Caribbean carriers link conservation with commerce

[dropcap]P[/dropcap]ristine white sand beaches, clear turquoise waters, clean shorelines – when it comes to attracting tourists, the Caribbean’s greatest assets are God-given. But preserving the natural splendour that keeps tourists coming back is an ongoing effort and Caribbean carriers are joining the fight, in recognition that sustainable tourism guarantees future business.

ECO-EARNINGS

In 2007 Caribbean Airlines became the first carrier in the region to launch its own sustainable travel initiative, the CarbonNeutral programme. This gave customers the opportunity to offset their carbon footprint by investing in eco-friendly projects such as rainforest conservation in Guyana and recycling efforts in Trinidad. Since then, international airlines have followed suit with similar ventures, the latest being JetBlue’s newly-launched Caribbean Consortium.

With flights to over 20 Caribbean destinations, JetBlue is one of the region’s largest airlines. The company brings around 1.8 million tourists a year to the Caribbean, most of whom are visting with the sole purpose of enjoying the unique tropical environment. “One-third of JetBlue’s network is in the Caribbean and Latin America,” says Tamara Young, Manager of Corporate Communications at JetBlue. “This region is very important to us. Natural resources are essential for the airline, and tourism relies on having beautiful, natural and preserved destinations for customers to visit.”

In 2013, the airline partnered with the Ocean Foundation to determine the economic value of conservation, directly tying it to revenue to highlight its importance. This gave rise to the ‘EcoEarnings: A Shore Thing’ report which discovered a link between beach trash, mangrove health and revenue per available seat mile. In their conclusions, the authors of EcoEarnings called for a more definitive study, with greater data collection and analysis. Last month JetBlue took the next step in these efforts, creating the Caribbean Consortium in collaboration with the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG).

The Consortium brings together industry partners to address conservation and commerce in the Caribbean, focusing on one destination at a time. The group will begin its efforts with a pilot programme in Cuba that looks at four action areas: capacity-building, public policy, knowledge-sharing and access to resources. If successful, the project will be extended to other Caribbean islands in the future.

LEADING THE WAY

While the Caribbean Consortium is the first of its kind, other major airlines in the Caribbean market have recognised the need to ‘green’ their brands. In the past few years Delta has been working with the Nature Conservancy to offer customers a way to offset the emissions associated with their flight while Canadian competitor Sunwing has introduced environmentally-friendly initiatives and practices across both its airline and its resorts.

“At Sunwing we are passionate about our commitment towards the development of environmentally-friendly practices across our airline operations and the destinations we serve. We constantly strive to lead discussions on new ideas to reduce our carbon footprint,” says Sunwing’s Senior Director of Marketing Jacqueline Grossman.

Several of Sunwing’s resorts, such as the Royalton Resort in Saint Lucia, carry their Green Globe Certification which signifies that the facility meets certain conservation standards. “This global certification recognizes these resorts for their promise to sustainable tourism, and to engage in positive contributions to the community and the planet by adhering to a stringent conservation programme that implements recycling, solar energy, composting, energy-saving lights and more,” explains Grossman.

In addition, Sunwing is working on upgrading other resorts in its portfolio to TripAdvisor’s GreenLeaders programme which showcases eco-friendly hotels.     The travel group is also extending its conservation efforts into the local community through its charitable arm, the Sunwing Foundation, which recently worked with the Canadian government and the Ministry of Education in Saint Lucia to refurbish Castries Comprehensive Secondary School and improve energy efficiency throughout the building.

Grossman says: “From our airline operations to the destinations we fly to and the communities we support, we at Sunwing are strongly committed to the continuous development in being green, and applying environmentally-friendly practices in all our efforts and services.”

SUSTAINING PROFITS

Airlines have a bad reputation when it comes to environmental issues. From carbon emissions to their role in encouraging widespread development and urban pollution, these carriers are often viewed as the enemy by environmentalists. There are groups however, such as the Nature Conservancy, who realise that collaboration is better than conflict and leveraging the link between conservation and profit is the way to bring companies to the table.

“When you think of an airline, you don’t automatically think of sustainability,” says Young who acknowledges that conservation is no longer just about saving the planet, but about saving revenue. “Truth is, we depend on natural resources and healthy environments to keep our business running smoothly. Travel to the Caribbean is a key pillar of JetBlue’s business model. Large-scale environmental degradation in the Caribbean is a risk to demand for air travel to the area, impacting airlines and tourism companies like JetBlue.

“Sustainability is about smart business and planning now for the future. “