Transforming Tourism Value Chains

International Climate Initiative - Transforming Tourism Value Chains

The project aims to reduce carbon emissions and improve resource efficiency from tourism, by transforming activities and services along the whole supply chain.

Why? Without introducing greener practices, by 2050 tourism’s energy use and greenhouse gas emissions are set to double, with even greater increases in water use and waste disposal. Tourism is vitally important to small island developing states, yet these destinations are among the first to suffer when it comes to tourism’s environmental impacts. The four countries involved in the project have been selected primarily because tourism is an essential part of their economies.

The approach: This ambitious project, led by UN Environment, is finding ways to reduce carbon emissions, as well as water-use and waste from tourism across four island states: Mauritius, Saint Lucia, the Philippines and the Dominican Republic. The Travel Foundation is lead implementing partner in Mauritius and Saint Lucia, while other agencies lead in the Philippines and the Dominican Republic. The four-year project looks at the entire supply chain for three areas of tourism: accommodation, food/beverages, and events. If a dish is served, for instance, we examine how the food was produced, how it travelled to the restaurant and the waste created.

The project is supported by €5 million from the International Climate Initiative on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).

Latest activities

• We worked with our project delivery partner, WRAP to identify ‘hot spots’ (key areas to reduce carbon emissions and improve resource efficiency within tourism business) for Saint Lucia and Mauritius.  Read the country reports.
• We trained public officials and private sector staff in sustainable procurement in both Saint Lucia and Mauritius.
• We developed and launched national action plans in each country to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve resource efficiency, by providing recommendations based on the identified hot spots.
• In 2020, despite the pandemic impeding meetings and in-destination activities, we developed implementation plans and accompanying capacity building materials.
• We engaged key industry associations (AHRIM, SLHTA, Business Mauritius) to take ownership of project initiatives and to embed the action plans into their own strategic plans, to ensure the longevity of the initiative.
• We also analysed the market readiness of selected sustainable products in Saint Lucia and Mauritius, which will inform recommendations for sustainable procurement.

Benefits

Sustainable supply chains will help tourism businesses tap into new and expanding markets of sustainability-oriented travellers, strengthen resilience, attract investment, stay ahead of standards and regulations, increase technical capabilities and improve community relations.