Intertek Cristal, a market leading global health, safety, quality, and security risk management business focused on the travel, tourism, and hospitality sectors, announced on Earth Day 2022 today that it is now offering a bundled service of their EcoCheck module with a Carbon Footprint Calculation service to support Sustainable Tourism.

The increasing threat of climate change alongside the global pressures to reduce carbon emissions have led to the development of clear methodologies and standards relating to the measurement and reduction of carbon footprints. Tourism accounts for an estimated 8-11% of total greenhouse gas emissions. At the 2021 COP26 conference, more than 300 global tourism companies signed the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action, which signifies the urgency about the need to accelerate climate action in the tourism sector and asks for commitment from the stakeholders across the tourism industry to demonstrate their tangible actions in response to climate emergency.

EcoCheck takes a systemic approach to sustainability through a series of checkpoints. EcoCheck criteria are informed by the UN Global Compact 10 Principles which drive meaningful advancement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It can now be bundled with the Carbon Footprint Calculation service, which involves the evaluation of environmental impacts, energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption attributable to a product, package, or facility operation.

The key components of Intertek’s Sustainable Tourism solution include:

  • Identification and evaluation of energy consumption and emission-reduction responsibilities for a facility
  • Gap analysis against the best practices in hotel sustainability
  • Online management system for corrective actions and improvement plans
  • Recommendations regarding energy conservation and emissions reductions
  • Recommend sources for ‘carbon credits’
  • Carbon Footprint calculation, review and verification service

Samir Ahmed, Managing Director, Intertek Cristal and Intertek Checkpoint said, “With 83% of travellers believing that sustainable travel is essential, it is increasingly obvious that we need a service that helps the travel, tourism and hospitality industry identify, evaluate and reduce their carbon footprint. In combination with our existing EcoCheck module, the Carbon Footprint Calculation service now provides additional measures that will support hotels and other tourism establishments operate in a sustainable manner.”