tourism plan for the Great Ocean Road region.
The Great Ocean Road is one of Australia's most popular tourist attractions, and is surrounded by spectacular national parkland. The grant will be used to ensure the area is maintained for future generations to enjoy.
This project is borne out of the need to ensure the longer term viability of tourism as a major economic driver in the Great Ocean Road region. It will achieve this by growing regional market share in the niche, responsible tourism market as well as smoothing visitation spikes by building off peak and shoulder visitation.
It is envisaged that the project would be delivered in three interdependent elements, including:
- Consumer and community research;
- Development of industry awareness, provision of tools and encouragement of operators to engage with EC3 Global, the management company of Green Globe, the internationally-recognised environmental benchmarking and certification program;
- Development of an integrated marketing strategy to 'sell' the Great Ocean Road as a green destination, creation of a world class publication to showcase the region and its adopted sustainable practices as well as the development of strategies to grow visitation to the region in off peak periods.
Geelong Otway Tourism understands that the tourism industry must act as a leader and be better equipped to meet the needs of visitors seeking a socially and environmentally responsible stay in the Great Ocean Road area. This is particularly relevant to ensure increased repeat visitation and to capitalise on word of mouth and endorsement marketing. As such the total experience must reflect best practice from an environmental, business and social perspective. The reality of the visitor experience must exceed the marketing proposition that our tourism strength is on quality natural and cultural environment and settings.
With the number of tourism-related jobs in the region growing by 21.5%, it is important for the area to expand its economic growth in what are traditionally slower times whilst retaining its competitive strength, the natural environment.
The project is expected to take over two years to implement with research, business and educational information sessions taking place throughout the area to ensure all members of the community are aware of the project and of the role they can play in its success.
Nature-based activities influence approximately 65% of travel decisions by tourists. The Great Ocean Road region is world renowned for these activities in particular the Great Ocean Walk, known for providing hikers and general sightseers with high-quality overnight accommodation in eco-friendly homesteads.
For further information on the Geelong Otway Sustainable Tourism Plan contact Terry Hickey on thickey@geelongcity.vic.gov.au
Coca Cola joins WWF to clean up the Yangtze
Green Globe's China office is in negotiations to assist the Coca Cola Company and the World Wildlife Fund launch a water efficiency programme for the upper stream of the Yangtze River. Green Globe will be contributing its environmental benchmarking technology and planning resources to assist both organisations achieve those goals.
The Coca Cola Company is providing funding for the project which aims to increase water efficiency, adopt a recycled water scheme and protect the natural habitat of China's most exotic sea life, while maintaining quality in one of the world's most critical freshwater eco regions.
Coca Cola's goal is to replace every drop of water it uses in the production of its beverages with recycled water. They will thereby reduce the amount of water required for the manufacture of their products.
The company believes the multi-year partnership for water conservation is an area where it can make a positive impact.
Coca Cola Chief Executive E Neville Isdell says the company has dedicated US$20 million to the project and also aims to reduce the company's carbon footprint.
Society is just beginning to understand the world's water challenges, and no single company has all of the answers, but we can all do our part to conserve and protect water resources" he said.
For further information on Green Globe in China visit www.greenglobe21.cn
Red Sea Resort Clean-Up
Recent research has identified eighty percent of travelers are prepared to pay more if they know tourism operators are engaging in environmentally sustainable practices. Whilst it may be news to some, on the banks of Egypt's ancient Red Sea, the Iberotel Coraya Beach Resort has for some time now been working with hotel guests to maintain a healthy environment Their latest activity, Reef Clean-Up has not only generated praise from hotel guests it has also ensured its progression to best practice status in the Green Globe Certification programme.
Hotel guests and staff collected litter from Coraya beach and reef areas whilst diving groups searched the big blue for waste. Armed with garbage bags, refreshments and even cameras, participants took away several tonnes of rubbish and a heap of images to remember the experience. These images were hosted on the resort website to encourage future guests to join in on the Clean Up project. The guests and staff who took part in the clean-up received a gift at a presentation ceremony as a thank you for their participation as well as for their ongoing support of Iberotel Coraya's environmental efforts.
This resounding support for the project has encouraged resort management to increase its clean-up days to a quarterly basis - making it a permanent fixture of the resorts calendar from 2008.
Visit this Green Globe Certified property at www.iberotel-eg.com
Where in the world is Green Globe?
Green Globe has an international network of partners to assist in the delivery, development and promotion of the Green Globe programme around the world.
Green Globe Spreads the Message
29th Aug: Leading For the Future: Business and Community Leaders Preparing for the Long Haul on Climate Change, Parliament House, Brisbane. Green Globe CEO Stewart Moore will attend an Ethos Foundation-sponsored Queensland Government round table to develop proposals for climate change leadership initiatives. Visit to www.ethosfoundation.org for more information.
3rd Sept: Models for Success and Sustainability, Brisbane Riverside Centre presented by DLA Phillips Fox. Green Globe will be presenting at a national workshop, titled "Exploring the Risks and Responsibilities of Climate Change". For information email: Info@moss.org.au.
11th-12th Sept: Local Government Sustainable Development Conference, Hilton on the Park, Melbourne. EC3 Global Advisory and Management Director, Peter David will present at the conference, which focuses on reducing carbon footprints and increasing water sustainability. For details visit www.environs.org.au.
20th Sept: Green Globe Communities, Shire of Mansfield. Peter David will present an overview of Green Globe communities. Visit www.mansfield.vic.gov.au for details.
26th-29th Sept: Asia Pacific Healthy Cities Forum, presented by the Gold Coast City Council, Q1 Towers, Surfers Paradise. Peter David will be exhibiting sustainability solutions. Visit www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/t_standard.aspx?PID=7152 for details.
28th-29th Sept: STCRC and Green Globe will participate in the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Conference and Travel Mart, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Bali. Representing both organisations Paula Quirk Russo EC3 Global's Vice President - Brand Development, will also attend the meeting of the Sustainable Tourism Advisory Committee (STAC) to discuss future plans for the ongoing partnership between Green Globe and PATA. For further information visit the PATA website www.pata.org.
30th-1st Oct: International Conference on Climate Change and Tourism, Davos, Switzerland. EC3 Global CEO Stewart Moore has been invited to attend the conference. For further details visit www.climate.unwto.org
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