Group editor Ruby Gonzalez shares with us her takes on the long and short, and important and the mundane of the industry.
On saving the environment, money and your soul
Friday, April 25, 2008
“Saving the world”– a phrase too heavy a load to carry – could appear to be a less daunting task if interpreted as an aspect of one’s corporate social responsibility. And the task could be so much easier to do if it is done holistically, just part of the day’s job.
Hosting an event in a green venue, for instance, would already accomplish so much. But while there are already certified green venues all over the world, these are still not so many that they would be present in every destination. The world does not stop there though. Determination will provide you all the mileage that you will ever need.
In Macau, Tourism Australia sat down with the management of The Venetian, where it hosted TABEE for three nights in February, and stated what they wanted to be done in implementing a part of their green policies. These were not earthshaking shifts from the usual norm but they were effective.
Thus no bottled water was served throughout the event. Instead there were glasses and pitchers of water. Just in case the volume in the pitchers was not enough, there were water dispensers on standby. Immediate impact: zero plastic bottles to dispose.
No special limousine services were arranged for individual arrivals/ departures. Instead, the delegates were requested to get on the usual hotel airport/ ferry. Ingredients used for the meals were locally sourced. Air-conditioning units in booked venues were turned off when not being used.
Result: minimised carbon footprint.
Saving the environment can also be done by having a paperless event or simply recycling garbage. (By the way, the latter should already become a set habit for Catholics as negligence in doing so has recently been identified by the Pope as a cardinal sin.)
And, in this time when the US financial crisis has begun impacting global economies, businesses have started giving a serious look at saving in the financial sense, as well.
Now, on to what could shape up to be an even more interesting development: the fused topic of saving the environment and the cost of travel.
In February, Virgin Atlantic launched its first demonstration flight using biofuel, which has a lower life-cycle carbon emission than traditional kerosene or jet fuel. If implemented on a commercial scale, this could pave the way to flying free from the guilt of releasing gargantuan greenhouse emissions. But at present, the airline management cannot say if getting on such flights would be cheaper or more expensive than the usual.
If it were more expensive – you want to save the world but, at the same time, you have to keep an eye on your travel expense – would you still take it?
So when to save and when to do otherwise?
Somewhere lies the formula. If you have it, I would very much want to hear all about it.
Ruby Gonzalez | 
