Q&A: GOING BEYOND GREEN WHEN TRAVELLING
Sustainable and eco-friendly travel are terms that are used (and arguably overused) a lot. And the trouble with that is that it is difficult to sort the genuinely green from the green-washed.
The very act of travelling has a negative environmental impact, but it also brings many other benefits in terms of livelihoods and empowerment, so it’s not as simple as saying we should all stop going abroad for our holidays.
So, if you are travelling abroad how can you be sure your hotel is genuinely green and is making a positive difference?
Nina Boys, Vice President of Sustainability at Beyond Green, explains how they have tackled this tricky issue to make sustainable travel easier for us all:
What is Beyond Green?
Beyond Green is a global curated portfolio of planet Earth’s most sustainable hotels, resorts, and lodges that have demonstrated impact in action and delivered on the three pillars of sustainable tourism: Environmentally Friendly Operations; Support for the Protection of Natural and Cultural Heritage; and Providing Social and Economic Benefits to Local People.
More relevant than ever in this new era of travel, Beyond Green champions holistic sustainability by going beyond eco-conscious to also embrace such fundamental principles as fair wages and benefits, inclusivity and gender equality, and preservation of indigenous, local cultures.
Each member hotel works tirelessly to protect biodiversity, celebrate cultural heritage, and improve local people’s livelihoods in destinations around the world, all while delivering an exceptional guest experience.
What inspired the creation of Beyond Green?
The brand was born out of a natural synergy and shared set of values that was discovered over an initial coffee meeting between Lindsey Ueberroth, CEO of Preferred Hotel Group, and Costas Christ, an ecotourism pioneer and global sustainability expert who founded Beyond Green Travel, which Preferred acquired in February 2020.
Working together and in collaboration with a hand-selected group of progressive, innovative hoteliers, Beyond Green was officially founded in April 2021 to establish a more purposeful way to explore the world where good guests meet good hosts. With both leaders believing in doing good, they moved forward with their plans to transform travel as a force for good by creating a brand that championed sustainability leadership and promoted the notion that travellers can enjoy luxury trips that support the longevity, health, and wealth of local communities and the planet.
What are the issues that Beyond Green is helping to address?
Demand for more sustainable businesses, practices, and visitor experiences across the travel industry has been on the rise for years; and it surged exponentially during the pandemic when travellers had the opportunity to reconsider the impact of their trips on the people and places they visit. Travellers have also become savvier about sustainability and have in turn demanded more transparency from the companies they support. While this is a positive and necessary trend, it has also resulted in a more sophisticated wave of ‘greenwashing’.
Beyond Green was created as an antidote to greenwashing, and we address this issue by providing travellers with carefully inspected hotels based on global sustainable tourism standards so that a caring traveller can feel confident when making a booking.
What criteria do hotels have to meet to be part of Beyond Green?
To be eligible for membership, properties are subject to a rigorous vetting process based upon global sustainable tourism standards and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, each under the three key pillars of sustainable tourism. To then officially become a member of Beyond Green, all members must undergo an initial inspection by a sustainable tourism expert, which is repeated every two years, comprising a review of what Beyond Green has defined as the 54 most important global sustainable tourism criteria that a property must be actively engaged in implementing.
Please can you tell me about a few specific hotels and the interesting green initiatives they have actioned?
Given that our members are sustainable tourism leaders, there are far too many examples of the incredible work that each is doing around the world to list here (though you can find “Sustainability in Action” examples for each on the Beyond Green website).
That said, one property that immediately springs to mind is Three Camel Lodge in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, which is doing incredible work across the three pillars of sustainable tourism. For example, the lodge proudly supports the local community by employing 100% Mongolian staff, and also supports local students studying traditional Mongolian music and dance at the Gobi’s Hanhongor School, regularly sharing their talent with guests through private lodge performances.
Additionally, IHG Bora Bora & Thalasso Spa in French Polynesia pioneered Sea Water Air Conditioning (SWAC) systems for hotel use, which channels the cold water of the deep sea to naturally cool rooms and cut down on both energy use and the harmful Hydrofluorocarbons emitted from standard AC systems, which contribute to global warming. This technology is now also being used at The Brando (a sister Beyond Green member in French Polynesia) and is even being implemented at a hospital in Tahiti.
How do you educate your guests and encourage them to take action too?
As mentioned above, each of our members has a “Sustainability in Action” section on the Beyond Green website, and many of our properties also offer opportunities for guests to learn about and engage in sustainability while onsite.
For example, Borgo Pignano in Tuscany offers regenerative agriculture tours of the estate; educational sessions with the resident beekeeper; a ‘zero kilometer’ cooking class; and an organic cosmetics class led by the resident herbalist.
At Islas Secas off the coast of Panama, guests can even take an active role in citizen science; including by helping to count nesting frigatebird colonies for research purposes.
Additionally, Beyond Green requires that all members have eliminated plastic water bottles, which is one way of bringing attention to the destructive effects of plastic waste in the oceans and on land. We hope that this also inspires guests to reduce and eliminate single-use plastics in their daily lives.
Can you measure the impact you are having, and if so what does the data tell you?
Among the most impressive impact Beyond Green members have is reflected in their contribution to protecting biodiversity and regenerating natural habitats around the world. For instance, The Brando is actively protecting the entire Tetiaroa Atoll in the South Pacific, which is made up of coral reefs and small islands – and is also an important cultural heritage site for Tahitians.
Likewise, and Beyond is protecting more than a million acres of wildlife habitat in Africa, while Ted Turner Reserves has regenerated over 500,000 acres of natural habitat in North America that is home to rare and endangered species. At Bushmans Kloof in South Africa, the property safeguards and manages more than 1,000 ancient indigenous rock art sites.
These are just a few key examples of our members’ collective impact.
As someone who loves to travel, I do struggle with the environmental and social impact of my trips, how do you approach that conflict of the good that tourism can do vs. the negative impacts?
You’re tapping into an important point. Travel, like any of our actions, has the potential to do both good and harm, depending on how we go about it. The number one thing that each of us can do is to support local businesses and companies that embrace sustainable tourism principles throughout our explorations. Whether that means staying at a Beyond Green property, opting to eat in a family-run restaurant that supports responsible food chains, choosing to do souvenir shopping directly from local artisans, or going on a tour with a company that supports natural and cultural conservation; these seemingly small decisions can have a real, tangible impact on the places we visit and the communities that live there.
What’s next for Beyond Green?
Beyond Green will continue to expand into new corners of the world and encourage travellers to explore these incredible destinations responsibly and with purpose. As a new hospitality brand, we plan to create a Beyond Green Collective Impact Report to show the scale and positive contributions our members are making in benefiting nature, culture, and community around the world. This will also support our members to share and evolve sustainable tourism best practices while making the industry more transparent and ‘user-friendly’ for visitors.
Where can we find out more in UK?
Visit the Beyond Green website staybeyondgreen.com to learn more, or better yet, visit one of our Beyond Green properties during your next trip to see how sustainability in action and meaningful guest experiences go hand in hand.
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