Sustainable Travel

Attendees at the first ever Green Travel Summit collaborate to define the leading challenges facing Corporate America’s efforts to reduce their carbon footprint related to business travel and corporate meetings

Unicomm, LLC announced today the results of a collaborative effort undertaken by leading corporate travel executives attending the first ever Green Travel SummitTM. The report identifies the top ten challenges facing organizations in greening corporate travel.

Over 160 corporate travel executives and industry suppliers attended the Green Travel Summit, the first fully dedicated forum focused on exploring green travel strategies and their impact on business travel and corporate meetings.

Following were the top issues attendees identified in implementing carbon reducing programs:

1) Where to begin - The single greatest challenge for many executives is defining a road map of the process to BEGIN greening business travel and meetings.

2) Perception vs. reality regarding costs - Understanding the costs associated with “greening” is often at odds with the internal perception of the process.

3) Overcoming resistance to change - In many organizations corporate travel expectations are at odds with the change required to reduce the associated carbon footprint.

4) Buy in from senior management - The need to have top management support of related green initiatives.

5) ROI - A better understanding of the actual ROI of greening initiates and tracking tools to report ROI.

6) Securing budget - In a difficult economy identifying and allocating funding for green initiatives is increasingly difficult.

7) Reporting standards and metrics - As green travel programs are instituted, procedures, technologies and standards to report progress are not clearly defined.

8) Green washing: Truth vs. fiction - Cutting through the hype to achieve environmentally sustainable practices is increasingly more critical.

9) Buy in from both the planner and the supplier –Establishing acceptable standards and implementing across the corporate travel industry supply chain is needed.

10) Communicating and educating all relative stakeholders - Once green corporate travel policies begin to be implemented, communicating the program and the desired results to relative stakeholders is critical to success.

The Green Travel Summit was held at the Fairmont, Newport Beach, California, March 23-24, 2009 and assembled executives from a cross-section of the travel industry including: corporate travel buyers, managers, meeting and incentive planners as well as travel marketing executives, corporate travel suppliers and destination marketing organizations.

Seminars and keynote addresses focused on corporations accelerating their efforts to create enterprise-wide sustainability strategies to address the climate change issue and to realize cost savings while positioning themselves for competitive advantage. With travel as the second largest variable expense for organizations, there was recognition of the opportunity to attain measurable cost savings, reduce carbon emission liability and differentiate themselves from their competitors as socially responsible companies to stand out in the marketplace.

The Green Travel Summit has attracted premier organizations serving the corporate travel and meetings industry including American Express Business Travel who joined the event as Presenting Sponsor, Fairmont Hotel as Official Hotel, Co-sponsor National Business Travel Association (NBTA) and Intercontinental Hotel Group as Gold Partner. Maritz Travel and American Airlines have joined as Silver Partners, BCD Travel and TSX as Bronze Partners and the Association of Travel Marketing Executives (ATME) as Association Sponsor. The event is supported by Media Sponsors Business Travel News, Successful Meetings, Meeting News and TravelMole. SkyTeam is the Official Airline Alliance and EcoSecurities Official Carbon Offset Provider.

For details on the event, please visit the website www.greentravelsummit.com.

Posted by BrianM at 9:25 AM | Permalink

The Center for Responsible Travel (CREST) has released a new publication addressing the complexities and “unintended consequences” of giving and volunteering while on holiday. “Travelers’ Philanthropy: Dos and Don’ts of Travel Giving” provides insights from a dozen tourism experts to some of the most frequent suggestions made by well-meaning travelers who desire to help, interact, and learn while on vacation.

The publication, as well as a bookmark with Travelers’ Tips, is available in print or electronic format at Travelers' Philanthropy/Resources or by clicking here. CREST has also launched an online discussion forum on this topic of traveler giving and volunteering. Travelers, philanthropists, and industry professionals are invited to share any comments, questions, and reactions as part of a lively discussion of these issues. The forum can be accessed by clicking here.

“Oftentimes, people who vacation in poor parts of the world are moved to try to help by either volunteering or donating financially or materially to those in need. But because these good intentions may have negative impacts, we have compiled thoughtful insights and responses from a dozen leading tourism experts,” explains CREST co-founder and Co-Director, Dr. Martha Honey. “Our aim is to help educate travelers and tourism companies about how to contribute in ways that help to strengthen communities and don’t perpetuate cycles of dependence on charity.”

The publication addresses some of the ideas most frequently proposed by tourists, including sending books or used clothing, visiting an orphanage or school, and volunteering as part of a vacation. CREST solicited responses from a dozen tourism practitioners with long experience in supporting projects in local communities. While these experts sometimes expressed differing views, they agreed that how and what to contribute needs to be decided by the host community, not the tourist or the tourism company.

The publication, part of CREST’s Travelers’ Philanthropy program, will be incorporated into a Handbook on Travelers Philanthropy to be completed by late 2009.

Earlier this month, CREST released a pre-publication version of "Dos and Don'ts of Travel Giving” at the ITB-Berlin travel show. CREST’s Washington, DC Coordinator David Krantz gave a presentation at the "Workshop on Travel Philanthropy and Responsible Tourism" which was organized by Gopi Parayil, Founder and Cheif Excecutive of The Blue Yonder. Representatives from The Blue Yonder, GoPhilanthropic, and Travel to Care also presented their travelers' philanthropy projects during the workshop.

Travelers’ Philanthropy, a program of the Center for Responsible Travel (CREST), is part of the growing global trend of travelers and travel companies to contribute to community and conservation projects in tourism destinations. The Travelers’ Philanthropy website includes a range of resources, including an easy to use portal that permits tax deductible donations for a range of projects that are being supported by responsible tourism companies.

The Center for Responsible Travel (CREST) is an non-profit international institute affiliated with Stanford University and headquartered in Washington, DC. Its Co-Director based at Stanford is Dr. William Durham. CREST conducts policy-oriented research, programs, and field projects designed to minimize the negative impacts of tourism and maximize the positive contributions to host destinations and conservation. Formerly known as the Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development, the organization recently changed its name to better reflect its work with all sectors of the tourism industry.

For interviews, or to order copies of the publication please contact: Whitney Cooper wcooper@responsibletravel.org and 202-347-9203 ext 414. For more information about CREST's work please visit CREST’s two websites: www.responsibletravel.org and www.travelersphilanthropy.org.

Posted by BrianM at 11:06 AM | Permalink

The Walt Disney Company announced a landmark set of strategic environmental goals and challenging three to five year targets to reduce emissions, waste, electricity and fuel use, and its impact on water and ecosystems. The goals are part of Disney’s 2008 Corporate Responsibility Report, which details the company’s approach to critical corporate responsibility issues ranging from charitable giving to nutrition and from online safety for kids to workplace diversity.

“Disney’s enhanced corporate responsibility efforts make our brands and products more attractive, strengthen our bonds with consumers, make the company a more desirable place to work and build goodwill in the communities we operate,” said Disney president and CEO Robert A. Iger. “All of this contributes to shareholder value.”

The interactive multimedia report, now available online only at www.disney.com/crreport, provides a detailed snapshot of the company’s philosophy and activities in five areas: children and family, content and products, environment, community and workplaces. Details include the company’s first comprehensive greenhouse gas inventory and updates on Disney’s pioneering policies on healthy food guidelines and smoking in films.

Result of Two-Year Project

Building on 20 years of work by Disney’s environmental affairs department, the new goals and targets were formulated over the last two years by an Environmental Council of senior executives from across the company. Charged with developing and implementing sustainable strategies for Disney’s impact on the environment, as well as ways to use the company’s media reach to encourage positive action, the Council has taken a measured, scientific approach in analyzing company operations and crafting strategic objectives.

“While Disney has always been a leader in environmental stewardship, we are taking ambitious steps to help preserve our planet for future generations,” said Disney senior executive vice president and CFO Thomas O. Staggs.

The long-term environmental goals outlined in the report are:

• Zero waste;
• Zero net direct greenhouse gas emissions from fuels;
• Reduce indirect greenhouse gas emissions from electricity consumption;
• Net positive impact on ecosystems;
• Minimize water use;
• Minimize product footprint; and
• Inform, empower and activate positive action for the environment.

For additional details and medium–term targets visit www.disney.com/crreport.

“We applaud Disney for its leadership in adopting these goals, especially at such a challenging time in the global economy,” said Peter Seligmann, chairman and CEO of Conservation International. “Disney’s vision underscores the continued interest in the environment among people worldwide and the growing recognition that environmental leadership can help revitalize the economy.” Conservation International provided advice to Disney on its new goals and targets.

Integrated, Transparent Strategy

The 2008 Corporate Responsibility Report represents the latest phase in Disney’s longstanding heritage of corporate social responsibility and reflects a company-wide effort to build an integrated, transparent strategy focused on serving the needs of the company’s primary stakeholders: consumers, employees, shareholders, business partners and the communities in which it works. The report is organized as follows:

• Children and Family—guiding principles, kids’ health and nutrition, creative practices, programming philosophies and marketing policies;
• Content and Products—standards and practices, content diversity, product safety policies and parks accessibility and safety;
• Environment—environmental initiatives, progress and long-term goals;
• Community—charitable giving, VoluntEAR and community outreach updates; and
• Workplaces—employee diversity, benefits and international labor standards.

The report anchors a broader suite of publications being issued. Six additional reports provide information specifically on Disney’s Parks & Resorts segment and the following operations: Disney Cruise Lines, Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland. The suite of reports highlights issues of importance to local communities at some of the company’s largest sites.

Posted by BrianM at 7:18 AM | Permalink

To celebrate Earth Day and create awareness for sustainable travel to the Caribbean, the award-winning Elite Island Resorts -- the second-largest independently owned, green certified Caribbean hospitality group -- announces it will make a donation each time a body or facial spa treatment is purchased at select resorts during April 2009. When guests purchase a relaxing treatment at Galley Bay Resort & Spa, The Verandah Resort & Spa and St. James’s Club & Villas (all on Antigua); and Palm Island (The Grenadines), five dollars per treatment will be donated to Sustainable Travel International (STI), a global organization devoted to sustainable solutions and promoting responsible travel and ecotourism.

“Elite Island Resorts is proud we made the commitment to be green in the Caribbean. In April we celebrate our first anniversary as being certified green and decided this would be the perfect way to salute this important milestone by contributing to Sustainable Travel International. Everyone loves a pampering spa treatment like a Deep Tissue massage or an exotic Coconut Cocoon body wrap, and now when guests book spa appointments they can do something good for themselves and the environment,” said Steven E. Heydt, Elite Island Resorts’ president.

Elite Island Resort Caribbean properties’ daily operations are geared toward ecological preservation. Steps include grey water provides irrigation; organic waste is utilized by local farmers; and a reduction of non-biodegradable products are employed. Foods and products from endangered species are banned and produce and other sustainable products are purchased locally whenever possible. Examples include employment of a 95+ percent local workforce and support of cultural events, charities, scholarships, and at Galley Bay, a dedicated bird sanctuary.

The resorts were certified green by Green Globe International in accordance with the highest international standards: the Baseline Criteria of Sustainable Tourism Certification Network of the Americas, International Standards Organization (ISO) 9001/14001, The Mohonk Agreement, Agenda 21 and principles for Sustainable Development endorsed by 182 governments at the United Nations Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992.

For more information and reservations, call (800) 345-0356 or visit www.eliteislands.com. For information on STI visit www.sustainabletravelinternational.org.

Posted by BrianM at 8:37 AM | Permalink