Climate impact tool coming soon - News

Counting the cost

Climate change presents both a major challenge and a significant opportunity for Scotland’s tourism and events sector. While many organisations recognise the need to act, they often lack clarity on where to begin, what to prioritise, or the confidence to take those first steps.

We have entered an exciting new partnership, to help tourism and events businesses better understand and reduce their environmental impact.

We’re teaming up with a leading carbon measurement platform TRACE by isla, to enable all tourism and events businesses in Scotland to calculate their carbon emissions.

It will be free to access for our industry and as a carbon accounting solution, the platform enables businesses to move from ambition to action more quickly.

TRACE by isla’s platform has a strong track record delivering for events businesses and destinations, but the tool is for all sectors within tourism, whatever stage of their climate action journey they are at.

How the platform works

Carbon calculation looks at everyday activities like:

energy used in your building (heating, electricity)
travel (staff, visitors, deliveries)
goods and services you buy (suppliers, food, materials)

These are known as Scope 1, 2 and 3. The calculator then turns all of that into a single figure - your carbon footprint, usually shown in tonnes of CO₂.

Once you know your number, you can:

see where your biggest impacts are
make changes (e.g. reduce energy use, choose responsible suppliers)
track your progress over time
save time and money in the longer term

Too often sustainability can feel complex or disconnected from day-to-day decisions. The aim is to make it easier for organisations to understand their impact and focus on the actions that matter most, turning data into meaningful change. We’re thrilled to be working with VisitScotland and supporting the tourism and events sector in taking practical steps forward, helping organisations build a clearer understanding of their impacts and accelerate progress towards a more sustainable future for the industry.

Anna Abdelnoor, CEO and Founder of isla

Strengthening the Climate Action Accelerator

While any tourism and events business can use the carbon calculator platform, it will be the measurement tool for our ongoing Climate Action Accelerator, delivered in partnership with Climate Springboard at the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute.

The Climate Action Accelerator provides guidance, tools and expertise to help tourism and event businesses embed sustainable practices and reduce emissions over the long term.

These resources provide robust data necessary for climate action planning, enabling businesses to understand both their direct impact and the emissions generated across their operations.

Find out more about the Climate Climate Action Accelerator

Driving a more sustainable future for Scottish tourism

By equipping businesses with resources to measure, manage and reduce their emissions, we can help accelerate the transition to a low-carbon tourism industry.

This supports Scotland’s wider climate ambitions while ensuring that businesses of all sizes - from accommodation providers and hospitality to attractions and experiences - can play their part in building a more sustainable future, through reduced emissions and bringing down energy costs.

Tourism businesses interested in joining the Climate Action Accelerator and for upcoming details on accessing TRACE by isla, take a look at our Business Support Hub or sign up to our newsletter for updates.

Learn more on the Business Support Hub

TRACE by isla

TRACE by isla is a carbon measurement and reporting platform developed by isla, a UK-based sustainability body focused on decarbonising the events industry.

Designed initially for event organisers, venues and supply chains, TRACE provides real-time insights, reporting tools and emissions tracking across Scope 1, 2 and 3, helping businesses identify hotspots and take practical action towards net zero.

It’s widely used across the events sector to support more consistent, data-driven sustainability planning and carbon reduction.