Here’s a feel for what it’s like working on a major UN project to transform tourism value chains, a four-year initiative finding ways to reduce carbon emissions, as well as water-use and waste, from tourism across several island states.

I was in Paris last month, learning about sustainable procurement, how it’s great for the economy, the environment and society…

Some facts

300 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year; half is single-use.

Refrigeration and air-conditioning emissions are projected to double by 2030.

Meat production is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gases

So in tourism, what can be done?

A key part of our Transforming Tourism Value Chains project is working with hotels to enable them to make an impact in this area. They need to consider not only the best price when purchasing goods and services, but also environmental and social impacts.

Tourism is vitally important to small island developing states, yet these destinations are among the first to suffer when it comes to the industry’s environmental impacts. There are many challenges on small islands – for instance, how do you dispose of fridges and air conditioning units responsibly? Thankfully there are some great innovative solutions such as adopting supplier take back systems.

We are hoping our training will help to inspire local stakeholders to come up with some great solutions of their own, for accommodation, events, food and drink. If a dish is served, for instance, we will be examining how the food was produced, how it travelled to the restaurant, and the waste created.

The Travel Foundation team will now be preparing the training for hoteliers and government in Saint Lucia and Mauritius. Watch this space for some ‘virtuous buying’ (or read more about International Climate Initiative: Transforming Tourism Value Chains).