GOING GREEN FOR REAL

The power lies with the individual when it comes to environmentally responsible travel, writes Jennifer Henricus

Sustainability, a buzzword in 21st century business, is particularly important in the tourism sector. In order to mitigate the industry’s negative economic, social and environmental impact, (and to continue to attract greenthinking customers) hotels and other service providers have embraced a myriad of green initiatives. Many are laudable, and have had a phenomenal impact on alleviating negative effects of travel and tourism.

But the noble intent of saving the planet from degradation has in some cases deteriorated into a mere marketing tool, or green wash practices – implementing a few cosmetic green fixes to appear to be environmentally friendly.

The sustainability buzz has generated an inevitable PR goal to be“greener than thou”, and this has led to a green certification contest. This race – which entails elaborate box-ticking exercises – has diluted some of the initial enthusiasm for saving the planet through innovation and diligence. Experts now point to a dangerous situation of green wash and even“green fatigue”setting in.

There are more than 150 agencies worldwide certifying businesses for green and sustainable initiatives, resulting in a plethora of labels. Exhausted from the rather bureaucratic methods of certification, several large hotel groups are implementing their own certification programmes. This is positive, but also adds more labels to the evergrowing list.

TRAVELLER CONFUSION

Certification, intended to help travellers make informed green choices and reduce their carbon footprint, has become a source of confusion. It is difficult to discern differences between certificates, though they clearly exist. Attempting to navigate the hundreds of labels is frustrating and time-consuming – a stress that busy business travellers could do without. This in turn cultivates green fatigue.

Labels therefore, in effect, do little to inform the traveller about the provider’s actual green initiatives, says Professor Harold Goodwin from Manchester Metropolitan University’s International Centre for Responsible Tourism. “Certification lacks transparency: it does not tell a traveller what they are getting. For example, if I went to a destination that was short on water and I was keen to stay at a hotel that was responsible about their water usage and checked into a gold-certified hotel, the certificate, unfortunately would not tell me whether they are good on water usage or not.”

GREEN WASH

Some groups implement green initiatives at one property and use those credentials as a marketing tool for the whole group.

Others “sin and pay”: damage the environment in one area through excess, waste and environmental and social pollution, and then redeem the “sin” by buying into schemes that offset carbon emissions or