ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
Recognizing the urgent need to hold travel brands and destinations accountable for their lack of diversity in travel marketing and storytelling, the Black Travel Alliance was formed practically overnight to support Black content creators and increase representation in the industry.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
Carbon-neutral travel giant Intrepid Travel aims to assist others in rebuilding responsibly, for a more sustainable return to tourism.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Surgical mask upcycling and antimicrobial, reusable packaging solutions are some of the latest initiatives aiming to clean up some of our COVID-fueled,
plastic-covered mess.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The travel industry has done a poor job integrating the SDGs into business operations and reporting on them. But the Goals offer guidance on how to develop destinations that can appropriately manage tourism’s footprint and minimize environmental impact while benefiting local communities.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Myriad opportunities exist to create a new “business as usual,” post-pandemic: People won’t need to be shamed into being more thoughtful or responsible if
sustainable practices become the default in society and in business.
WALKING THE TALK -
As the COVID crisis wears on, we wanted to applaud 10 more of our Sustainable Brands community members that have donated their time, money and products and/or pivoted their business models to get people in need what they need, fast.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
While sustainable tourism offerings are increasing along with traveler interest in giving back to the communities that they visit, most operators support local
organizations through donations. But a growing wave are opting for microfinance to create larger, lasting impacts for more people.
WALKING THE TALK -
As CEOs spend time reconnecting with their children at home, investors open laptops at kitchen tables and policymakers have more time than ever to consider our future; is now the time when long-term, sustainable decision-making will finally trump all else?
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
While Burberry delivers another carbon-neutral runway show and works to “inset” its emissions, a new report quantifies the staggering amount of travel emissions generated during a season’s worth of major fashion weeks.
COLLABORATION -
Over the course of three action-packed days, the inaugural Sustainable Brands Oceans (14-16 Nov) in Porto, Portugal convened a stellar lineup of business leaders laser-focused on saving the ocean while there’s still time. Here’s what we learned from
some of the practitioners and storytellers …
LEADERSHIP -
The GDS-Index has released its 2019 sustainability ranking of 50 global business tourism and events destinations. Increasingly, the Index is being used on a political level to allow local governments to evaluate their progress in sustainability.
WASTE NOT -
Hilton properties have collectively recycled four million pounds of soap, resulting in 11 million soap bars being distributed to communities in need in 127 countries. Starting today, soap recycling is now a brand standard across over 5,300 Hilton properties.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Google’s new ‘green’ Maps feature highlights users’ lowest-carbon transport options; while new Travalyst initiative aims to protect destinations by encouraging sustainable practices across the travel industry.
CLEANTECH -
A broad set of stakeholders is focusing attention on the climate change impact of air travel. In the face of regulatory uncertainty, businesses will benefit from modifying their behaviors and leading the way.
COLLABORATION -
Just ahead of its 100th birthday, the Dutch airline calls on global aviation
industry, individual travelers to join forces for sustainable air travel — or
take the train, instead.
WASTE NOT -
Having recently highlighted the importance and impacts of healthy ecosystems on tourism, as well as the role travel companies and their customers must play in preserving our global destinations, we love this story about two companies doing just that in Peru.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
The UN estimates that nearly 2 billion people will be on the move by 2030, traveling to destinations all over the world. Travel and tourism can bring us a billion opportunities to make the world a better and more sustainable place — or a billion disasters, if we do not manage it properly.
NEW METRICS -
With 65% of the Caribbean’s reefs generating tourism dollars, the study reveals
an opportunity for tourism-associated businesses — such as cruise lines,
airlines and hotels — to work together to protect the region’s environmental health.
BUSINESS CASE -
New research finds rather compelling business case for restaurants to reduce the amount of food they throw away.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
As part of our CSR strategy, we strategically aligned our programming based on three Sustainable Development Goals.