Green Tourism

Burlington is Going Green!

Hotels - Green Keys Program 

The Hotel Association of Canada's (HAC) Green Key Eco-Rating Program is a graduated rating system designed to recognize hotels, motels, and resorts that are committed to improving their fiscal and environmental performance.

Based on the results of a comprehensive environmental audit, hoteliers are awarded a 1-5 Green Key rating and given guidance on how to "unlock" opportunities to reduce operating costs and environmental impacts through reduced utility consumption, employee training, and supply chain management.  

The following Burlington Hotels have obtained Green key ratings
• Travelodge by the Lake – 3 keys
• Comfort Inn – 3 keys
• Holiday Inn – 4 keys
• Motel 6 – 4 keys
• Quality – 3 keys

For further information about this program visit the website.

Go Green Workshop

On February 12, 2009 a Go Green Tourism Workshop was held in Burlington and there were 17 industry partners who participated.  Michelle Maxwell from Green Earth Strategies and Caroline Polgrabia from the Ministry of Tourism lead the participants through the informative session.  Participants gained a better understanding of the relevant 'green' initiatives, learned about carbon neutrality, carbon footprinting and carbon offsetting and discussed certification programs and opportunities.  They worked through a personalized go green action plan to help them take the next steps in greening their business operation and talked about developing green policies.  The resources provided at the workshop have been uploaded to our site.  Depending on interest we may host future workshops.  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   if you are interested in attending a workshop in the future.

Go Green Workshop Resources

Tell us about your Green Initiatives

Share your green initiatives with other tourism partners in the area and learn from one another!  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   your stories and we will feature them in upcoming Partner Enews.

Greening Theme of Tourism 2009 AGM

Our 2009 AGM Featured keynote speaker Shannon Guihan, Executive Director, The Icarus Foundation who will be discussing Tourism that Doesn't Cost the Earth.  The Icarus Foundation is a not-for-profit environmental, policy, research and education organization focused on sustaining a climate-friendly tourism industry.  Icarus' mission is to work with Canada's tourism industry to reduce its contribution to green house gas emissions and the use of fossil fuels.

Local tourism attractions then shared their greening stories.  Speakers included representatives from Canada’s Largest Ribfest, Sound of Music Festival, Royal Botanical Gardens and Conservation Halton.  All of these agencies have taken significant steps to reduce their impact on the environment.  Both Ribfest and Sound of Music sort all waste during their events plus offer shuttle buses and other transportation options to reduce emissions and congestion.  The RBG has over the past 20 years taken numerous steps to reduce the use of pesticides by introducing other methods of controlling insects and weeds and actually has been an industry leader in this regard.  In 2008, the RBG opened the Helen M. Kippax Garden of native plants which showcases sustainable gardening practices.  Conservation Halton has made many changes to their energy use by installing geothermal heating and cooling, solar panels, wind turbines, reverse osmosis systems etc. in their facility operations.  They also have received Gold Eco Schools Certification for their education programs at Mountsberg and Crawford Lake.  All of these presenters stressed the importance of public education so that their visitors can assist particularly in the recycling process. 

Powerpoint Presentations

Related Pages

Related Links

Refer to Action plan (above) for comprehensive list of green websites.

 

 
 
http://tourismburlington.com/