World Travel Market, Responsible Tourism Blog, June 2017
At the heart of Responsible Tourism are commitments to transparency and accountability. It is a process of addressing the sustainability issues which arise in a particular place and which the business can do something about, materiality matters. But it is not enough to focus only on the process, it is important to report the achievement. This blog explores reporting frameworks, rating initiatives, certification, recognition and showcases best practice.
The Elsevier Foundation
Gender InSITE is an international initiative to promote the role of women in science, innovation, technology and engineering - supporting the goal of SDG target 10, Reduced Inequalities. The Elsevier Foundation has been a long-time advisor and supporter of GenderInSITE, most recently providing a $40,000 grant for two thematic workshops in 2017: one addressing Latin America, exploring how a gender perspective in science education is indispensable to a sustainable development and the second in the South African region focusing on Gender and Innovation.
LexisNexis Asia Pacific, 8 June 2017
The burgeoning economy in Myanmar is creating much opportunity in the country but this is putting a strain on the judicial system which is trying to keep pace with development. The Juris Pilot addresses the need for greater knowledge of international contract law by training government legal staff. Sharing knowledge between professionals advances SDG 16.3 to promote the rule of law at the national and international levels.
Estates Gazette,
6 June 2017
Smart cities use data and technology to drive energy efficiency and are on the increase. The advantages of integrating energy efficient technologies into building planning and urban modelling are understood, but what are the risks? This article considers the threat of cyber crime on smart cities and the technology that these cities rely on, drawing out the links between SDG 7 and SDG 9. On the one hand, smart cities support the need for open data whilst on the other hand increased protection and security of that data will be required to avoid the threat of cyber attacks.
2 June 2017
Finishing 3,000 dairy-bred beef cattle on waste food while producing green energy and fertiliser as by-products is the sustainable model for one Cambridgeshire farmer and his business partner. This approach helps meet the criteria for SDG 7 of access for all to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy and SDG 12 which promotes responsible consumption and production.
Elsevier Connect, 2 June 2017
Many countries are experiencing economic benefit from a surge in tourism, but once pristine landscapes are changing and local communities rarely benefit from the tourism, and instead run the risk of losing their livelihoods. Researchers in Thailand are investigating “creative tourism” – creative, sustainable approaches to tourism, that enable producers and consumers to relate and get value from their connections. This supports the tourism elements of SDGs 8, 12 and 14.
Elsevier,
Elsevier Foundation, June 2017
The Elsevier Foundation partners with the African Journal Partnership Program, pairing African health and medical journals with leading biomedical journals from the US and UK to build editorial skills through journal mentoring and training. Elsevier volunteers can spend up to one month supporting African journals to boost knowledge exchange, in line with SDG 10.
RX,
WFES Article, 20th January 2017
The 10th edition of the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) had strong growth in commercial activity surrounding the event and the number of hosted business meetings surging by more than 60 per cent.
Hosted by Masdar as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, WFES aims to promote the business case for industries involved in sustainable energy, water, and waste management. Organisers say the rapid acceleration in the renewable energy market across the MENA and South Asian market has had a clear impact on business at the event.
News, 16 May 2017
Photos of a beach on Henderson Island in the Pacific Ocean provides yet more evidence of the detrimental impact that packaging and other plastics waste is having on the environment globally. Creating a virtuous circle out of what, until now, has largely been a chain of production from feedstock to consumer will not be easy. But it is the innovation aspect that has fired the imagination of producers, processors and corporate consumers of plastics packaging. This fits with SDG 9.4 to upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes and SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy.
World Travel Market, Responsible Tourism Blog, May 2017
The marketing value of the concept of ecotourism is now very low, as there is very little evidence that it delivers. Many people in the developing world are unable to visit National Parks and suffer only negative impacts – loss of access for meat, fruits, thatching grass and land for agriculture. How does a consumer or tour operator identify wildlife operators and conservancies that are really making a contribution? Either to wildlife and habitat conservation or to the livelihoods of local communities to ensure that they benefit from conservation?
