Watch the interview between Peter Lederer, Chairman of VisitScotland and Travelmole’s Valere Tjolle - to find out how Scotland is positioning itself for ambitious growth in sustainable tourism.
What motivates an environmentalist, philanthropist, or anyone concerned about the well-being of Mother Earth and other human beings? This answer is described most eloquently by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
“As long as there is poverty in the world I can never be rich, even if I have a million dollars. As long as diseases are rampant and millions of people in this world cannot expect to live more than twenty-eight or thirty years, I can never be totally healthy even if I just got a good checkup. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the way our world is made. No individual or nation can stand out boasting of being independent. We are interdependent.” - excerpt from The Measure of a Man by Martin Luther Kind Jr.
The inspirational leader, Martin Luther King Jr.
Emagazine just published an article announcing last weeks release of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) document corroborating the facts that greenhouse gas emissions cause health problems to humans. As stated in the article by Vickie Patton of the Environmental Defense, “This is a long-awaited EPA analysis that has been kept under wraps by the White House. It’s of critical importance because it looks at the
Source: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images
extensive body of science demonstrating that global warming threatens Americans’ health and well-being.”
My first reaction to this was a mixture of sarcasm and giddy laughter. Come on now, how is this groundbreaking news that the federal government is finally ‘acknowledging’ an issue that the American public and global communities have ‘realized’ long ago? I tend to desensitize and find the humor in situations, as my adjusted response over the years to disappointing circumstances and discouraging actions of American leaders. But, behind the humor is an underlying sense of hope and feeling that things are really changing in the United States. Maybe it’s due to the fact President Bush is leaving office soon - or maybe Al Gore’s rigorous climate change campaign has finally made a dent in the most obtuse of subjects - well, for whatever reason that the federal government is exhibiting ‘change’ clearly reflects an encouraging possibility that the tides are changing for environmentalism in the United States. How much more effective it will be if the federal government supports the American community and local organizations in OUR efforts.
In response to Al Gore’s ‘Challenge to Repower America‘, what better time to introduce a solution than now. Last week, Mr. Gore challenged Americans to become carbon-independent within the next ten years. Of course, the first response from many people is that this challenge is ‘too ambitious’ or that ‘it can’t be done’. Well, my response is that it CAN be done and plans have ALREADY been progressing in San Francisco to implement measures that can achieve Mr.Gore’s goal.
Since October 2007, a sustainable tourism program has been brought forth as one such solution for San Francisco. Tourism is the largest industry in San Francisco, that also directly and indirectly reaches EVERY other industry sector. In addition, San Francisco is world-renown for its innovative and progressive environmental conservation programs. However, no direct measures are taken to incorporate the tourism industry with the municipal conservation programs. But, by integrating the conservation and tourism sectors, the result is a sustainable industry with far-reaching impacts on the success of environmental programs. In addition to tourism’s cross-sector influence, the nature of tourism provides outreach and grassroots opportunities to impact and instill change among tourists and residents. Therefore, no other industry provides an all-encompassing opportunity to catalyze change on the scale that Mr. Gore has presented to the American community. By making San Francisco’s tourism industry sustainable - it can in turn make San Francisco a 100% clean-energy city. San Francisco has the capacity to be the city to catalzye change in the United States’ tourism industry and meet Mr. Gore’s landmark challenge.
To date, the proposed sustainable tourism program, Travel Tree, has been presented to key stakeholders such as the SF Mayor’s Office and The San Francisco Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (SFCVB). Stanford’s Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development (CESD) has partnered with Travel Tree, in providing support to research and develop the program for San Francisco. If you are interested in finding out more or supporting Travel Tree, visit www.traveltree.org or contact Rosalyn at rsalters@traveltree.org.
It appears I live in a walkers’ paradise. According to Seattle based walkscore.com San Francisco was rated the most walkable city in the country. This may come as a suprise to people who live outside this seven-by-seven-mile square of cool and foggy hills. How often would you walk in these conditions? Chances are if you live or have visited San Francisco this comes as no surprise. Walking in San Francisco is one of the most enjoyable experiences. With skyrocketing gas prices and elusive parking spaces many of my neighbors, myself included have turned on a new engine - our own two feet. Great views and easy accessibility make this means of transportation worthwhile for my heart, pocket and most importantly the environment. Is your city walk friendly? Check out walkscore.com and sign the petition to support walking and biking your city today.
Finally some good news in the entertainment industry! Although there is debate about which club is the ‘world’s first eco-nightclub’, the fact remains that two eco-friendly clubs will launch this year. Andrew Charalambous is the developer behind the eco-disco, Surya, that will open in north London. In the Netherlands, the Sustainable Dance Club (SDC) will launch Watt in September.
Mr Charalambous’ eco-club, Surya, will operate on wind and solar energy, with any surplus of energy transferred to the surrounding neighborhoods. To encourage clubbers to lower their carbon footprint, cyclists and walkers will receive free admission to the club. The dance floor is constructed using piezoeletricity, which creates electric charges from the pressure derived from movements of the dancers. By using this technology, it is estimated that 60% of the club’s energy will be generated from the dancers. Additional features include air flush urinals, low flush toilets and full recycling of bar materials. A portion of the club’s revenue will be donated to charity. The motivation behind Surya’s development is to practice what we preach and take action to combat climate change.
In 2006, SDC developed the concept and presented a sustainable club night, The Critical Mass, in Rotterdam’s club Off_Corso. Since then, SDC has been working in partnership with Technical University in Delft, to develop the human-powered, piezoelectricity dance floor. Other key aspects behind SDC’s philosophy include a zero waste bar, renewable energy, organic beer and sustainable business plan as the foundation of operations and management practices. The paint on the walls are heat-activated and change colors from the body heat of the dancers. Also, educating their clubbers about sustainability is another primary goal of SDC.
The efforts of both Surya and SDC are remarkable, both inspiring models for the entertainment industry to follow. In order to combat climate change, all industry sectors and citizens need to actively contribute in all aspects - at home, work and play! To learn more, check out this You Tube video about sustainable dance club technologies.
This week, from July 7th - 9th, Japan is hosting the 2008 G8 Summit. World leaders will be brought together to discuss the best approaches in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the year 2015. Main topics of the Summit will include; environment and climate change, Arican development, world economy and peacebuilding in targeted regions of conflict.
In consideration of climate change and other environmental issues, Yasuo Fukuda, the Japanese Prime Minister, ensures that the preparation and operation of the Summit is environmentally friendly. Eco-friendly measures range from waste management, meeting materials, ‘green’ building procedures of the main facility, clean energy shuttle buses for participants and carbon offset measures.
To date, numerous advances have been made to collectively achieve the MDGs. For example, Millennium Promise is mobilizing a global networks of partners to achieve the goals. In partnership with Sumitomo Chemical, one of the world’s largest multinational chemical companies, about 330,000 anti-malaria bed nets have been distributed to Millennium Villages. Additionally, the partnership with the Japanese non profit, Table for Two, provides assistance for the school meal programs in Malawi, Rwanda and Uganda.
The answer lies not just in the hands of our world leaders and corporations, but also in the efforts of citizens and communities. We can all make a difference, so support an organization today!
In 1960, the creation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was a result of the hard work by Margaret Thomas “Mardy” and Olaus Murie. Here is an inspirational quote by Mardy, taken from the book “The Mardy Murie Story: Arctic Dance” by Charles Craighead and Bonnie Krepps.
“We live in a precarious world; that we are threatened by man’s ingenuity; that we need a less consumptive lifestyle in order to preserve the beauty and grace of our world; and that our remaining wild places, our wilderness, have to be a most important element in all our thinking and all our doing.
I could repeat what Olaus used to say: that it was better to be in the thick of the fight than standing in the corner with your face to the wall. So I’d hate to think that all I can do is moan and cry and make a fuss. You have to somehow do more than that. You have to try to influence more people, that’s one thing.”
Present day San Francisco has altered dramatically since the time of the Ohlones. The landscape, climate, wildlife, residents and way of life have dramatically transformed to the metropolis we know today.
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Today, many of the birds and animals from the time of the Ohlones are no longer present while other species have diminished in number. Suisun Marsh and a few other wetlands are the only remnants of the abundant swamp-life that once existed in the Bay Area. Even the animals’ behavior has changed from fearless of the early European explorers to present-day aversion of human contact. Many of the native plants and animals have been replaced by invasive species. Scotch broom is an example of an invader that has aggressively taken over native habitats and is causing environmental, health and economic harm. The NRDC states, “the San Francisco Bay-Delta is the most invaded aquatic ecosystem in North America, and may be the most invaded estuary in the world.”
The altered landscape is most evident by the manmade metropolis that now covers what, at one time, was a vast expanse of untouched land. However, in comparison with green areas in other cities, San Francisco prides itself on an abundance of parks and open space. The ‘green network’ includes; Golden Gate Park which spans 1000 acres, the 991 acres of open space in the Presidio, over 1 million acres of protected open space in the surrounding Greenbelt and many other sites.
The homogenous Ohlone have been replaced with a plethora of cultures spanning from all continents of the world. Currently, residents of American Indian or Alaska Native descent constitute 0.6% of the City’s population and own 0.5% of the businesses. Tribal groups representative in and surrounding the Bay Area include Ohlone, Miwok, Yokuts, Maidu, Wintun, Pomo, Wappo and those of other tribal affiliations that have relocated to the region. The ethnic and cultural diversity of San Francisco also includes; Chinese, Hispanic, Japanese, Russian, Arabic, Croatian-American, African-American, Lesbian/Bi/Gay, and many more. The professional and economic diversity is as diverse as the residents. While modern-times no longer mandate hunting and gathering, the professions of San Franciscans range in variety including the arts, medicine, education, finance, medical science, technology and tourism.
I attended this event at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, CA on February 13, 2008. The event was arranged by the German American Business Association of California (GABA), Lufthansa and the MIT Alumni Club. It was informative and encouraging to learn about sustainable business practices at Google, PG&E, Lufthansa and BMW. Measuring the scale and accountability of each company’s practices is not my intention in this post - just merely to share highlights of the discussion.
The panel discussion commenced with Jasmin Ansar, PG&E’s Manager of Environmental Policy. A focus of the discussion concerned the mixed views prevalent in society about the profitability of corporate social responsibility (CSR) versus conventional policies. Ansar indicated that the electric sector is responsible for 30-40% of greenhouse gas emissions (ghg) on the national level. Therefore, PG&E’s policy reflects their obligation to sustainability because “in the long-term, it’s the only way to go.” Besides diminishing the corporation’s environmental impact, CSR has provided other benefits for the company such as: enhanced learning, improved strategic thinking, and builds trust, confidence and partnerships. An example of the Environmental Justice Policy entails limiting pollution levels in communities by the Port of Oakland. In hopes of reducing the level of harmful pollutants contributing to asthma and other health issues in the area, PG&E converted the fleet diesel trucks to liquefied natural gas.
The discourse was followed by Carleen Goeckel, Lufthansa’s Regional Sales Manager. The focus of the presentation pertained to Lufthansa balancing their goals of global expansion in a sustainable manner. To maintain balance and meet their goals, the Lufthansa approach entails ‘leadership and vision’. The company developed an Environmental Concepts Department in 1996 that has contributed to the accomplishments and goals. A few are highlighted below and are covered more in depth in the Sustainability Report Balance 2007:
The next presenter, Rob Passaro with the BMW Group, emphasized the importance of the company maintaining sustainable standards due to the sector’s inherent role as a greenhouse gas emitter. The company’s corporate responsibility is reflective by their commitment to the principles of the 2001 UN Global Compact (which pertains to human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption). As Pasarro states, “sustainability is as important as the company’s annual financial disclosures because it affects the ability to maintain the business.” BMW’s track record has proven sustainability can yield economic success. The BMW Sustainable Value Report, “allows expressing and managing sustainability performance in monetary terms. It is the first approach worldwide to follow a value-oriented logic using opportunity costs.”
Abiding by the sustainable policies, BWM continues to excel in producing ecologically-efficient products.
The panel discussion concluded with Google’s Green Energy Czar, Bill Weihl. The presentation entitled “Green at Google: Why and What?” highlighted the company’s sustainable practices. In relation to the prior panelists, Google’s sustainable practices are relatively new with the inception of the Green Strategy Group in 2005. The focus of the Group is to research and deploy high performing technologies that can make a difference. In such a short amount of time, the company’s achievements are vast and impressive.
“I worry what we are doing today is not enough.”
“We can’t offset or conserve our way out of climate change but offsets can slow the process down and buy more time to come up with technology to get rid of emissions.”
“Sustainability is a trade off of short-term costs vs. long-term investments. In the long-term, the investments will pay off with economic growth required for continuing sustainability.”
“Vote with your dollar, don’t buy inefficient cars.”
“If society is affected by negative environmental problems, this directly affects BMW’s business.”
“The risk of not doing anything (about sustainable issues) means failing in the market.”
“Being sustainable is an economic incentive for Lufthansa. The airline industry is difficult in terms of continuous increases in fuel and CO2 emissions. To be competitive in the industry requires fuel efficient operations.”
My Know How:
Public panel discussions always allow community members a chance to engage with the experts by voicing their comments and questions. Suffice to say, some opposition (by Green Guerrillas Against Greenwash GGAG) was directed to PG&E about their “sustainable practices.” On a whole however, all of the public comments pertained to a deep level of concern about the sustainability of California’s resources.
In relation to urban sustainable tourism, each company is either a direct or indirect stakeholder in San Francisco’s tourism industry. As a major airline, Lufthansa services San Francisco International Airport bringing tourists from domestic and international locations. The sustainability of airline operations is vital in reducing emissions and mitigating climate change impacts. As the primary power company in San Francisco, PG&E’s impact spans across every tourism stakeholder category (hotels, restaurants, stores, etc.). Diminishing the City’s tourism-derived energy consumption and emissions is largely dependent on the sustainability of this company. As a high-end company, BMW is a preferred mode of transportation (rental services) for business and middle to upper class leisure travelers. Eco-efficient vehicles not only decrease emission levels, but also promote the economic viability of sustainable businesses. Google dominates the search engine industry and is utilized by tourists for researching about San Francisco’s attractions, activities, and options for trip planning. As a global entity, the online services can promote, generate awareness and provide education about sustainable tourism practices in San Francisco. Although not intended to be an event about sustainable tourism, the correlation between panelists and the travel industry was evident. This is just another example of how the sustainability of all companies across the economic spectrum impact tourism.
