Tourism takes the initiative in acting locally to save the planet

SCOTLAND attracts millions of tourists every year because of its unspoilt natural environment. But with the Scottish Government committed to growing the value of tourism by 50 per cent before 2015, the industry faces a challenge in remaining sustainable and preventing long-term damage to the country's most popular beauty spots.

Now Scotland has its own carbon offset scheme designed specifically for the tourism industry in a bid mitigate the 13.7m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent which it produces every year.

Developed by the Tourism Innovation Group (TIG), Climate Change Scotland is unique among such schemes because the money raised goes to help protect Scotland's own ecology rather than rival projects in the developing world.

It allows hotels, tour firms and visitor attractions to offset their carbon footprint and support projects which protect the specific environment they promote. Among the first to take part is the successful tour company Rabbie's Trail Burners, whose offset money goes towards maintaining footpaths on Ben Nevis - the focal point of some of its most popular tours.

Other possible beneficiaries of the new scheme are the New Caledonian Woodlands, John Muir Trust and the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

The initiative is part of an industry-wide push to secure Scotland as Europe's number one sustainable tourism destination.

Robin Worsnop, managing director of Rabbie's Trail Burners, said: "Scotland is best known as a place of magnificent natural beauty which is free. Of course, they are not actually free because they need to be maintained and looked after."

The scheme works by calculating the contribution to climate change caused by a particular activity and then offsetting that impact by investing funds in projects such as forestry, sustainable transport or energy efficiency, that either lock-up or prevent the release of CO² equivalent generated.

Up to £2 million could be produced for sustainable environmental projects by the third year of the scheme operating.

Sue Crossman, project director of TIG, gave details of the scheme at the Scottish Tourism Forum annual conference in Dundee last week. She said: "Scottish tourism is dependent for its existence on carbon-intensive activities such as travel, heating and lighting, imported foods and so on, which all take their toll on the environment.

"In contrast, the industry is also to a large degree dependent on the perception of Scotland's pristine environment and so Climate Change Scotland has been developed to help the industry continue to compete on the global stage and safeguard the future sustainability of the country."

Among the other businesses to sign up is Radisson SAS hotel in Edinburgh. Alexandra Hammond, responsible business consultant for the hotel said: "It is wonderful to see a grassroots programme develop from within Scotland that will benefit Scotland's environment and communities. We are proud to participate as part of a larger effort by the hotel to minimise the carbon emissions."

Peter Lederer, chairman of VisitScotland said: "Scotland couldn't be better placed [as] a sustainable destination and if we want to grow tourism by 50 per cent by the year 2015 we need to ensure that growth is carried out against a backdrop of care for the environment. I am hugely excited to hear about the private sector pushing ahead with an offsetting scheme and the fact the funds will be invested into Scotland is a further bonus."

Andy Ross, director of New Caledonian Woodlands, said: "This demonstrates that the industry is serious about finding ways to safeguard its future success, while caring for the environment on which it depends."

Paul McCafferty, tourism manager at Scottish Enterprise, said: "Tourists and businesses alike are increasingly recognising the need both to reduce their carbon footprint and protect some of Scotland's most valuable assets and this scheme will help enhance Scotland's reputation as one of Europe's most sustainable tourism destinations."

Climate Change Scotland is currently finalising its funding and governance arrangements, and goes fully live from December this year. Finance for the initial feasibility study came from major players in the industry including airports owner BAA, Scottish Natural Heritage and VisitScotland.

Environmental consultants Ecodyn completed a feasibility study which restricted the scope of the annual carbon footprint to the following major impacts: transport to Scotland, transport within Scotland, accommodation and visitor attractions and this has been estimated in the region of 13.7 million tonnes of equivalent.

Mr Worsnop added: "We wanted a scheme that was scientifically robust and which couldn't just be used by tourists or tourism businesses to assuage their guilt. We wanted to created something meaningful and useful and we were not going to make any false claims about carbon neutrality."

A spokesman for RSPB Scotland said: "Schemes which encourage people to think about the impact of their actions are welcome, as RSPB Scotland believes that climate change is by far the greatest threat to wildlife and biodiversity. Reinvesting money in Scotland's magnificent habitats would be great. However, we all need to rethink the way we live, and how we can reduce our carbon footprint, rather than think we can 'make up' for this pressure and carry on as usual."

The Tourism Innovation Group is a collection of over 50 tourism businesses, who aim to drive strategic change and stimulate Innovation and Collaboration in the sector, pushing Scotland a step ahead of its competitors. It is funded by Scottish Enterprise, Highlands & Islands Enterprise and VisitScotland.