The Travel Foundation has developed a ‘next step generator’ so that travel companies can find out what their next step towards sustainability is.
(TRAVPR.COM) UK - August 8th, 2013 - The Travel Foundation has developed a ‘next step generator’ so that travel companies can find out what their next step towards sustainability is. It’s free and available online here: www.thetravelfoundation.org.uk/green_business_tools/next_step
Following July’s Make Holidays Greener month, the charity’s annual awareness raising campaign, the Foundation is urging the industry to keep momentum going by discovering the next step on their sustainability journey.
A ‘next step’ is generated depending upon answers to a series of questions in five key areas of sustainability:
- Policy
- Staff training
- Environment
- Supply chain
- Communications
In each area, there are beginner or advanced levels of action, the idea being that businesses should try to reach ‘beginner’ level in each area, before moving on to more advanced sustainability procedures. Users are able to have their ‘next step’ emailed for future reference, or click ‘try again’ to generate a new suggestion.
Sarah Davis, research and development manager at HF Holidays, who provide a range of cycling holidays and were one of the first firms to use the generator, said: ‘The Next Steps Generator identified staff engagement as an area of focus for HF Holidays. We’ve already made a start on this by pledging our staff to take the Go Greener Holidays training as part of Make Holidays Greener month, but recognise that there is more to do. We’re just about to begin an annual review of our policy and practices, to be presented to our Board of Directors in September. Following this, we will roll out communications to engage staff with the amended policy and practices and take it from there. The Next Steps Generator helped to highlight that this is an area where we can make strides to continue to build sustainability into our day to day operation, and the suggestions on how to act on this were very useful.’
Julie Middleton, industry programmes manager at the Travel Foundation, said: ‘Many companies are keen to be operating more sustainably, but aren’t sure how to go about it, and this is a great tool for those who’d like some direction. There is no right or wrong way to approach sustainability, and it often seems like a daunting task. The ‘next steps generator’ helps break down the key areas of sustainability into manageable chunks.’
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