Mathew Carr

Here is the UN plan for sustainable tourism … so far

This announcement from Aug. 7 seems a little vague and it’s unclear what’s happened in practice since the program began in January 2023 …see earlier announcement below.

Unedited:

UN Tourism and World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance to Advance Common ESG Framework

UN Tourism and the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance will work together to implement a common framework for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) for the sector.

The ESG Framework for Tourism Businesses, developed by UN Tourism in collaboration with the University of Oxford SDG Impact Lab, is aimed at helping enterprises across the sector measure and report their sustainability efforts and impacts more consistently and reliably. With this new agreement, UN Tourism will work alongside the Alliance to test the Framework, refine its indicators and relevant tools, and foster stakeholder engagement.

UN Tourism Executive Director Zoritsa Urosevic says: “The ESG Framework for Tourism Businesses is set to transform the tourism sector by establishing harmonised and essential standards for companies to assess and report their sustainability efforts. The collaboration between UN Tourism and the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance highlights how commitment and strategic partnerships can drive alignment and significant progress in ESG.”

Glenn Mandziuk, Chief Executive Officer of the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, adds: “Collaborating with UN Tourism on the development of a harmonised ESG Framework represents a significant milestone for the global tourism industry. This partnership not only underscores our commitment to sustainability but also highlights the collective power of our industry to drive meaningful change. By establishing standardised metrics and fostering greater alignment between the private and public sectors, we are paving the way for a more sustainable and resilient future for tourism worldwide.”

Partners leverage fields of expertise

The partnership comes as tourism businesses face increasing pressure to disclose their ESG actions and impacts. The ESG Framework for Tourism Businesses is rooted in the Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (SF-MST), endorsed by the UN Statistical Commission with unanimous support from all 193 UN Member States, and strives to bring greater and much-needed alignment between private and public sector data.

Alongside this, the Alliance’s Net Positive Hospitality Pathway and Framework is designed to harmonise metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs), develop standards, and streamline reporting within the hospitality industry.

ESG Framework for tourism businesses| Pilots

To inform the development of the global ESG Framework for Tourism Businesses, there are 3 key phases foreseen:

  • Phase 1 – Research and Development (January-June 2023) Significant desk-based research has been conducted by the Oxford SDG Impact Lab research team to inform the development of a first draft of the global ESG Framework for Tourism Businesses. This desk-based research has consisted of a review of relevant literature, existing ESG frameworks and standards, and case studies of current reporting mechanisms adopted by leading tourism businesses. The resulting draft Framework consists of a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) and proposed units of measurement.
  • Phase 2 – Pilot Testing (June – July 2023) The next phase of this research is the pilot testing of the applicability, acceptability, and feasibility of the first draft of the ESG Framework by tourism companies, specifically those belonging to two key industries:
  1. Hotels and other accommodations for visitors;
  2.  Travel agencies and other reservation serving activities.
  3. This testing will be performed by conducting semi-structured interviews with key representatives of tourism companies (e.g., Chief ESG Officers, Sustainability Managers, etc.) selected within the above tourism industries. Participants for the interviews will be drawn from a range of hotel companies and travel agencies, sampling according to maximum variation, for key selection criteria including size, turnover, geographic location, and current ESG engagement. The aim will be to obtain a sample as representative as possible.
  4. On top of assessing participants’ views and overall ability to report on the draft ESG Framework, the interviews will also seek to:
    • Assess companies’ current ESG/sustainability reporting approaches.
    • Identify priority items for future action, data collection, and reporting based on companies’ current strategic objectives.
    • Undertake consultations and meetings with key internal stakeholders.
  • Phase 3 – Framework Testing (2024) This phase will focus on conducting thorough testing of the ESG Framework, which will be based on the findings from the first and second phases. Additionally, the testing will be expanded to encompass various tourism industries, including food and beverage services, transportation, entertainment and attractions, among others.

Oxford SDG Impact Lab Research team

Research Leader 

Laura Ballerini, DPhil in International Development 
Oxford Department of International Development
Laura Ballerini is pursuing a PhD in International Development as a Clarendon Scholar. Her research investigates the ascendant place of social enterprises in health projects and settings in sub-Saharan Africa, with a specific focus on Kenya. Prior to the PhD, Laura completed the MPhil in Development Studies at the University of Oxford, where she was awarded the Eugene Havas Memorial Prize for best overall performance. Over the course of her studies, Laura worked for various organizations, covering roles of project manager, data analyst, business consultant, and reporter.

Researchers

Amy Booth, DPhil in Translational Health Sciences
Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences 
Amy is a qualified medical doctor, currently doing a DPhil at Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship. Her research is focused on bringing industry and policy stakeholders together to reduce the climate change impact of the pharmaceutical supply chain. She has published peer-reviewed articles and been invited to present on her research at national and international platforms. 

Anvita Ramachandran, MPhil in Development Studies
Oxford Department of International Development
Anvita is an MPhil candidate in Development Studies at the Oxford Department of International Development. In her master’s research, she studies why migrant households might experience decreases in subjective well-being despite being materially better-off than non-migrants. She is funded by the ESRC Grand Union DTP and the Saven European Scholarship. 

Tyler Pugh, MSc in Evidence-Based Social Intervention & Policy Evaluation
Department of Social Policy and Intervention
Tyler is a current MPhil student in Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation from the United States. His work has specifically centered around sexual violence survivors and policy optimization to ensure support in collegiate spaces. Previously, Tyler studied Industrial and Systems Engineering, working to understand how simulation modelling and data could impact systems that perpetuate racism, homophobia, and sexism in fields such as healthcare or engineering.

Zubin Deyal, MSc in Development Economics Oxford
Department of International Development

Zubin is interested in sustainability, especially in the tourism industry as it is the main economic driver of his small island developing home, Barbados. He has tried to facilitate sustainable development through his work as an economist at the IDB in Barbados, a data analyst at the Ministry of Tourism in Trinidad, and a consultant at the disruptive incubator, FUTUREBarbados.

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