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Tourism and Travel

About this sector

Based on its contribution to global gross domestic product, the number of people it employs, and the number of clients it serves, tourism has been described as the world’s largest industry. In 2008 these figures were 9.5% of global GDP, over 200 million jobs – one in 13 of all jobs worldwide – 924 million international travellers in 2008, and perhaps 10 times the number of domestic travellers.
The industry forms one of the top five export earners in 150 countries, and is particularly important for developing countries. For the world’s 40 poorest countries, tourism is second to oil as a source of foreign exchange.

Impacts

Tourism facilities and infrastructure can threaten natural and important habitats.
Excessive use of natural resources, such as fresh water, energy and food can threaten supplies and lead to pollution through waste.
Tourist behaviour can threaten species and ecosystems (introduction of invasive alien species, harvesting of wild species for souvenirs).

Opportunities/Risks

The rise in demand for nature-based and eco-tourism creates business opportunities that can be tied with wildlife conservation.
Consumer awareness of ethical and environmental issues creates markets for responsible tourism.
Environmental impacts can limit access to capital insurance and incur legal risks.
Brand and reputation are strongly influenced by a company’s environmental performance.

Case Studies

In situ conservation of endangered species: recovery of the Spiny Softshell Turtle in Quebec

The Granby Zoo is a zoological park as well as a water and amusement park founded in 1953. It covers 100 acres in the City of Granby, Quebec. This organization, governed by the Zoological Society of Granby employs over one hundred permanent employees and up to 425 young seasonal workers. The collection of Granby Zoo consists of over 1,000 animals from some 200 species and it welcomes an average of 600,000 visitors each year.

Biodiversity monitoring

Nestlé is a multinational packaged foods company founded in 1922 and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, with a market capitalization of over $93 billion Canadian. It employs approximately 3,500 people in Canada who work in the company’s more than 20 facilities, including manufacturing, sales, and distribution centers. Nestlé Waters Canada is Canada’s largest manufacturer and distributor of bottled water and operates 2 bottling plants across Canada. Other than bottled water, Nestlé product lines include coffee, juice, ice cream, baby food/formula, healthcare nutrition, pet care, confectionery and pharmaceuticals.

Conserving biodiversity along distribution lines

Hydro-Québec is a government-owned utility with a single shareholder, the Québec government. Its mandate is to generate, transmit and distribute electricity in Québec. It sells surplus power on wholesale markets and is also active in arbitrage and purchase/resale transactions. The company has more than 23,000 employees and operates essentially with renewable energy sources, especially hydropower. Hydro-Québec relies on a total installed capacity of 36,427 MW, of which 97% comes from its 59 hydroelectric generating stations and 26 large reservoirs. Besides hydropower, it relies on wind power, which makes up 1% to 2% of its total capacity now and should rise to about 10% by 2015.

Ontario Power Generation biodiversity policy

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is an Ontario-based electricity generation company whose principal business is the generation and sale of electricity in Ontario. OPG’s focus is on the efficient production and sale of electricity from its generating assets, while operating in a safe, open and environmentally responsible manner. OPG was established under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) and is wholly owned by the Province of Ontario. At December 31, 2009, OPG’s electricity generating portfolio had an in-service capacity of 21,729 megawatts. OPG’s electricity generating portfolio consists of 3 nuclear generating stations, 5 thermal generating stations, 65 hydroelectric generating stations, of which 4 are being redeveloped, and 2 wind power turbines.

Responsible sourcing of argan Oil

L’Oréal is a world leading cosmetics company created in 1909 in Paris, France. It employs 67,500 people in 130 countries and operates 42 factories and 63 warehouses around the world. In 2008, the company invested approximately $763 million Canadian in Research and Development. The company’s prestigious brand portfolio of over 25 brands encompasses all aspects of beauty. L’Oréal Canada was founded in 1958 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of L’Oréal Group. The company employs 1,200 people and in addition to its headquarters in Montreal, it operates a logistics center, a training center and an industrial facility which manufactures professional hair care products.

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Tools and Mechanisms

Biodiversity Neutral Initiative

http://www.business-biodiversity.eu/default.asp?Me...

Biodiversity Neutral Initiative (BNI) helps companies assess biodiversity impacts, implement best practices with respect to the biodiversity mitigation hierarchy and then offset net residual damage to become biodiversity neutral. Biodiversity Neutral Initiative (BNI) is global in scope, collaborating with major international conservation groups, energy and mining companies, socially responsible investors, auditing and certification companies, and government regulators.

The Wales Biodiversity Partnership (WBP)

http://www.biodiversitywales.org.uk/

The WBP brings together key players from the public, private, and voluntary sectors to promote and monitor biodiversity action in Wales, and also to provide leadership and guidance on priorities for action on biodiversity in Wales.

Business for a better world

http://www.bsr.org/

Business for a better world helps companies integrate ecosystem services into corporate decision making, risk assessment, and supply chain management processes. It has produced an analysis of the environmental markets and is investigating ecosystem services assessment tools.

Business and Biodiversity Resource Centre

http://www.businessandbiodiversity.org/

Online resource centre that aims to raise awareness of biodiversity and provide information and practical advice to companies to engage with biodiversity issues. Hosted by Earthwatch Institute and is supported by the Environmental Action Fund of DEFRA, English Nature and members of Earthwatch’s Corporate Environmental Responsibility Group (CERG).

Catalogue of Life

http://www.catalogueoflife.org/search.php

The Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life endeavors to become a comprehensive catalogue of all known species of organisms on Earth. Rapid progress has recently been made, and the Catalogue of Life contained 1,347,224 species as of May 2012. This figure may represent slightly over 2/3rds of the world's known species.