Oh so Sustainable with Lucy Agace
Lucy Agace founded Responsible Rental Solutions 3 years ago to help guide smaller accommodation owners to incorporate sustainable practices into their businesses. 35 years as an underwater photographer and conservationist, demonstrated to Lucy the urgent need for sustainability action. Lucy provides sustainability certification for the hospitality sector and is a member of the GSTC. She is the UK partner for Green Globe as a professional auditor and certified with the University of Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership. Email: lucy@ gogreensustainability.com FB: Go Green Sustainability URL: https://www. gogreensustainability. com/certification-services/ responsible-rentals
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I’m sure we can all agree we are living in extraordinary times, not least the pandemic, but the climate crisis looms ever nearer as we move into 2022. COP26 has just finished and everyone can see there’s an urgent need to make serious behavioural changes, both at home and in our business operations, to effectively mitigate a climate disaster. The public appetite for businesses to be more ethical, offering products and services built on sustainable foundations, is gaining huge momentum and consumers are opting for responsible or sustainable alternatives in all lifestyle areas. Consumers are also looking for proof and authentication of such claims, and so they should; There are too many fake claims, called ‘green washing’, which the government is taking steps to eradicate next year. Wouldn’t it be easier to find proof with a simple, linked badge clearly displayed on your website’s landing page? This is an achievable aim Travel is no exception. Booking. com’s 2020 customer survey found that demand for sustainable accommodation is growing year on year: 82% of global travellers identified sustainable travel as important to them. More needs to be done to help travellers fulfil these aspirations. Embracing sustainable practices in a transparent and honest way will help you to attract the enlightened traveller who is looking for accommodation that aligns with their own ethical standards and provides a low impact stay. Let’s take a moment to explore sustainability and how it relates to the accommodation business. Sustainability is associated with many definitions, for example: • ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) • PPP (People,Prosperity,Planet)
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• Eco-friendly • Green …and so on. But don’t confuse sustainability with ‘going green’ or ‘eco-friendly’; they are different. In a nutshell sustainability means: “Operating a profitable business but not at the expense of the environment or people”. Whereas ‘going green’ or ‘eco-friendly’ doesn’t take into account the people, social or governance side. In order to make a big positive impact, a complete holistic approach is best, looking at the entire BnB operation using best practice sustainability values. This is a step by step process of various actions and modifications, some small, some bigger. It doesn’t mean closing and a re-model. During the process you need to look at how you can best communicate these efforts to guests whilst at the same time making it easy for them to comply. A successful transition requires guests to participate and understand your thought process and motivation. This underlying theme to increase public awareness is hugely important, it not only assures delivery, but it will make your life easier and save you money. We can’t underestimate consumer choice/ demand. Andrew Marr interviewed Greta Thunberg ahead of COP26, and she said: “Consumer demand is still widely required to affect the changes needed in the time limits we have and to put more pressure on those in positions of power to make the right decisions”. I will, over the coming issues, provide some useful information about responsible practices and insights into how you can make the best choices that have the most effect. Some of you may already be doing some of these but I will be taking a blanket approach so that no one misses out. www.luxurybnbmag.com
23/11/2021 15:50
