July updates from GreenStep Sustainable Tourism:
Welcoming New & Returning Members
GOLD
Wicked Wine Tours – Kelowna, BC
AWAITING GRADING
Canmore Inn & Suites – Canmore, AB
Canmore Rocky Mountain Inn – Canmore, AB
Copper Point Resort – Invermere, BC
Discover Canada Tours – Vancouver, BC
Explore Waterloo Region – Waterloo, ON
Invermere Inn & Suites – Invermere, BC
Sagebrush Tours – Penticton, BC
Sunwolf Riverside Cabins & Fergie’s Cafe – Squamish, BC
Terracana Ranch & Resort – Fraser-Fort George, BC
The Sustainable Tourism 2030 Pledge is our newest initiative that encourages tourism businesses and destinations across Canada, and globally, to commit to measuring and improving their sustainability performance each year between now and 2030.
The Sustainable Tourism 2030 Pledge offers a free online assessment and sustainability score, helping tourism businesses and destinations self-assess on a broad range of sustainability criteria. This creates a common framework and benchmark from which tourism businesses and destinations can create action plans to make ongoing improvements in the areas of economic, social, cultural, natural and environmental sustainability.
By taking the pledge, tourism businesses and destinations will commit to doing two things: measuring their sustainability score annually using the online assessment, and then making a public commitment and goal to improve their score by 2030.
Newest Pledge Signatories
Tourism Businesses
A View to Remember
Eagle Wing Tours
Settled Nomads
The Parkside Hotel & Spa
Tourism Destinations
Destination Sherbrooke
Businesses with a well-planned sustainability strategy can increase their profits by 51% to 81%. Yet, when the terms “sustainable tourism”, “going green”, or “responsible tourism” come up in the boardroom, there is often an assumption that taking action in these areas will just lead to another line item on the expense side of the budget. As a result, many organizations are missing out on significant opportunities to cut costs, increase revenue, and ultimately improve profitability.…[read more]
We are so proud to be recognized as Best For The World™ 2021 and a part of the global B Corp community. We want to thank all of our partners and clients that we’ve worked with over the years, to whom we owe our success. Through this recognition, GreenStep has been featured in this B Corp article alongside 6 other B Corps in North America: “When it comes to prioritizing the environment, these Certified B Corporations go above and beyond. As 2021 recipients of Best for the World™ for the Environment, these companies are leading the way toward a more sustainable and regenerative planet… [read more]
The British Columbia Hotel Association and GreenStep partnered together to walk through how accommodators can best take advantage of the BCHA GoGreen Program to cut high fixed costs now and in the future, as a way to adapt, survive, and thrive after the impacts of the pandemic. If you missed the live webinar, you can access it here.
Want a free energy assessment?
Want free support with your equipment upgrades and rebates application?
FortisBC in partnership with GreenStep Solutions is providing free customized energy advice to participating businesses. You can get tips, technical advice and information about our programs that can help you save energy, greenhouse gas emissions and operating costs. GreenStep can help you obtain quotes for the upgrade opportunities through the FortisBC Trade Ally Network, at no cost and with no obligation.
We will review the quotes with you so you can decide what (if any) projects you would like to move forward with based on your budget. Select a contractor and/or supplier and complete the project(s). GreenStep will also help you with rebate applications after your upgrades are completed. Also note that you may qualify for retroactive rebates if you purchased any LED lights or HVAC equipment within the last 365 days and we will help in your application process.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact our Business Energy Advisor : Razzaq at 236-777-6042 and razzaq@greenstep.ca
Free Sustainability Lens Assessments
Northern BC Tourism & Kootenay Rockies Tourism Associations are offering their tourism stakeholders free sustainability lens assessments (value $99), to help businesses and DMOs measure their sustainability performance. Once online self-assessments are completed, stakeholders will receive a full sustainability scorecard report together with customized action items based on their results. For information on how to sign up in each of these regions, see below:
Northern BC
Stakeholders in this region who wish to access their free sustainability lens assessment should complete this intake form.
Kootenay Rockies
Stakeholders in this region who wish to access their free sustainability lens assessment, should complete this intake form.
The Canadian Tourism Awards are presented annually by TIAC to recognize success, leadership, and innovation in Canada’s tourism industry, and to reward those people, places, organizations, and events that have gone above and beyond to offer travellers superior tourism experiences in Canada. Four awards in total will be presented, including the Sustainable Tourism Award,
If you know a business who is excelling in this area and deserves to be recognized, consider nominating here.
The Government of Canada has recently announced a new Tourism Relief Fund, that will provide $500 million in support for the tourism sector over two years. The majority of the funding, $485 million, will be delivered by Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) directly to tourism businesses and organizations to help aid in the creation of new tourism experiences or enhance existing ones.
Those interested in funding opportunities should can check their Regional Development Agency for more information.
Upcoming Events
2021 TIAO Tourism Summit
Where: Virtual, & Ottawa, ON Canada
Dates: Oct 26 – Oct 27, 2021
TIAO and presenting partner Destination Ontario will be welcoming tourism professionals from around the province to gather, share, and collaborate as they work to rebuild Ontario’s tourism industry.
2021 TIAC Tourism Congress
Where: Virtual, & Ottawa, ON Canada
Dates: Nov 30 – Dec 1, 2021
Under the theme “Forging Canada’s Tourism Future,” this year’s Tourism Congress will focus on how to recover, rebuild and reimagine the Canadian tourism sector after the pandemic.
