Objectives

Specific Objectives

1. Develop innovative approaches for introducing EMAS III in a step by step approach among tour operators and travel agencies.
2. Cluster based approach in the market replication of EMAS III among members of tour operator and travel agency associations in Europe.
3. Integrate the EU Ecolabel for accommodations with the joint European tour operator sustainability standards for accommodations.
4. Implement a model for sector wide supply chain based market replication of eco-innovations (e.g. EU Ecolabel) among tour operator and travel agency suppliers (e.g. Hotels).

Description of the proposed solution and summary of the work programme

INTOUR will integrate the common European travel industry sustainability approach with the voluntary environmental management and certification instruments of the EU. The EU instruments EMAS IIII and EU Ecolabel will provide credibility and direction to the efforts of European tour operators and travel agencies while the innovative sector based approach of European travel industry will mainstream environmental management and certification within regular supply chain and contracting processes. INTOUR will be realised in 7 interrelated work-packages:

1. Management, monitoring and reporting to the EC.
2. Development. Develop sector specific management system for travel agencies. Integrate EMAS III within the existing sector-wide, comprehensive and common European sustainability management system for travel companies. Introduce a step-up and cluster methodology to EMAS III.>
3. Market replication. Apply and test the sector specific EMAS III system amongst 1.100+ tour operators and travel agencies within the membership of 11 trade associations in The Netherlands, UK, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Bulgaria and other European countries. EMAS III registration.
4. Development. Harmonizing of common industry suppliers standards, criteria and tools with the EU Ecolabel for accommodations; develop industry-wide standards for non-accommodation tourism services (transport services, complementary activities, animal welfare and protection, etc.) with a specific focus on climate and biodiversity in compliance with any existing EU standards.
5. Market replication. Enlarge and encourage eco-certified accommodation services in European destinations by promoting the EU-Ecolabel standards through market led supply chain approach among 12.000 by tour operators contracted hotels. Specific approach in Austria, Turkey and Italy.
6. Development and implementation of an exploitation strategy.
7. Participation in EACI dissemination activities. Dissemination to tour operators and travel agencies, among suppliers and other stakeholders.

Major outputs and results (including main result indicators)

1. EMAS III sector specific management system supported by 11 trade associations; innovative step by step approach to EMAS III; manual in 4 languages; grading and audit system; 200+ best practices and online reporting system for travel agencies; hand-book in co-operation with UNEP;
2. 10+ newsletters; individual consultation methodology; implementation of EMAS III step-up approach among 1.100+ tour operators and travel agencies (certified sustainability co-ordinator, environmental policy, action plan and reporting). 40 + EMAS III registered travel companies;
3. Harmonising the industry sustainability criteria for hotels with the EU Ecolabel criteria and assessment system. Industry environmental standards for different types of tourism products and services in line with EU instruments; European guidelines for sustainable tour packages; supplier handbook integrating the EU Flower criteria.
4. Central European d-base with 12.000 by tour operator contracted suppliers (e.g. hotels); 300 + tour operators evaluate their suppliers through a direct approach; 40 trained auditors; 900+ awarded suppliers of which 50+ EU Flower certified; 1.800 + award logos in tour operator brochures and travel agencies information system.
5. Coherent widely supported and financially viable system for European wide introduction.
6. Dissemination among travel sector in Europe

Tchnical description including the state of development

A. Description of the technology, product or process including its innovation aspects

Sustainability in tourism can only be achieved if tourism suppliers and tour operators and credible independent management schemes and Eco-labels collaborate with each other based on a common strategy. European tour operator associations have recently introduced a common sustainable management and supplier assessment system on a sector-wide basis among their member tour operators (in addition to already existing quality, safety and consumer protection management systems). This, in combination with the establishment and introduction of the EU Eco-label for accommodations (making certification available all over Europe) and innovative methodologies for implementation of EMAS III (EMAS Easy) provides a breaking opportunity to develop and implement joint approaches and actions between the travel sector and EU sustainability instruments. The commitment of 11 major European travel associations and leading individual tour operators will guarantee an effective market replication of the developed common approach raising the share of “sustainable products” within the market. Thus sustainability, with tour operators as the driving force, will become a leading principle within the tourism supply chain.

Destinations <- Suppliers <- Tour operators -> Travel agencies -> Consumers

Tour operators and sustainability

Tour operators and travel agencies play a central role in the tourism industry. As intermediates between tourists and tourism businesses, they can influence the choice of consumers, practices of suppliers and the development within destinations. Through their unique position, tour operators can make an important contribution to promote sustainable development and to protect the environmental and cultural resources. Key operating areas where companies can integrate sustainability practices are: internal management, product development, supply chain management, relations with destinations and customer relations. For about a decade committed tour operators (LTU Touristik Germany, My Travel Northern Europe, Orrizonti Italy, TUI -Travel, First Choice), in addition to many small and micro enterprises (such as those organised within the German Forum Anders Reisen and the Dutch ANVR) have been working on concepts and pilots to introduce sustainability principles into their company processes. These where however ad-hoc and individual approaches. It turned out that even larger multinational companies had limited success as, for example, hotels where not motivated to comply with an environmental (best practice) standard of a specific tour operator, because a competing tour operator or an external ecolabel had very different standards. Furthermore, consumers did not trust the “green logos” as developed by a single company. Collecting all the information also turned out to be rather expensive for an individual, even large, company. Therefore, in order to become more (cost) effective a collective approach was critical.

The common tour operator supply chain management and suppliers assessment system

In 2004 committed tour operator associations decided to develop a common European sustainability management methodology taking into account all existing experiences (e.g. ANVR-NL, ABTA-UK, FAR Germany and the UNEP supported Tour operators’ Initiative). The initiative which was supported in the frame of the EU LIFE project Tour Link resulted in the following inter-related tools:

1. A common sustainability management methodology including 6 steps: commitment and capacity building, baseline assessment, policy statement, action planning and implementation, monitoring and reporting. An implementation manual was developed which clearly described each step and how to comply with it.
2. A state of the art tour operator training package including online training modules and practical tools for a range of staff roles and product groups related to different parts of the tourism supply chain (transport, accommodation, excursions, food) and tourism types (winter sport, cruise, golf, soft adventure, wildlife tourism). The training is concluded with an online exam, providing a personal Travelife certificate to successful candidates. All 190 Dutch ANVR tour operators have meanwhile completed the training.
3. Common best practice standards based on different previously existing tour operator specific standards. These provide clear direction, avoid confusion amongst suppliers (e.g. hotels), are designed to inspire accommodations world-wide, and are used by tour operators to evaluate and compare accommodations. The harmonised standards have more than 100 criteria including environmental (energy, waste, water, transport, biodiversity) as well as social issues (workers rights, community involvement).
4. A common sector-wide suppliers online assessment system was developed in order to support tour operators to assess the environmental performance of their suppliers (e.g. hotels) and support them in integrating sustainability practices. The system was based on the earlier developed common Health & Safety system of the UK Federation of Tour Operators. Through a web based facility (www.its4travel.com) tour operators can evaluate and compare the performance of their suppliers based on the best practice standards. Information is shared between tour operators, avoiding the need for tour operators to personally audit all their suppliers and eliminating the need to maintain individual and expensive company based information systems. When a supplier reaches a certain performance level it can apply for an onsite assessment which provides (once past the threshold), the opportunity to be highlighted in tour operators’ brochures through a common sustainability logo. The “Sustainability System” also provides hotels advice and support tools to improve their environmental and social performance. This includes a training handbook, reference to sustainable technologies and an accommodation benchmark tool (developed by the EU LIFE Tour Bench project) to help them manage energy and water consumption (and costs). The system is available in more than 10 languages.

All above tools are implemented through travel industry associationswho offer and implement the interrelated tools among their members. They also set specific obligatory management standards for their members. The strong involvement of the associations supports transparency and a sector-wide uptake. All tour operator tools are accessible through the “travelife.eu” website which also facilitates tour operator associations in managing and monitoring their members’ sustainability activities.

EU Voluntary instruments

EMAS III (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) is the EU’s voluntary scheme designed for companies and other organizations committed to evaluating, managing and improving their environmental performance. EMAS III is currently the most credible and robust environmental management scheme in Europe, and exceeds the requirements of ISO 14001. In order to qualify for EMAS III, a business needs to take the following steps: environmental review, establish an environmental management system, environmental audit, environmental statement, independent verification and registration with an EMAS III competent body. To date (August 09), EMAS III has been implemented in 3568 companies of which 223 hotels (mainly in Germany, Italy and Spain). It has, so far, only been implemented by a few of tour operators and travel agencies (for example Studiosus, Germany).

EMAS III - Easy is a smart, informal and lean way of implementing EMAS III, and reduces internal and external costs of certification. It is based on eco-mapping, which is a proven, easy, creative and visual tool for “scanning” environmental aspects of the company. The underlying principles are: focusing on individual efforts by each company; learning by doing and empowering people – focus more on action and not on paper; informal procedures, light documentation and micro-reports.

Eco-labelling is a tool to develop and implement sustainability standards, and to provide a clear vehicle for improving environmental performance. The EU Ecolabel for Accommodation services (established in 2003) makes eco-labelling available in all European countries (via so called competent bodies). The standard includes about 100 criteria divided over different themes such as energy, water, waste, green procurement, training and chemicals. However, the uptake of the EU Flower eco-label for accommodations has been limited (217 Hotels across Europe), partly due to the lack of market benefits. An innovative market led approach is therefore needed, and tour operators and travel agencies can play a central role in encouraging the uptake among supplier businesses.

In 2005 the EVER study (Evaluation of EMAS III and Ecolabel for their revision) was commissioned in order to improve the effectiveness and uptake of the EMAS III and the EU Ecolabel. Based on the EVER recommendations a revision took place of EMAS III II and the EU Ecolabel. The recently approved EMAS III regulation is expected to enter into force at the end of 2009. The most outstanding innovations compared to EMAS III are:

1. Sectoral Reference Documents (art 46). The Commissions EMAS III secretariat is presently establishing 4 pilots to develop sectoral reference documents of which tourism will be one of them. It will include best management practice, performance indicators and bench mark of excellence.

2. Cluster and Step by step registrations (art 38). The objective is to facilitate the implementation of EMAS III in small and medium size enterprises in a step by step approach leading to EMAS III registration and stimulate local authorities, chambers of commerce and others to encourage SMEs to go for EMAS III by implementing the scheme in sectors of activity or groups of organizations located in the same area.

3. EMAS III Global and corporate registration. Although a European scheme, EMAS III can be implemented in third countries.

With regards to the new EU Ecolabel regulation the fee structure for smaller companies has been improved, administration was simplified and as with EMAS III global certification is possible.

These regulative innovations are fully in line with the European travel sector approach and will be tested in practice the frame of the INTOUR project.

The INTOUR project approach

The INTOUR project will integrate EMAS III within the existing harmonized tour operators’ environmental management system, and the EU Eco-label for accommodations within the harmonized tour operator standard and assessment system for hotels. In addition, new innovative tools will be developed and added to the integrated approach, thereby creating valuable knowledge building for the further development and innovation of EMAS III and the EU Ecolabel. For example, existing standards for accommodations will be extended to other elements of a tourism package (transport, excursions, attractions, etc.). This will enable the evaluation of complete tourism package criteria, including environmental criteria (such as biodiversity and climate effects), alongside social criteria (such as local community effects and workplace standards). The approach will also include an innovative supply chain and cluster based market replication leading to a considerable increase in the uptake of environmental management and labelling schemes. The EMAS III sector based system will be implemented among at least 1.100+ tour operators’ and travel agencies of 11 participating tour operator associations. More than 12.000 hotel suppliers in 8 European countries will be motivated towards sustainability. The supply chain approach will be complemented with a destination based approach in three pilot destinations (Austria, Turkey and Italy). This will look at the role of tour operators alongside destination stakeholders in motivating local suppliers (hotels) towards sustainability. Such a collective supply chain approach can be seen as aturning point in the relationship between tour operators and destinations. The INTOUR project will bring together the innovative sector-wide supply chain approach of the European tour operators with the credibility, experience and solidness of the EU voluntary tools. It will implement the following innovations supporting the market replication of sustainability schemes within the tourism sector:

1. A step-up approach to EMAS III and the EU Ecolabel, enabling different levels of involvement individual tour operators and suppliers (instead of providing a rigid blueprint).
2. Adaptation of the existing sector specific approach for tour operators to travel agencies.
3. A cluster based approach to promote the sector wide uptake of EMAS III among tour operators and travel agencies.

4. Sector-wide system and standards facilitating an industry wide introduction through regular contracting procedures (instead of reaching a few individual show cases).

5. International benchmarking system based on standardised criteria and reporting for all companies within a cluster
6. Full integration of environmental considerations into existing quality, procurement and contracting processes reaching more than 12.000 tour operator suppliers.
7. Integration of the full sustainability scope including biodiversity, local economy, procurement carbon emission and social criteria.
8. Cost effective: common tools, single assessment of suppliers, information sharing of data (instead of a duplication of efforts). Specific and online guidance to reduce the internal and external transaction costs of the effort of SMEs to implement EMAS III and the EU Ecolabel.
9. Furthermore, the approach aims to go beyond classical EMAS III and EU Flower implementation as it will provide the key performance indicators on social, community, biodiversity and animal rights issues (anticipating EMAS III III regulations) and will be linked to other local and regional schemes and labels (e.g. Green Key)

Rational and structure of the work programme

The INTOUR project consists of the following 7 inter-related work-packages:

WP 1(Management) will ensure effective implementation and monitoring of all foreseen project objectives and results.

WP 2 (Development of EMAS III compatible management system and tool for tour operators and travel agencies) will integrate the travel industry tools with the EMAS III approach and tools (as developed within EMAS III – Easy). It will include development of not yet existing tools for travel agencies and a step up approach to EMAS III and grading and audit systems.

WP 3 (Market replication of the sector specific EMAS III management system and tools) will introduce the management system and tools among more than 1.100 tour operator and travel agency companies in Europe. It will include capacity building, information and motivation activities, workshops and individual consultations and introduction in companies through baseline assessment, policy development and action planning. Through the innovative, standardised online reporting system tour operators will be evaluated and EMAS III registered based on minimum requirements.

WP 4 (Development of EU Eco-label compatible standards, tools and assessment system for suppliers (accommodations, etc.) will link up the tour operators’ internal sustainability accommodation standards and criteria with those of the EU Flower. In addition, new standards will be developed for non-accommodation services and products as an essential element for future criteria for complete tour packages. A sustainability implementation handbook, alongside tools for accommodation providers will be offered through the online “Sustainability System” which will be further upgraded (for example with a destination benchmark tool).

WP 5 (Market replication of an innovative supply chain green procurement approach) will use market-led approaches to increase the amount of certified supply (e.g. hotels) all over Europe. 150 + tour operators will motivate more than 12.000 hotels towards sustainability through information, personal contacts and self assessment with specific emphasis on three pilot destinations: Austria, Italy and Turkey (where local EU Eco-label competent bodies in co-operation with local ecolabels will complement the activities of tour operators). A common tour operator database with sustainability information on 12.000 hotels will inform travel agencies and governments and consumers in order to promote green procurement.

WP 6 (Exploitation and Business plan) will guarantee the long term sustainability of the co-operation network and exploitation and further development of the developed approach and tools.

WP 7 (Dissemination) will spread the results throughout the industry including tour operators, certification schemes and suppliers all over Europe.