Environmental Tourism
Going green
Going Green
‘Green’ tourism is all about organisations,
businesses and individuals improving their
practices in order to be more environmentally
friendly and conscious. We will be focusing
on:
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle campaigns
- The Green Tourism Business Scheme
Largest Los Angeles Hotel Goes
"Green"
Many hotels around the world are going green
by recycling their waste and conserving
water, power and other resources
The largest hotel in Los Angeles, the Westin
Bonaventure, was recently certified as green
Mike O'Sullivan reports, hotel managers say
the change will help the environment, and is
also good for business.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
This is an initiative
designed to encourage
a reduction in the use
of new materials and
resources by carrying
out the three Rs
instead: Reduce, Reuse,
Recycle
 Green Start is the name of the sustainable
tourism initiative started by VisitBritan in 2008.
 The scheme is closed at the time of writing as it
was initially a pilot to see how things went, but
the idea was to help businesses take some first
steps towards becoming sustainable.
 The scheme also aimed to help them prepare for
joining a VisitBritain endorsed scheme (at the
time only the Green Tourism Business Scheme
was available).
 Businesses were offered a range of possible
changes to make from nine different areas of
their business including energy management,
transport or purchasing.
The actions included things such as:
Install water-saving toilets (Reduce)
Reuse materials where possible
(Reuse)
Recycle waste (Recycle)
Make sure they meet energy
efficiency standards
Insulate lofts
There was no formal verification by an
assessor of actions taken, but businesses
had to supply evidence on their selfassessment form.
Once a minimum number of criteria had
been reached a strapline (Working
Towards Green Tourism) was shown on the
VisitBritain suite of websites.
VisitScotland have their own scheme
called ‘Going Green’.
The Green Tourism
Business Scheme
The Green Tourism
Business Scheme is the
national sustainable
tourism certification
scheme for the UK
Here are some other things leisure
and tourism businesses can do to
help towards a Green Tourism
Business Scheme Award:
Green training for new employees
Free staff travel passes to encourage use of public
transport
Providing information and leaflets to customers
which raise awareness of green issues
Recycling paper, cardboard, glass, cans and
batteries
Paperless billing
Water- and gas-saving schemes in the kitchens
Use of energy-saving light bulbs
Green Tourism Business Scheme
 Businesses can apply to join the
scheme and, in return for improving
their environmental, economic and
social practices to set standards,
receive a bronze, silver or gold award.
 This helps leisure and tourism
customers choose businesses that are
helping to minimise their impact on the
environment.
Case study – Sustainable water
and tourism
There are over 120 areas in which The Green Tourism Business Scheme
measures sustainability, including energy, waste, transport, wildlife and
water.
‘Water is the vital component for life and important for health,
refreshment, cleansing and sanitation. It should not be wasted or
polluted. Drinking water in particular should not be squandered as it uses
considerable chemical and energy inputs to make it fit for human
consumption – yet we literally flush it down the toilet every day. The
water section [of the scheme] assesses a wide range of water efficiency
measures as well as using alternative sources to the mains. It also covers
measures aimed at reducing pollutions arising from cleaning and
wastewater disposal.
Examples of the water assessment criteria include:
Water-efficient showers, taps and toilets
Washing machines and dishwashers
Harvesting rainwater and grey water or using off-mains sources
Chlorine and phosphate-free cleaners
Natural-based cleaners and methods
Ecological wastewater treatments’
(Source: The Green Tourism Business Scheme)
Key terms
 Grey water is wastewater from places like
people’s homes. It could be water that has been
used to wash up with, rainwater from the roof or
bath water. It is likely to be contaminated with
some chemicals and other things (like leaves) but
it is not toxic and is safe to use again for things
like flushing toilets and gardening
 White water is fresh unpolluted water and is
safe to drink
 Black water is water that is polluted and
contaminated
Summary
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and The Green
Tourism Business Scheme are two examples
of initiatives that address ‘green’ issues and
affect the leisure and tourism industry