Find below a series of common questions, supplemented with links to webpages and support services to assist your climate action journey.
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Introduction to climate action
The tourism sector is highly vulnerable to the consequences of climate change, but is also one of the largest contributors to it. Decarbonisation is urgently needed. etc.
Fundamentals of climate change and climate action
Climate Action is Goal 13 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
To find out more, watch this short video and read more about the causes and consequences of climate change by the European Commission.
Climate risks:
World Economic Forum’ Global risk report 2024 – biggest threats to business in next two years + next 10 years. The top 4 risks to business in the next 10 years are all environment-related.
EUCRA – the European Climate Risk Assessment identified 36 climate-related risks.
As described in the Blueprint for Tourism Climate Action Plans (p.22-23), a climate action is any action that:
- “Result[s] in less emissions being caused.”
- “Result[s] in more emissions being removed/absorbed.”
- “Improve[s] resilience towards climate change impacts.”
- “Enable[s] or support[s] one or more of the first three categories,
e.g. through measurement, training, networking, communication or fund
raising.”
Sustainability and the business environment
Current sustainability regulation
- Mandatory reporting
- CSRD – Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive
- TCFD – Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures
- ESG
Upcoming sustainability regulation
- Green Claims Directive – to empower consumers. Proposed in 2023. What it means in practice for businesses.Green claims – European Commission
ETOA continues to monitor the regulatory environment and provide updates.
Revised Oxford principles for net zero aligned carbon offsetting
Netzerocarbonevents.org offsetting document NZCE-Offsetting-Document_AW_07-Dec-23.pdf
Deciphering the climate jargon - key climate terms
Glossary — Global Warming of 1.5 ºC
EUCRA collection of glossaries: Glossary
Taken from NZCE.org:
“The terms “net zero” and “carbon neutrality” are often used interchangeably, but they actually have different meanings:
- Carbon neutrality refers to the balance of emitted CO2 with avoided or removed emissions. This is primarily achieved by removing the same amount of CO2 as emitted. Carbon neutrality can be achieved for an overall company or a specific product. Carbon neutrality can be an intermediate step towards net zero.
- Net zero is a more ambitious goal than carbon neutrality. It requires that all abatable emissions (GHG emissions that can be eliminated) be eliminated, rather than just offset. Accordingly, net zero always includes a clearly defined strategy, roadmap, and resulting actions for the reduction of all abatable GHG emissions. As it is unlikely that an organisation can immediately abate all their emissions, net zero claims allow for using offsets. However, only a specific subset of offsets – high-quality removal projects.”
As explained in UN Tourism’s Climate Action in the Tourism Sector – An overview of methodologies and tools to measure greenhouse gas emissions (p.49):
GHG emissions can be segmented into three ‘scopes’ to help stakeholders understand where their emissions come from, and their responsibility over them.
- Scope 1: GHG emissions produced directly by an organisation “through combustion of fuels or use of refrigerants in its owned properties and vehicles.”
- Scope 2: GHG emissions produced indirectly by an organisation “through the purchase of electricity or energy – for example for heating and cooling buildings.”
- Scope 3: GHG emissions produced indirectly by activities up and down-stream in the organisation’s value chain. Comprised of 15 sub-categories, scope 3 emissions often form the largest share of an organisation’s total emissions.
For more information and tourism-specific examples of emission sources, see pages 45-47.
- Climate change glossary by the Travel Foundation.
“To comply with the CSRD, your company will need to identify its material sustainability impacts, risks and opportunities. The required approach for doing that is a “double materiality” assessment, which broadens the concept of materiality from a sole focus on financial materiality to one that includes a view of your impact on stakeholders and society.” – PwC
- Financial materiality = ‘outside in’. Risks and opportunities in the external environment that could affect your financial performance and position.
- Impact materiality = ‘inside out’. Your impact on the external environment (climate, stakeholders, society etc.).
Declaring a Climate Emergency
You know the facts. Now it’s time to declare. Become a signatory of a climate emergency declaration, such as the Glasgow Declaration for climate action in tourism. For organisations who are predominately part of an industry other than tourism (such as sports or culture), see below for other suitable declarations.
Signing the Glasgow Declaration
Launched in 2021 at COP26, the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism unites the tourism sector with a harmonised commitment to climate action through the production of climate action plans.
The Glasgow Declaration is hosted online by the UN-led One Planet network.
You can find out more information about the Glasgow Declaration here, and read the full declaration in all UN official languages here.
(1) Need for urgent climate action. Tourism is dependent on a stable climate and despite being vulnerable to climate change, the sector is also a major contributor.
(2) Glasgow Declaration acts as a catalyst for climate action, spreading awareness and heightening ambition for change.
(3) Signatories are supported through tools and collaboration.
As stated in the Declaration, signatories must make the following commitments:
- “As signatories we commit to deliver climate action plans within 12 months of signing and implementing them accordingly.
- If we already have plans, we commit to updating or implementing them in the same period to align with this declaration.
- We commit to report publicly both progress against interim and long-term targets, as well as the actions being taken, at least annually.”
The Glasgow Declaration’s framework for producing climate action plans follows five pathways:
- Measure,
- Decarbonise,
- Regenerate,
- Collaborate,
- Finance.
By signing the Glasgow Declaration, you “commit to deliver plans aligned with these pathways to cut tourism emissions in half over the next decade [2030] and reach Net Zero emissions as soon as possible before 2050.”
One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme (2021) – Glasgow Declaration: A commitment to a decade of climate action
To sign the Glasgow Declaration on the One Planet network, and view the application form, terms and conditions, and operating guidelines, click here.
Other industries: signing another climate declaration
Sports organizations:
ETOA members who are predominantly sports organizations may wish to sign the United Nation’s Sports for Climate Action and develop their climate action plan accordingly, taking inspiration from the Glasgow Declaration‘s framework and signatories where appropriate.
Cultural organizations:
ETOA members who are primarily cultural organizations such as museums and galleries, may wish to declare a climate and ecological emergency with Culture Declares.
Environmental organizations:
ETOA members who are part of the environmental industry may wish to Pledge to Net Zero. Their tools and guidance are available here.
Non-industry-specific declarations:
SMEs (non-specific):
SMEs may choose to join the SME Climate Commitment by the SME Climate Hub. Find out more here.
Businesses (non-specific):
Other non-tourism specific businesses may wish to join Business Declares to declare a climate and ecological emergency.
Tourism Declares was once of the precursors to the Glasgow Declaration. Today, while the Tourism Declares website is redundant, signatories of current climate declarations can take inspiration from the Climate Action Plans and Climate Declarations still displayed, and find community amongst its signatories.
You can still join Tourism Declares, either by making a declaration on your website / online (using or taking inspiration from their sample declaration), or joining the Glasgow Declaration. You can then sign up here.
Declaring a Climate Emergency on your ETOA Member Profile
The demand for sustainable travel has grown amongst tourists and businesses alike. By adding your climate declaration to your ETOA Member Profile:
- ETOA members looking to connect with climate literate organisations can filter their search using ‘Climate Action Declaration’ to include only members who are signatories of a climate declaration.
- ETOA members looking at your profile can feel confident that your organisation is engaged with climate action.
- [Part of wider movement].
- [Business case].
On your member profile:
- Navigate to ‘Climate action declaration’ in the ‘Sustainability information’ section.
- Select all that apply:
- Glasgow Declaration signatory
- Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency signatory
- Other (insert initiative URL)
If ‘Other (insert initiative URL)’ is selected, please insert the link of your climate declaration into the ‘Other declaration URL’ field.
Climate Action Plans (CAPs)
The number of support tools available to help the tourism industry produce climate action plans continues to grow, as does the number of organizations producing their CAP. The breadth of plans produced reflects the diversity of the tourism industry.
Introduction to Climate Action Plans
A Climate Action Plan (CAP) is a strategic plan written by organisations, governments, local authorities, individuals and communities to address the need for urgent action to combat climate change.
Aligning with the pathway to net zero, CAPs feature a range of short, medium, and long-term targets, and the actions necessary to reach them. Plans may be a standalone document or form part of a wider sustainability strategy. They are typically updated through implementation reports produced every 12 months to update progress, reflect on challenges, and realign goals as operations are developed during the transition process.
In the tourism sector, the Glasgow Declaration (see: Making a declaration) serves as the catalyst for comprehensive climate action. It aligns stakeholders through a 5-pathway framework to produce CAPs, provides scope for collaboration, and offers tools and support to accelerate capacity for climate action.
Creating a Climate Action Plan
Climate action planning toolkit:
“The Climate Action Planning Toolkit is a practical guide developed by the CPMR and its external experts, The Travel Foundation, to support tourism stakeholders in transitioning towards sustainable and climate-conscious practices. It provides guidance on developing Climate Action Plans for tourism, offering best practices, case studies, and methodologies to integrate climate resilience into tourism strategies. The toolkit is intended for local authorities, policymakers, tourism businesses, and sustainability professionals looking to create tourism models that address climate challenges while enhancing the resilience of destinations. It serves as a valuable resource for those committed to shaping a more sustainable future for coastal and nature-based tourism.”
- Download the toolkit and its editable excel document.
- Watch the first Online Training Session for Tourism Climate Action Plans, focusing on ‘enabling conditions and initial assessments for climate action planning’.
Toolkit contents:
- “A Scheduler with different stages:
- Stage 1 (green cells) describes the process of establishing the enabling conditions
- Stage 2 (yellow cells) describes the process of setting objectives for the plan
- Stage 3 (blue cells) describes the process of selecting actions and the relevant indicators by which to track progress.
- Stage 4 (pink cells) describes the final stage of creating the action document of the plan. This section also includes extensive cross-referencing work with the other project deliverables (notably 1.3 and 1.4).
- An action planner, including potential actions and prioritisation criteria that helps to score them.
- Action examples to inspire regions and destinations.
- A template“
The ‘Blueprint for Tourism Climate Action Plans: A Guide for Regional Authorities and Destination Management Organizations (DMOs)’ provides a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to creating a climate action plan. It features recommended actions, resources and additional guidance that spans everything from the preparation phase to implementation and progress reporting. Despite its focus on Mediterranean DMOs and Regional Authorities, the Blueprint’s actionable steps can benefit all tourism stakeholders in their climate action journey.
You can download the Blueprint in English and Catalan.
Available in English and Brazilian, Green Initiative’s ‘Climate Action Guide for Tourism Destinations and Businesses’ addresses how to conduct a baseline assessment of GHG emissions, analysing the results using the GHG Protocol’s three scopes, setting climate action targets and monitoring progress.
The Glasgow Declaration’s website, hosted by One Planet, features a list of 53 recommended actions that could feature in a climate action plan. Each action has been categorised into the 5 pathways of the Glasgow Declaration and indicate the relevant stakeholder group(s).
You could also take inspiration from the climate action plans of other tourism organisations.
UN Tourism’s ‘Glasgow Declaration Implementation Report 2023 – Advancing Climate Action’:
- Annex 3 – ‘Guidance for the creation of Climate Action Plans’ (pp.47-48): A list of considerations for those creating CAPs, covering preparation, deciding upon actions, and guidance for each of the 5 pathways.
- Annex 4 – ‘Decarbonize actions’ (pp.49-52) and Annex 5 – ‘Regenerate actions’ (pp.53-55): Two extensive lists of regenerative and decarbonisation actions that featured in the 250+ Climate Action Plans submitted by Glasgow Declaration signatories between January – June 2023, to spark inspiration.
For examples of CAPs from ETOA members:
Go to ETOA Member Search and log in to access the additional filters.
1. To see all ETOA members with a Climate Action Plan available online, filter by:
2. To see members like you with climate action plans, filter ‘Business type’:
For additional examples:
You can find 250+ examples of CAPs approved by One Planet (UN Tourism) for the Glasgow Declaration here.
1. Use the drop-down menu on the left-hand side to filter by business types:
Adding your Climate Action Plan to your ETOA Member Profile
Between July and October 2024, ETOA looked through every member’s website (provided through our Member Search database) to measure a baseline percentage of our community’s climate action plans. This included searching for members through the Glasgow Declaration signatories list, as well as on Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency.
During the mapping process, ETOA amended the ‘Climate Action Plan Available’ field for each member profile using our findings.
Occasionally, we discovered that the field contained broken or outdated URLs, general sustainability and climate action commentary, and links to sustainability documents that featured some elements of a Climate Action Plan such as Scope 1,2 and 3 emissions measurements, but lacked a plan for reduction.
In September 2024, ETOA added new fields to Member Search to distinguish between sustainability practices/ polices/ plans, and Climate Action Plans.
Nevertheless, what counts as a CAP is not always clear, so we have had to use our judgement. If you believe we have made a mistake, correction is welcome!
Sustainability Certification and Accreditation
Importance of certification – role it will play. Harmonisation. Green Claims.
Background to sustainability certification and accreditation
As explained by the Tourism Sustainability Certifications Alliance – TSCA:
“Certification is a process where the conformity of products, services, management systems, or businesses is assessed by a third-party, known as certification body. It’s a way of showing that the object of the assessment meets specific standards, expressed in the form of requirements and criteria. For example, hotels can participate in a certification process and be assessed for conformity with requirements on how they provide tourism accommodation services.
Accreditation, on the other hand, is a formal recognition that a certification body is qualified to audit and certify according to certain standards. Think of it as a quality stamp for certifiers.
In summary, certification is a third-party attestation that a product, service, management system, or business conforms with certain standards, while accreditation is for the organizations that can certify them.”
According to the Tourism Sustainability Certifications Alliance – TCSA:
“Sustainable tourism certification is a process to assess an enterprise or destination’s conformity to an internationally accepted set of criteria for sustainability in tourism operation and management.
Certification acts as a fundamental process to mitigate against greenwashing. For decades the certification organisations have utilised the process of independent, third-party audits to assure the veracity of an enterprise or destination’s performance across a range of sustainability criteria covering environmental, socio-economic, cultural-heritage and climate factors.”
The EU’s Green Claims Directive, expected to enter into force in 2026, proposes that organisations…
You can find out more about the Green Claims Directive here.
Who Travalyst is.
What Travalyst does in this area.
Travalyst’s criteria.
Link to their list of compliant certification bodies / certifications / schemes.
Glossary of sustainability certification and accreditation key terms – TSCA.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about sustainability certification and accreditation – TSCA.
Achieving sustainability certification or accreditation
For accommodation providers:
ETOA recommends using Travalyst’s list of approved certification providers.
Travalyst regularly reviews their list of compliant certification providers.
For tour operators (and travel agents):
Each certification provider has different requirements for becoming certified.
For example, Travelife’s certification process works in three stages, with Stage 3 – the final stage – awarding ‘Travelife Certified’.
Certification provided by Travalyst compliant schemes require re-certification every (12 months?).
Certification provided by Travelife is valid for two years, with a re-certification audit before its expiration to extend the certificate.
No.
Certifications vary in price, with many depending on the size of your organization.
Adding sustainability certification or accreditation to your ETOA Member Profile
The demand for sustainable travel has grown amongst tourists and businesses alike. By adding your sustainability certification or accreditation to your ETOA Member Profile:
- ETOA members looking to connect with [] can filter their search using ‘[]’ to include only members who are [].
- ETOA members looking at your profile can feel confident that your organisation is engaged with [].
- [Part of wider movement].
- [Business case].
Carbon Measurement Tools
ETOA’s Climate Action Partners, Greentripper and TerraVerde, provide ETOA members with a range of emission measurement tools tailored to the size and individual needs of your organisation. Read more about their services on our Climate page and view their exclusive offers for ETOA members here.
Accommodation
Tour Operator
Tours (general)
Disclaimer: While best efforts have been made to verify the accuracy of the information, the information displayed should be used as guidance only. Support materials are currently available in the English language only.
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Contact: sustainability@etoa.org