SME Topic Knowledge Base
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Each of the 10 Sustainable Tourism Topics for SMEs below introduce you (in short) to key issues in sustainable tourism development and to the related Global Sustainable Tourism Council criteria (GSTC criteria) that are often met within various certification schemes that you would be choosing for the sustainable certification of your tourism business. After reviewing each topic, you should have a clearer idea about how to define concrete measures to go green within your own enterprise and operations. You can naturally rely on the experts in your country to get more information.
Good GovernanceBeing a good (environmental) manager means being aware of the multiple socio-economic and environmental challenges that the business world is facing today and how we can collectively deal with them. It starts by changing our individual behaviours, according to collaboratively agreed laws, policies, targets and goals that follow the value systems of sustainable development, as laid out in Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN. In short, businesses must develop a management system that explicitly states its sustainability policies and effectively reports on them.
You will need to develop the value system that underlies the sustainable development governance within your business, along the three economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainability. They are institutionally and managerially aligned with the five p's of people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership envisaged in the Agenda 2030 SDGs.
By following good governance procedures to run your business you will need to develop (if not already done) specific documents that will take account for your sustainability management activities. Such documents might include, but are not limited to, a Sustainability Policy of your company, Internal Rules and Regulations relevant to Sustainability, a Sustainability Action Plan related to your business activity, etc. – all being part of your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
All stakeholders must play a part collaboratively in the socio-economic processes if we are to transition to sustainability. The management of tourism destinations, organisations, and SMEs requires implementation of good governance processes at different administrative levels, with multi-stakeholder collaboration at its heart and thus reflecting the need to have truthful and transparent information on supply chain products and services. CSR, or more recently supplemented by the concept of the Environmental Social Governance (ESG), is a key concept of business ethics building on the stakeholder approach, assuming a responsibility among firms to pursue social and environmental goals in addition to profit maximisation and among a firm’s stakeholders to hold the firm accountable for its actions.
Local businesses in the tourism industry and beyond should support and encourage the implementation of good governance, CSR and ESG measures for their own sake, individually, whilst being collectively supported by their representative bodies.
Please consult the website of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and more specifically the GSTC Industry Criteria, depending on whether you are an accommodation provider (hotel or other) or a tour operator.
Consumption and ProductionManaging the tourism value chain and developing fair trade is a pro-active way to develop sustainable and responsible tourism as part of the circular economy, where product and service delivery are designed, executed and monitored from raw material to waste disposal. For the purposes of developing sustainable consumption and production, supply chain management involving third-party certification of products and services can be used by tourism businesses to help to make the whole sector more sustainable whilst improving their individual resilience.
Your business plays an important part in that process. Buying and selling local and/or certified products and services in the supply chains will green your consumption and production processes. Consumption of materials and services and production of goods and services are made sustainable when stakeholders take their triple bottom line into account (economic, social and environmental).
Private sector businesses, including tour operators and service providers, lie at the heart of sustainable value chain management and fair trade. A joint approach is vital – both horizontally (the collaboration between operators) and vertically (between operators and suppliers), sharing experience of the challenges of integrating sustainability into supplier selection and contracting.
This can be done by motivating suppliers and buyers, who jointly make up the value chain, to implement corporate social responsibility in their organisations as well, as a pre-condition of trading. In such a scenario, each actor has to put their house in order to be part of a global green value chain - transparently certified - that reflects fair trade practices.
Please consult the website of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and more specifically the GSTC Industry Criteria, depending on whether you are an accommodation provider (hotel or other) or a tour operator.
Climate Change and BiodiversityTourism businesses and destinations are affected in many ways by climate change and need to adapt to the impacts of any changes or mitigate their worst effects. At the same time, the tourism industry is one of the main contributors to the greenhouse gas emissions. Anthropogenic (caused by humans) climate change demands respective mitigation strategies and adaptation measures on the part of all tourism stakeholders.
Climate Change is seen by many as one of the most important current challenges for the sustainability of tourism. Like few other industries, tourism heavily relies on a good climate with intact natural resources and biodiversity that are under critical threat from gradual rising temperatures and large-scale extreme weather events. All this demands innovative resource efficiency management. Stakeholder collaboration is needed to define and implement that management systemically.
A sustainable approach to tourism must accept the responsibility to conserve and enhance all forms of natural heritage in the pursuit of climate change and biodiversity adaptation and mitigation measures. This requires a firm commitment to effective planning and management, especially in protected areas, including biodiversity action planning covering areas such as responsible interpretation of heritage and visitor management. This needs to be supported by all tourism stakeholders.
Tourism businesses should be strong advocates for long-term natural heritage conservation, simply to sustain their core asset, understanding that this will benefit their business in the short and long term. Therefore, they should avoid any damages to natural assets in their construction and operations and support the maintenance of natural heritage through using local products (e.g., food, handicrafts etc.), assisting local conservation activities and projects, providing appropriate information to guests and to take an active role in lobbying for a sustainable tourism development in the destinations visited.
The sound environmental management of tourism businesses, notably those involved in accommodation and transport, is critical to the impacts of tourism on climate change and vice-versa. Businesses should develop adaptation and mitigation strategies that take account of climate change effects, for example flooding and new market conditions, and pursuing carbon-neutral, environmentally responsible, sustainable production.
Please consult the website of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and more specifically the GSTC Industry Criteria, depending on whether you are an accommodation provider (hotel or other) or a tour operator.
Sustainability of EmploymentJob sustainability is created in an economy that improves employees' security to find work that has decent conditions. Tourism businesses should contribute to the improvement of the well-being of local people, dignity of workers, environmental integrity as well as the elimination of exploitation, inequalities and poverty. Therefore, tourism stakeholders should do their best to contribute towards SDG 8 (Economic Development and Decent Work). Equally important in this subject area is the use of tourism for development and SMEs can play a significant role in improving employment sustainability in the fast-changing tourism supply chains of the 2020s, when so many jobs are in a process of transformation.
Tourism businesses have the responsibility to respect all human rights. Businesses must incorporate the principle of human rights due diligence into their business policies. This includes having a human rights policy; assessing the impacts of their business practices on human rights; monitoring and reporting on practices and progress. Businesses must also take responsibility for human rights violations occurring along their supply chain. They should make use of social and environmental impact assessments and labour audits when concluding contracts with hoteliers and/or other service providers. The implementation of the ILO core labour standards must be ensured. This includes, among other aspects, fair living wages, sufficient rest, protection against sexual exploitation, targeted integration of vulnerable groups and young people, and gender equality as well as equal treatment of ethnic and religious minorities. The Global Criteria for Sustainable Tourism have specific categories to account for social issues in the sustainability process, and as such tourism operators can ensure they meet the required standards.
Please consult the website of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and more specifically the GSTC Industry Criteria, depending on whether you are an accommodation provider (hotel or other) or a tour operator.
Construction / InfrastructureTourism is a major driver for the construction industry, which in turn determines how energy, waste and water are processed. The construction sector accounts for 36 per cent of worldwide energy demand, and 40 percent of the global energy and process related emissions, according to the International Energy Agency's 2019's Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction. How your tourism business infrastructure is built and maintained is key to the implementation of sustainability. By following the greenest of construction and maintenance operations, your business can contribute towards sustainability by aligning its actions with several of the UN’s SDGs.
When contributing towards sustainable construction, the first principle to follow is that of sustainable design, quickly followed by environmentally preferable purchasing, i.e., developing purchasing policies and favour environmentally sustainable suppliers and products, including capital goods, building materials and consumables. Any new buildings and existing maintenance programmes should be executed accordingly.
The Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria provide a means of monitoring your activity in this respect. With respect to the way you manage your buildings and infrastructure all aspects of planning, siting, design, construction, renovation, operation and if applicable, demolition of buildings and infrastructure, should follow principles of sustainable design, green purchasing, worker's rights and environmental legislation.
Please consult the website of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and more specifically the GSTC Industry Criteria, depending on whether you are an accommodation provider (hotel or other) or a tour operator.
Cultural & Natural HeritageCultural heritage encompasses any cultural expression transmitted from the past and inherited by present day society. It can take material forms, such as buildings and artefacts, or be intangible, including traditions, lifestyles and customs. Your business should support the preservation of cultural heritage, both in your own premises, and in your supply chain purchasing.
Natural heritage assets refer to the great biodiversity of ecosystems and species on our planet. As well as having its own intrinsic value, natural assets are of immense importance for tourism, which can both support and threaten their continuation and development. Many forms of tourism heavily depend on having an intact natural landscape that is able to supply ecosystem resources, and hold a great value for leisure and recreation, providing the base and backdrop for many tourism activities.
A sustainable approach to tourism must accept the responsibility to conserve and enhance all forms of natural and cultural heritage. This requires a firm commitment to effective planning and management, especially in protected areas (such as UNESCO sites, Natura 2000 sites or others), including biodiversity action planning, responsible interpretation of heritage and visitor management, and is to be supported by all tourism stakeholders. Tourism businesses take significant responsibility for the demand from travellers and markets in an economic sense when you use cultural heritage to generate business. Tourism delivers the image of cultural heritage and local people directly to the tourists. Its a win-win strategy for tourism businesses to preserve the cultural heritage, so that their customers are drawn to for both the sake of the visitor experience and income generation.
Please consult the website of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and more specifically the GSTC Industry Criteria, depending on whether you are an accommodation provider (hotel or other) or a tour operator.
TransportSustainable transport and travel (also referred to as “soft mobility” or “sustainable mobility”) play an important role in the development of sustainable tourism as tourism-related transport, especially road and air traffic, is on the rise, and contributes considerably to the greenhouse gas emissions, pollution and climate change. Your SME should be fully aware of how your customers reach you and travel around in your destination, and you should take steps to improve the sustainability of their travel and transport options.
Developing and encouraging the use of different modes of transport with low impact on the environment, e.g., cycling, walking, rail transport, car sharing, fuel-efficient transport systems and the use of electric/hydrogen vehicles, is a key to reducing the travellers’ ecological footprint. To achieve this, consistent and innovative sustainable mobility strategies and measures, consistent with the environmental conditions, need to be formulated and introduced at both destination and business level.
Please consult the website of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and more specifically the GSTC Industry Criteria, depending on whether you are an accommodation provider (hotel or other) or a tour operator.
EnergyThe sound environmental management of tourism businesses - notably those involved in accommodation and transport - is critical to the impacts of tourism on climate change and vice-versa. Businesses should develop adaptation and mitigation strategies that take account of climate change effects, for example undertake energy conservation as a key part of a green energy policy pursuing carbon-neutral, environmentally responsible, sustainable production and consumption of energy.
Essentially, energy consumption needs to follow three basic principles: a) use a green energy provider or source; b) run energy-efficient operations that minimize energy consumption; c) phase in the most environmentally efficient appliances, vehicles, and infrastructures.
The GSTC criteria will enable you to locate areas of your business (e.g., heating systems, or spaces such as bedrooms, or transport) to which you should apply these principles and then measure your energy savings and GHG emissions.
Please consult the website of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and more specifically the GSTC Industry Criteria, depending on whether you are an accommodation provider (hotel or other) or a tour operator.
WaterThe tourism industry is one of the main contributors to habitat degradation and resource over-exploitation in many destinations, and particularly in fragile habitats. In the case of water, issues such as pollution, consumption rates and use, existence of local destination and environmental resources etc., will determine how you should adopt environmentally friendly water usage strategies as part of your respective adaptation and mitigation measures.
Adaptation and mitigation measures for water management will involve actions, such as:
When complying with the GSTC Criteria, whenever relevant within the respective certification criteria for the chosen certificate or eco-label, you might be asked if you have been working or envisaged to work on a water risk assessment, if your water consumption is being regularly measured and monitored, and whether you are taking steps to minimise your overall consumption. Your water sourcing should be sustainable and not adversely affect environmental flows and should also not adversely affect local residents’ access to water where applicable.
Please consult the website of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and more specifically the GSTC Industry Criteria, depending on whether you are an accommodation provider (hotel or other) or a tour operator.
WasteTourism stakeholders depend on a clean environment in which tourism facilities and destination development processes can provide opportunities to both improve the quality of life of the visitors and residents as well as protect and enhance the environment of tourism regions and landscapes.
Your SME is part of that process, and your waste management operations will be affecting others, and impacting the environment. Pollution of the environment or people through your solid and liquid waste processing must be identified and removed from your operations, as must wasteful food and beverage operations.
Please consult the website of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and more specifically the GSTC Industry Criteria, depending on whether you are an accommodation provider (hotel or other) or a tour operator.
The content of this website represents the views of the authors only and is their sole responsibility; it cannot be considered to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) or any other body of the European Union. The European Commission and the Agency do not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.
