Sustainability Project
Running from December 2011 until May 2012
VisitScotland is carrying out a project to obtain
information from a selection of quality assured tourism businesses.
This will help to inform how to best to incorporate sustainability
into the Quality Assurance (QA) scheme.
Information will be gathered on the following areas:
- Energy and water efficiency
- Waste reduction
- Sustainable purchasing
The project will run from December 2011 to May 2012 and all
serviced accommodation businesses that have a quality grading visit
during these dates will be included.
The results of the sustainability project along with consumer
research and industry consultation will be evaluated during summer
2012. Sustainability is planned to be incorporated into the QA
scheme from September 2012.
We have pulled together a short summary of what the project is
about and how it will affect businesses:
How will VisitScotland use the results from the project?
The sustainability project will allow VisitScotland to:
- Gain insight into the sustainable practices businesses are
using and how these are affected by factors such as business
location and quality rating.
- Understand the barriers to sustainability businesses face
- Understand the advice and support required by industry
- Encourage those businesses with little or no experience of
sustainable working to adopt more sustainable practises
- Inform future decisions about the best way of incorporating
sustainability into QA
How will my business benefit?
The main business benefits of incorporating sustainable measures
are:
- Reducing costs by using resources more efficiently
- Attracting, retaining and motivating staff
- Strengthening and enhancing products, services and
reputation
- Attracting new customers and encouraging repeat businesses
- Complying with increasingly stringent legislation
Consumers are increasingly aware of sustainability. Consumer
insights indicated that 84%* of UK visitors say sustainability is
very or quite important when making holiday choices. *(source:
VisitScotland Autumn 2010 campaign evaluation).
How does the project affect green certification schemes like
the GTBS?
This will not replace green certification schemes like the Green
Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS) or the David Bellamy Award.
VisitScotland will:
- Continue to promote GTBS and the David Bellamy Award
- Continue to encourage businesses to participate in and achieve
green certification, like GTBS bronze, silver or gold
- Continue to include these awards in relevant consumer facing
material
For the project, VisitScotland will take account of the
sustainability activity of GTBS members. This will ensure that
their activity is captured as part of the benchmarking
exercise.
As the integration of sustainability criteria into QA schemes
progresses, VisitScotland will continue to promote green
certification schemes to industry. VisitScotland will also continue
to encourage businesses to achieve the highest green accolades.
