With global economies still signaling red, industries are buckling up for what looks like a tough year. Until now, we have succeeded in laying the foundations to restart tourism around the pillars of sustainability, innovation, and investing for a resilient future. Through it all, we have learned many lessons, the most important of which is fostering a collaborative and multilateral approach, we believe this must remain at the core of initiatives to promote better understanding and intersectional progress within the Industry, even as we all struggle to fight off global economic stagnation.
As other industries also try to adopt a sustainable approach in their operations and market their efforts toward this, the very real threat of Greenwashing remains behind the scenes. Every industry faces this threat, none more so than the Tourism industry. For the uninitiated, Greenwashing is when businesses try to leverage the ever-expanding public attention on sustainable practices but fail to meet the pledged goal in any meaningful manner this type of deceptive marketing. A growing trend in investing has been using the principle of ESG, using environmental, social, and governance metrics as ways to assess potential investments. But the idea that you can make profits with purpose has recently come under pressure from governments, oversight entities, many large exposés from journalists, and even insiders spilling the beans. Sustainable finance and tourism alike remain replete with greenwash.
Auditing firms and holding your own organizations accountable is one way to tackle this. Travel and tourism businesses may state to be environmentally friendly while not recycling, using sustainable practices, or helping local communities they operate in. Short-term profit is the main goal when companies undertake greenwashing campaigns. In some cases, such companies offer (limited) disclosure to boost their own brand legitimacy. This approach may work in the absence of external monitoring or verification. However, if such claims later fail the test of time, they can be far more harmful. There are also many companies that may unintentionally engage in greenwashing, hoping to do good by talking about services or products that they believe to be part of the solution, but they lack the information to thoroughly investigate its impact. Although this may appear to be harmless, it can have a long-term and damaging effect on the goal of a sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle.
Vague claims, lack of proof, and false labels are all signs to look out for and as consumers become more educated as time goes on, the risk of greenwashing companies will affect them even more. Good research and due diligence take time but are ultimately worth the effort.
Rajani. A
Editor