Spenceley Tourism And Development (STAND Ltd) signs the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism

STAND Ltd is proud to have become a signatory to the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism.

The Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism unites travel and tourism behind a common set of pathways for climate action, aligning the sector with global commitments and catalysing collaborative solutions to the many challenges facing businesses and destinations globally. The Glasgow Declaration encourages the acceleration of climate action in tourism by securing commitments to reduce emissions in tourism by at least 50% over the next decade and achieve Net Zero as soon as possible before 2050.

The Declaration will be officially launched at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November 2021. The information about the launch event is available here.

To ensure climate action is aligned across all of tourism, STAND Ltd commits to:

• Support the global commitment to halve emissions by 2030 and reach Net Zero as soon as possible before 2050
• Update its existing Climate Action Plan prepared under Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency, within 12 months from becoming a signatory
• Align plans with the five pathways of the Declaration (Measure, Decarbonise, Regenerate, Collaborate, Finance) to accelerate and co-ordinate climate action in tourism
• Report publicly on an annual basis on progress against interim and long-term targets, as well as on actions being taken (see the 2020 report here)
• Work in a collaborative spirit, sharing good practices and solutions, and
  disseminating information to encourage additional organizations to become signatories and supporting one another to reach targets as quickly as possible – including through members of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, as a member of the Independent Advisory Panel of Travalyst, and through presentations, publications and technical assignments.

How the Glasgow Declaration was prepared

The drafting committee for the Glasgow Declaration formed in March 2021 and consisted of:

• UNWTO
• UNEP
• VisitScotland
• Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency
• The Travel Foundation

The objective was to unite the travel and tourism sector behind a shared vision and commitment to align efforts for a decade of concerted climate action, using the momentum provided by the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow in November 2021.

The drafting committee’s principles were: to be open and collaborative, grounded in science, and committed to supporting communities and vulnerable destinations. The committee initially took inspiration from Tourism Declares’ existing declaration, which set out a commitment in simple yet urgent terms.

Over the course of several months, the committee received feedback from an extensive and global selection of more than 30 experts and organisations. Diverse representation was sought across regions, academia, NGOs, destinations, membership bodies and associations, and various private sector verticals including transportation, accommodation and tour operations. The committee undertook wider consultation with partners of the One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme, NGOs and advisors from the Future of Tourism Coalition and signatories of Tourism Declares.

During the drafting process, the following people invested in discussions, joint reflection, and provided feedback: Julie Allison and Delphine Stroh (Accor Group), Clare Jenkinson (ABTA – Association of British Travel Agents), Jono Vernon-Powell (AITO – Association of Independent Tour Operators), Masaru Takayama (Asian Ecotourism Network), Edward Hall (Bureau of Indian Affairs), Stephanie Jones (Blacks in Travel), Davide Strangis (Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions), Amanda Charles (Caribbean Tourism Organization), Samantha Bray (CREST – Center for Responsible Travel), Marco Lucero (Cuidadores de Destinos), Jane Ashton and Steven Cairns (Easyjet), Eduardo Santander (European Travel Commission), Tim Fairhust (ETOA – European Tourism Association), Flavie Baudot (European Cities Marketing), Seleni Matus (George Washington University), Andreas Hofmann (GIZ – Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), Federico Vignati (Green Initiative), Randy Durband (GSTC– Global Sustainable Tourism Council), Hazel Quek (Hilton), Teresa Parejo (Iberia), Megan Morikawa (Iberostar Group), Kelley Louise (Impact Travel Alliance), Ingunn Sornes (Innovation Norway), Susanne Etti and Darrell Wade (Intrepid Travel), Carla Danelutti and Arnau Teixidor (IUCN – International Union for the Conservation of Nature), Cristina Nuñez and Sandra de Puig (NECSTouR – Network of European Regions for Competitive and Sustainable Tourism), Peter Haxton and Jane Stacey (OECD – Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), Graham Harper (PATA – Pacific Asia Travel Association), Jamie Sweeting (Planeterra), Jonathon Day (Purdue University, START (Sustainable Tourism and Responsible Travel) Lab), Inge Huijbrechts and Sven Wiltink (Radisson Hotel Group), Claire Whitely (Sustainable Hospitality Alliance), Christopher Cocker and Christina Gale (SPTO – South Pacific Tourism Organization), Anna Spenceley (STAND – Spenceley Tourism And Development), Paloma Zapata (Sustainable Travel International), Judy Kepher-Gona (Sustainable Travel and Tourism Agenda Kenya), Vicente Ferreyra (Sustentur), Delphine Malleret-King and Anne-Katrin Zschiegner (The Long Run/ Preferred by Nature), Greg Takehara (Tourism Cares), Melissa Lopez (TourRadar), Sally Davey (Travalyst), Shannon Guihan (Travel Corporation), Todd Davidson (Travel Oregon), Roni Weiss (Travel Unity), Alicia Fajardo (Turismo RESET), Miguel Naranjo and Niclas Svenningsen (UNFCCC – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), Susanne Becken (University of Griffith), Daniel Scott (University of Waterloo), Caroline Campbell (USTA), Dan Smith (Visit California), Ben Sherman (WINTA – World Indigenous Tourism Alliance), Alessandra Alonso (Women in Travel), Chris Flynn (WTACH – World Tourism Association for Culture and Heritage), Christopher Imbsen (WTTC – World Travel and Tourism Council) and James Sano (WWF – World Wildlife Fund) 

The final draft text was first introduced publicly in September 2021 with a further opportunity for feedback, prior to inviting organisations to sign the Declaration in readiness for COP26.

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