B Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency

Travel is the thread that connects the tapestry of our world together. It illuminates cultures, enriches shared history and honors the sense of place for each destination on the planet. 

Yet the looming danger of climate change threatens the interconnectedness of us all. The impacts of the climate crisis to the environmental and ecological systems of our earth don’t just harm the travelers of tomorrow or future generations, the peril is here in the present. We are already witnessing devastating effects to habitats around the world. 

B Tourism is a global network of Certified B Corporation travel and tourism companies as well as other conscious travel organizations that take collective action for environmental and social justice. Inspired by the operational transparency and overall credibility of Certified B Corps, the platform serves as a resource for the regenerative travel movement and helps travelers enjoy a vacation experience that is reliant on interdependence. 

It is our hope to promote tourism as a force for good so that travelers can cultivate connections with family & friends, create their own unique experiences and enrich appreciation for life itself while supporting companies that align with their values.

Working in collaboration with other values-aligned networks and coalitions to adapt and evolve travel, we strive to provide a net benefit to all stakeholders and seek to eliminate the terms “sustainable” and “regenerative” when those practices become the norm, ultimately creating an inclusive and equitable system.

We recognize that B Tourism must use our network and collective resources to be a part of the plan to solve the problem. Therefore, we’ve made the decision to sign up to Tourism Declares, an initiative that supports tourism businesses, organizations and individuals in declaring a climate emergency and taking purposeful action to reduce their carbon emissions as per the advice from The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to cut global carbon emissions to 55% below 2017 levels by 2030. 

Like all signatories, our leadership has committed to the following five actions:

1. Develop a ‘Climate Emergency Plan’ within the next 12 months, which sets out our intentions to reduce carbon emissions over the next decade.
2. Share an initial public declaration of our ‘Climate Emergency Plan’, and update on progress each year.
3. Accept current IPCC advice stating the need to cut global carbon emissions to 55% below 2017 levels by 2030 in order to keep the planet within 1.5 degrees of warming. We’ll ensure our ‘Climate Emergency Plan’ represents actions designed to achieve this as a minimum, through delivering transparent, measurable and increasing reductions in the total carbon emissions arising from our operations. 
4. Encourage our members, suppliers and partners to make the same declaration; sharing best practice amongst peers; and actively participate in the Tourism Declares community
5. Advocate for change. We recognize the need for system change across the industry to accelerate a just transition towards carbon-free tourism. 

The B Tourism team will also stand by as an advocate to other businesses to assist with their journey to combat climate change and make their own declarations, while also helping to provide the tools they need to have success in the endeavor. Taking action against climate change is a human imperative and necessary to protect all forms of life. Our urgency is driven by wanting to be good global citizens, good people, and knowing that if collective global action is not taken, everyone will lose. 

Travel is magical – it breaks down cultural differences, connects us to life and cultivates connections with our loved ones, all while reducing stress and enriching our lives. By taking a stand against climate change, we take a stand for our planet and the ability of us all to explore it, together.

Photo by Ajay Donga from Pexels

Please consider also declaring at www.tourismdeclares.com, and follow on @tourismdeclares on Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin