Draft Canadian Sustainable Tourism Criteria

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DraftCanadian Sustainable Tourism Criteria
Randy WilliamsPresident and CEOTourism Industry
Association of CanadaNovember 2, 2009
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Four Areas of Focus

• Demonstrate effective sustainable management.
• Maximize social and economic benefits to the
  local community and minimize negative impacts.
• Maximize benefits to cultural heritage and
  minimize negative impacts.
• Maximize benefits to the environment and minimize
  negative impacts.

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A. Demonstrate effective sustainable management

• A.1. Plan The business has implemented a
  long-term sustainable operations and management
  program that considers social, economic, natural
  and cultural environments of the area and region
  in which it operates.
• A.2. Obey Laws The business is in compliance
  with all relevant municipal, provincial, federal
  and international legislation and regulations
  (including, among others, health and safety,
  accessibility, labour, natural resources and
  environmental, cultural and territorial aspects.)
• A.3. Train staff All personnel receive
  communications and ongoing training regarding
  their role in the operations and management of
  environmental, social, economic, natural,
  cultural, health, and safety practices. Further,
  the business has developed a recognition program
  to encourage and acknowledge efforts of staff and
  management.
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A. Demonstrate effective sustainable management

• A.4. Keep Customer Happy Customers
  satisfaction is measured on the businesss
  ability to communicate and demonstrate economic,
  environmental and social responsibility and
  corrective action taken where appropriate. The
  business is also measured on its ability to
  educate and engage the customer to adopt and or
  participate in sustainable (touring/traveling)
  practices.
• A.5. Market Honesty Promotional materials are
  accurate and complete, expressing the values of
  sustainable tourism but do not promise more than
  can be delivered by the business.
• A.6. Educate Guests Information about and
  interpretation of the natural surroundings, local
  culture, and cultural heritage is provided to
  customers, as well as explaining appropriate
  behaviour while visiting natural areas, living
  cultures, and cultural heritage sites. 

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A. Demonstrate effective sustainable management

• A.7. Contribute to Industry and the Cause
  Actively contribute to the tourism industry,
  stakeholders, partners and suppliers in adopting
  sustainable practices by sharing information,
  good practices, successes and results.
• A.8. Measure Monitor Using national
  sustainable tourism indicators, the business will
  actively monitor its program for both positive
  and negative impacts on the community and its
  resources. Further it will communicate its
  results to interested parties as needed.
• A.9. Stay in business Appropriate return on
  investment as defined by shareholders.

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B. Maximize social and economic benefits to the
local community and minimize negative impacts

• B.1. The business has a plan that includes
  specific objectives for benefiting the local
  community and this plan contains actions
  activities in support of the communitys plan
  goals.
• B.2. To optimize socio economic impact, the
  business gives priority to local employment,
  including management positions and contributes to
  workforce development. Ongoing training is a
  company priority and budgeted annually.
• B.3. The business gives priority to purchasing
  local and fair-trade services and goods, whenever
  possible.
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B. Maximize social and economic benefits to the
local community and minimize negative impacts

•  B.4. The business offers the means for local
  small entrepreneurs to develop and sell
  sustainable products that are based on the areas
  nature, history, and culture (including food and
  drink, crafts, performance arts, agricultural
  products, etc.).
• B.5. A code of conduct for activities of the
  company, its suppliers and their clients in
  indigenous and local communities has been
  developed and implemented, in collaboration with
  the community.
• B.6. The business has implemented and educated
  all employees on an internal policy against
  economic, and social exploitation, including
  sexual exploitation, particularly of children and
  adolescents.

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B. Maximize social and economic benefits to the
local community and minimize negative impacts

•  B.7. The business implements and promotes equal
  opportunity policies in all levels of operation
  and management and reflects Canadas Charter of
  Rights.
• B.8. The business adheres to Federal and
  Provincial Labour Standards and promotes a
  healthy and safe workplace.
• B.8.1. Fair and competitive compensation offered
  to employees.
• B.9. The activities of the business do not
  negatively impact or jeopardize the
  socio-economic well being of the local community
  including the provision of basic services, such
  as water, energy, or sanitation, to neighbouring
  communities.

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C. Maximize benefits to cultural heritage and
minimize negative impacts

• C.1. The business educates, promotes and adheres
  to established guidelines or code of behaviour,
  where they exists, for visits to culturally or
  historically sensitive sites in order to make a
  priority of conserving intangible and tangible
  expressions of cultures and history of
  communities to minimize visitor impact and
  maximize enjoyment.
• C.2. Cultural, historical and archaeological
  artefacts are managed and handled in accordance
  with federal and provincial regulation and with
  the greatest respect and sensitivity as to
  maintain its authenticity and integrity.
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C. Maximize benefits to cultural heritage and
minimize negative impacts

• C.3. The business plays an active role in the
  protection of tangible and intangible heritage
  aspects and values (local history/arch/cult
  spiritually) and supports their enhancement and
  responsible enjoyment by local residents.
• C.4 Where appropriate, the business uses
  elements of local art, architecture, or cultural
  heritage in its operations, design, decoration,
  food, or shops while respecting the intellectual
  property rights of local communities.
• C.5. The business works towards a cultural and
  heritage enhancement policy.
• C.6. Conserve culture and landscape including
  urban and/or rural.
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C. Maximize benefits to cultural heritage and
minimize negative impacts

• C.7. The business is sensitive to landscape
  preservation both urban and rural and cooperates
  with stakeholders at protecting and promoting
  what nurtures the character of a community or
  destination including through product
  development.
• C.8. Planning and product development respect
  and possibly enhances and celebrates the built
  and cultural landscape.
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D. Maximize benefits to the environment and
minimize negative impacts

• D.1. Impact Reduction
• D.1.1. Purchasing policy favours environmentally
  friendly products for building materials, capital
  goods, food, and consumables.
• D.1.2.The purchase of disposable and consumable
  goods is measured, and the business actively
  seeks alternate sustainable means to improve
  efficiency.
• D.1.3. Energy consumption should be measured,
  sources indicated, and measures to decrease
  overall consumption should be adopted, while
  encouraging the use of renewable energy.
• D.1.4. Water consumption should be measured,
  sources indicated, and measures to decrease
  overall consumption should be adopted.
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D. Maximize benefits to the environment and
minimize negative impacts

• D.2. Ecological Stewardship
• D.2.1. A business seeks to actively reduce
  pollution and demonstrates such efforts by
  establishing and measuring its benchmarks,
  developing and sharing its progress report
  including successes and failures. Such reports
  could include its Ecological footprint (identify
  carbon footprint) Ecological reduction plan and
  direction (where or how are they going to
  reduce) Ecological downstream policy Ecological
  enhancement policy (include restoration and
  improvements).
• D.2.2. Atmosphere emissions from all sources
  (especially greenhouse gases) controlled by the
  business are measured and procedures are
  implemented to reduce or offset them to achieve
  climate neutrality thru investment in credible
  certified projects.
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D. Maximize benefits to the environment and
minimize negative impacts

• D.2. Ecological Stewardship continued
• D.2.3. Wastewater, including gray water, is
  treated effectively and reused where possible.
• D.2.4. A solid waste management plan is
  implemented, with quantitative goals to minimize
  waste that is not reused or recycled.
• D.2.5. The use of harmful substances, including
  pesticides, paints, swimming pool disinfectants,
  and cleaning materials, is minimized
  substituted, when available, by innocuous
  products and all chemical use is properly
  managed.
• D.2.6. The business implements practices to
  reduce pollution from noise, light, runoff,
  erosion, ozone-depleting compounds, and air and
  soil contaminants.
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D. Maximize benefits to the environment and
minimize negative impacts

• D.3. Conserving biodiversity
• D.3.1. Wildlife species are only harvested,
  consumed, displayed, sold, or internationally
  traded, as part of a regulated activity that
  ensures that their utilization is sustainable.
• D.3.2. No captive wildlife is held, except for
  properly regulated activities, and living
  specimens of protected wildlife species are only
  kept by those authorized and suitably equipped to
  house and care for them.
• D.3.3. Interactions with wildlife must not
  produce adverse effects on the viability of
  populations in the wild and any disturbance of
  natural ecosystems is minimized, rehabilitated,
  and there is a compensatory contribution to
  conservation management.

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D. Maximize benefits to the environment and
minimize negative impacts

• D.3. Conserving biodiversity continued
• D.3.4. The business uses native species as
  identified by provincial governing body for
  landscaping and restoration, and takes measures
  to avoid the introduction of invasive alien
  species.
• D.3.5. The business contributes to the support of
  biodiversity conservation, including supporting
  natural protected areas and areas of high
  biodiversity value.
• D.3.6. Planning and product development respect
  and possibly enhances and celebrates the natural
  environment.
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D. Maximize benefits to the environment and
minimize negative impacts

• D 4 Design and construction of buildings and
  infrastructure
• D. 4.1. Respect the protected and heritage area
  requirements, natural or cultural heritage
  surroundings in citing, design, impact
  assessment, and land rights and acquisition
• D. 4.2. Use locally appropriate principles of
  sustainable construction
•