Going Green in Canada

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The world’s largest sustainability certification program for the tourism industry will now be helping Canadian tourism businesses to reduce their environmental impacts.

Through complimentary webinars, white papers, how-to-guides and checklists, Green Tourism will help the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) grow and develop Canada’s tourism sector in a way that helps to meet the growing traveller demand for responsible business, while working to reduce the industry’s environmental and carbon footprint.

“We are thrilled to enter into this supplier partner agreement with TIAC,” says Angela Nagy, CEO of GreenStep Solutions, the delivery agent for the Green Tourism program in Canada. “Globally, tourism represents about 2% of all greenhouse gas emissions. There are huge opportunities for Canadian tourism businesses to minimize their impacts while also reducing their costs and attracting more guests, making the industry more resilient in today’s competitive market.”

TIAC president Charlotte Bell added, “TIAC is pleased to offer its members additional tools to enhance their sustainability efforts through our partnership with Green Tourism. We hope these tools and best practices will help Canada’s tourism industry increase their sustainability programs to meet growing expectations from today’s consumers.

“Green Tourism is recognized as the world’s largest and most credible sustainable tourism certification program. The criteria are aligned with ISO 14001 and exceed the Global Sustainable Tourism Council Criteria, as validated by the International Centre for Responsible Tourism, and take a holistic approach to sustainability. With over 15 years of experience, there are currently more than 2,000 certified businesses internationally and there are currently more than 100 Canadian businesses that are certified or ‘awaiting grading.’”

(http://www.greentourismcanada.ca)