The Sustainability Challenge: Implications for Tourism
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Transcript of The Sustainability Challenge: Implications for Tourism
The Sustainability Challenge: Implications for Tourism
Green Tourism Forum II April 22, 2008, Vancouver
Why are we here today?
Something’s Wrong
• “Climate change is the greatest and widest-ranging market failure ever seen” Sir Nicolas Stern
• “The food crisis of 2008 has revealed market failures at every link in the food chain.”Economist, April 2008
• This is the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. You've seen the sudden deterioration of perceived credit quality of financial institutions around the world; you've seen the sudden failure of major institutions. John Lipsky, Head of the IMF
Major Threats
The odds of Homo Sapiens surviving the next century are at best fifty-fifty.
Lord Rees, President of the Royal Society
If there is no action before 2012, it’s too late. What we do in the next two to three years will determine our
future. This is the defining moment.Dr. R.J. Pachauri, Head of the IPCC and Nobel Peace Prize winner
Enormous Possibilities
Deep Change
Deep Change
We’re at the fork in the road
Tourism Doesn’t Operate in Isolation!
It’s Time for Some Truth Telling
Words Are Losing Their meaning
It’s Time for Some Truth Telling
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.
George Orwell
It’s Time for Some Hard Thinking
Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost
universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than
having to think.Martin Luther King
So this is Home
We’ve only one!
If you throw something away – where is away?
A growing sense of limits
Growing uncertainty stemming from complexity
Small actions in remote places can have large and unpredictable consequences
We’ve Only One Home!
BUT……..
But we Need Three to Support Our Current Population & Lifestyle
The Wealthier Nations Need Five!
And that’s simply not sustainable
It’s Not Just Climate Change!!We’re simply living beyond our means
• Every year we destroy 44 million acres of forest…• Lose 100 million acres of farmland….• Lose 24 billion tons of top soil• Use 160 billion tons more water than is produced by
rain• Lose species – 6th mass exctinction• We’re destroying the earth’s thermostat• Earth is not a resource, a dumping ground but a
living organism and “she” has a fever
Climate Change – The Hangman’s Noose That Focuses The Mind?
“Climate change is the synthesis of all other environmental issues; energy inefficiency, pollution, species extinction, water use, desertification, urban sprawl…many of the most pressing environmental issues are related intimately to the problem of climate change”
Canadian Environmental Grantmaker’s Network
Actually, It’s a Question of Justice
• Environmental Justice
• Social Justice
• Individual & group welfare, personal fulfillment, well-being & meaning
And this has everything to do with tourism!
The Perfect Storm • Energy• Water• Food• Resources• Waste Absorption• Population• Globalization & Wealth
Distribution• Financial Systems• Security• Technology • Complexity
Possible Consumer Responses Recent Headlines:
» “What is the real price of cheap air travel?” - The Observer, Jan. 2006 » “‘It's a sin to fly,’ says church” - The Sunday Times, July 2006» “Flugreisen als Klima-Killer” - Abendblatt, July 2004» “Climate conscious may ditch air travel” - New Zealand TV One, April, 2007» “The plane truth” - Guardian Unlimited, July 2007
Recent Traveler Surveys: British survey:
» 70% believed ‘air travel harms the environment’ » 64% agreed ‘the price of a plane ticket should reflect the environmental
damage that flying causes, even if it makes air travel more expensive.’
TripAdvisor survey in EU:» 24% said air travel should be avoided to help preserve the environment.» 26% would pay a premium of up to 10% for an eco-friendly flight » only 3% however, have purchased carbon ‘off-sets’
So how resilient can tourism be?
Tourism: Code Red Alert
The Challenge of Volume Growth
Volume Growth
Emissions Reductions
Listen to the Wise Ones!
Listen to the Wise Ones!
Albert’s definition of insanity as powerful as E=MC2
Debunking the Myth of Sustainability
Sustainable development “a process to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.” Bruntland
The triple bottom line approach based on the balance of social, economic and financial factors…. as if they were equals
GUEST
Host community
Host business
Environment
BUT the economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment!
Debunking the Myth of Sustainability
Sustaining as in perpetuating won’t work!
Sustaining as in More of the same won’t work
In the natural world, all growth is checked – it’s about development not growth
How many of your have sons?
Unchecked Growth Ain’t Natural!
• There are limits• There is no free lunch • Nature’s subsidy program is over• No more cheap oil• No more cheap credit• No free waste disposal services• Less plentiful space• No unexplored “shangri la’s”
We have to change our Minds
We have to change our Mindsets!
Time to Change Our View
LinearMechanical – take it apartHard/objectiveSubject-object – resource exploitationCause and EffectPower concentrated
Circular, complexFuzzy, Organic – ECOLOGICAL Soft, subjective (Heisenberg) Participatory; co-evolvingEmergencePower distributed
Symbols are Everywhere!
From lines that divide
+To lines that unify
ODialectic of oppositesUp downRight wrongIn out Particle or waveYes but With us or against us
Inclusive, holisticDifferent PerspectivesPossibility AmbiguityWe’re all oneBoth particle and waveYes andThe health of one and the system are the same
The Tourism System
HOSTSUPPLIER
SOCIETY
GUEST
ENVIRONMENT
Does this remind you of something?
Balance = Health
GUEST TOURISM SUPPLIER
Physical
Emotional
Value
Spiritual
EnvironmentalReturn
Social Purpose
Balance = Health
SOCIETY ENVIRONMENT
Heritage
CultureSocial Justice
Net Benefit
Pride of Place
Eco HealthEco Services
Environmental Justice
WelfareHarmony
Develop Measures for System Health
• Vigor, Vitality
• Diversity
• Balance
• Resilience
“Internalize the Externalities”
Pay Nature Her DueImplications of Stewardship
Time to Re-think the Role of Business
Sea Change in Role of Business
• It is time for big business to recapture the intellectual and moral high ground from its critics and to build social issues into strategy in a way that reflects their actual importance to companies.McKinsey
• 68% of the CEOs are focusing on corporate social responsibility to create new revenue streams and over half believe that their CSR activities are giving them a competitive advantage. IBM Institute of Business Value
VOLUME-SIZE• More is better• Customers are targets• I win, you lose• Business is only about
Business• Welfare can be managed by
GDP• Technology will take care of
it
VALUE - HEALTH• Yield• Welfare• “Wellth”• Return on capital
– Social– Natural – Financial
• NET benefit to all stakeholders
Time to Re-think Our Unexamined Assumptions
The Business Case
46
The Business Case
1. Huge Savings2. Brand Reputation and Brand Value3. Shareholder Expectations4. Supply Chain Pressure5. Employee Recruitment and Retention6. New market opportunities7. Resilience!
What Next?1. Take responsibility! R3
– Reduce– Replace– Renew
2. Honest appraisal, benchmark, rigor3. Engage in conversation with
customers employees residents investors competitors other destinations students academics new media
4. Think quality, unique, limited 5. Re-cycle ideas, materials6. Dare to be Bold7. Seize a closing window of opportunity….8. Act first , tell later
What Next?1. Take responsibility! R3
– Reduce– Replace– Renew
2. Honest appraisal, benchmark, rigor3. Engage in conversation with
customers employees residents investors competitors other destinations students academics new media
4. Think quality, unique, limited 5. Re-cycle ideas, materials6. Dare to be Bold7. Seize a closing window of opportunity….8. Act first , tell later
10 Steps Towards GREEN1. Develop a series of binding targets and indicators; 2. Measure footprint3. Introduce a “carbon disclosure project” that requires all tourism
businesses that wish to participate in any province funded programs to disclose the carbon they generate and report on steps being taken to reduce that carbon
4. Develop other policy instruments that encourage the adoption of measures to: – eliminate waste (carbon and other) – switch to renewable energy sources– offset the balance through credible, in-destination programs
10 Steps Towards GREEN5. a well articulated business case that is sub-sector specific ( ie relates to
accommodation, transportation, tours, meetings, food & beverage, airlines etc)6. an active, well funded industry education program that develops and delivers very
practical tools to advise businesses how to do the a.b.c.and d. measures listed above
7. a tough, destination-wide certification program that involves an independent audit of businesses.
8. Active research into and engagement with leading consumers, consumer groups and influencers that have expressed support for the switch away from industrialized to low impact tourism .
9. A visitor education program that highlights the importance of travelling lightly – spending longer at one place, using public transportation, seeking out locally produced services and products; purchasing offsets……
10. A destination offset program that can be used by visitors and suppliers alike to offset the carbon reductions they can’t make by behavioral change. The Green pass program suggested last summer still has potential …..
It’s Not About Despair!
It’s About Hope
What’s Your Contribution Footprint?
Thank You
www.theicarusfoundation.com
www.icarusfoundation.typepad.com
www.ceopatachallenge.com/blog
4. Changing Demand Drivers
Travel Demand
Opportunity Need Values
Price/Value Utility/Experience Meaning/Transformation
• Commodity• Luxury• Status• Right
• R & R•S & S•Togetherness•Explore•Adventure•Create•Learn•Express Identity
• Meaning•Self realisation•Philanthropy•Cause-related•Aspirational
I travel because I Can!
Make It EasyKeep it cheapShow me a deal
I travel to do ….Help me achieve my goalCan anyone help me reduce my risk?
I travel to find meaning and do goodShow me you care. What do you stand for? Can I trust you’re for real?
RISK =Cheap oil & cheap credit not cheap!
RISK = substitutionand homogenization
RISK = the value itself