B.C.?s tourism industry takes initiative on going greener

British Columbia?s tourism industry is spearheading a certification program that will grade hotels and other tourism operators according to their sustainability, a process that will then be used as a pilot for nationwide certification.

The provincial government in cooperation with the tourism-industry organization ETHOS ? which stands for Engaging Tourism & Hospitality Operators in Sustainability ? has asked United Kingdom-based Green Business Ltd. to review B.C. companies and develop an audit that would be used to compare sustainability efforts among tourism operators, from major hotels to white-water-rafting outfits.

The operators will be reviewed on 60 performance indicators ? such as whether recycling bins are readily available or how they deal with waste ? and graded as bronze, silver or gold depending on how they measure up, ETHOS managing director Judy Adams said in an interview.

Green Business introduced the certification system in the U.K. in 1998, its technical director Jon Proctor said in an interview. At the time, the aim was to help tourism operators reduce their costs.

But a 2001 survey found that the participating operators who had what Proctor calls a ?green grading? in addition to the more-common quality grading, had 10-per-cent higher occupancy than those with only a quality grading, he said.

?So that was able to show there was a clear advantage [to having a green grading],? Proctor said.

A more recent analysis looking at specific businesses found that some got 80 per cent of their trade through promoting themselves as environmentally friendly, he said.

And while the number of tourism operators signing on to the certification process ? which is voluntary in the U.K., as it will be in B.C. ? is still small compared to the total number of operators, the big hotel chains have now signed on and that has led to some healthy competition, Proctor said.

One Marriott Hotel in the U.K., for example, has just become the first Marriott to get a gold certificate, and now all the other Marriotts are asking how they can get there too, he said.

And the list of criteria are constantly revised so that when a particular performance indicator becomes standard ? such as having no-smoking rooms ? it gets dropped off the list and a new indicator ? such as switching to LED lights ? is added, he said.

Green Business will be auditing companies between now and November to develop a list of performance indicators tailored to B.C., which, unlike in the U.K., will include a reference to first nations cultural issues.

Once the audit guidelines have been created, companies can sign on to be certified. And companies don?t just get a certificate; they also get tips on how to improve, Proctor said.

And, he says, based on the U.K. standard, most of what he?s seen so far in Vancouver would merit silver certificates.

In addition to the certification program, John Yap, B.C.?s Minister of State for Climate Action, introduced two calculators that would be accessible to ETHOS members and those booking through them. The first helps travellers calculate the carbon footprint of their trip and buy carbon offsets from Pacific Carbon Trust. The second lets operators measure and manage their carbon footprint.

?Managing our carbon footprint is not only the right thing to do,? Yap said at the news conference introducing the certification program. ?It also makes good business sense.?

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