Quality control tools offer actionable solutions for businesses to build sustainability and address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
A new study led by Flinders University has compiled a comprehensive inventory of these tools to help tourism businesses to build SDG capabilities, including several new tools to help organizations meet SDG targets.
The results, published in the Journal of Travel Research by Flinders University researcher Dr. Laura Lesar and Dr. David Weaver, from the International Academy for the Study of Tourism, present practical and fit-for-purpose tools that are suitable for individual tourism organizations.
“It has become increasingly important for all organizations to demonstrate how they contribute to the UN SDGs and these tools can help businesses address their environmental, sociocultural and economic impacts as per the triple bottom line of sustainability,” says Dr. Lesar, an expert in tourism and sustainability.
“They also help businesses build their resilience so they can withstand, respond, or adapt to disruptive challenges.”
Well-known tool examples include sustainability indicators, environmental best practices, and climate change adaption strategies.
Adopted by the UN in 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a shared global vision for sustainability. At its core are 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to protect the planet, ensure prosperity, and end poverty by 2030. The 17 SDGs and 169 associated targets seek to build global environmental, socio-cultural, and economic sustainability.
The results are based on a long-term industry research partnership with Gemtree Wines, a South Australian wine tourism business in the McLaren Vale region. The family-founded regional business is an internationally and nationally recognized leader in sustainable wine tourism.
“We found that Gemtree already addresses 14 of the 17 UN SDGs using an extensive array of tools,” says Dr. Lesar, from the Flinders Center for Social Impact.
“Our research also identified several new tools that any tourism organization can use. For example, we found numerous tools to address UN SDG12 (Responsible Production and Consumption), SDG13 (Climate Action) and SDG6 (Clean Water and Sanitation).
“As well as tools that can be used to address more than one SDG, offering high impact.”
The results also revealed new tool options that tourism businesses can use to address 14 of the 17 SDGs, including SDG5 (Gender Equality), SDG11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG7 (Affordable/Clean Energy), SDG9 (Industry Innovation and Infrastructure) and SDG8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).
“The tools that can be used to address the SDGs range from advanced to more basic tools that do not require high levels of technical expertise for use,” says Dr. Lesar, a Senior Lecturer in the College of Business, Government and Law.
“This provides diverse tool options suitable for tourism organizations at varied levels of sustainability practice.”
Article Credit: phys