April 22 marks an International awareness campaign led by the Earth Day Network. They have a global reach with more than 1 billion people participating in Earth Day activities in some way or another.  Earth Day is the largest secular civic event on the globe and 2010 marks her 40^th birthday!

We all have an ability to participate in some way, to raise awareness and contribute to Earth Day initiatives across the globe. Our humble city takes great pride in this annual event and every year I see new initiatives and events spring into action.

One new initiative this year caught my attention because it’s such a natural partnership. The Land Conservatory of BC (TLC) is celebrating a new partnership with Adrena Line Zip Line Adventure Tours  and Five Star Whale Watching for Earth Day 2010. Both of these wilderness adventure companies will be donating proceeds from their tours on Earth Day (Thursday, April 22, 2010) to TLC’s Wild Hills and Beaches Campaign to help purchase Western Forest Products lands in the Jordan River and Sooke Hills area.

 Another new Earth Day initiative in Victoria will take place at Parkside Victoria Resort & Spa. The recently awarded hotel in both Resort Design and Site Plan Design & Utilization categories at the 2010 American Resort Development Association (ARDA) Convention and Exposition Award Gala, have a whole day of events planned to celebrate the Earth, nature and sustainability in a fun, educational and festive setting. They are inviting the Community to their Lights Out Party & Earth Day Extravaganza They are also recruiting members to join their Living Planet Community group  on World Wildlife Fund and are offering a chance to win two free nights stay at their hotel. 

There are so many events and initiatives that it would be impossible for me to tell you about all of them in this post. I did however find the following links helpful in exploring the different events taking place in Greater Victoria: Earth Walk | Royal Roads University | University of Victoria | The Bay Centre | Easter Seals Earth Day Concert | Pacific Northwest Raptors | 2010 Earth Day Taste Challenge

We are taught in life that taking responsibility for our actions is always the right thing to do. In this post I’ll use Victoria’s Inn at Laurel Point as a fine example of leadership within the tourism industry in doing just that.

Recently, one of Victoria’s finest resorts announced that they are now British Columbia’s only Carbon-Neutral Property. This is wonderful news, and not just for Victoria! Before I list a bunch of reasons why this is a huge step in the right direction, you may be wondering what exactly does this mean?

Well, after some investigative internet research I have learned that declaring oneself as Carbon-Neutral is NOT just buying one’s way out of polluting the environment, nor is it just a slick marketing tactic. It’s a commitment. In fact, it is first and foremost, the responsible way to acknowledge that there are certain environmental impacts that cannot be avoided while conducting a business.

Let’s talk about Offsetters (this is the company that the Inn at Laurel Point has partnered with in order to declare themselves as Carbon Neutral). As referenced on www.offsetters.ca, “Offsetters helps individuals and companies understand, reduce, track, and offset their climate impact – in that order”.

First, Offsetters and the Inn at Laurel Point work together to determine the property’s carbon footprint (ie: the total set of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions caused by their business). Using an Offset Calculator of sorts, a dollar figure is then determined (in this case, 500 tonnes annually at $20 per tonne = $10,000) and the Inn at Laurel Point invests this dollar figure into Offsetters. I’d also just like to add that you can bet your bottom dollar that the number of annual visitors to the resort was considered in the process… thus every visitor to their resort is participating in this initiative at no additional cost!

In turn, Offsetters now invests these dollars into initiatives that are able to reduce the amount of GHG entering the atmosphere. (In attempt to keep my word count down, you can check out the projects right here) In essence with every project, Offsetters facilitates the feasibility and environmental and social benefit of emerging energy saving technologies. This is big stuff, really big stuff, considering one of the most globally accepted concerns is the environment!

I’d like to congratulate the Inn at Laurel Point for taking the first step on behalf of the accommodation sector in British Columbia. The transportation industry has been doing this for a while now (see Harbour Air Seaplanes) but one can only imagine the amount of extra considerations, steps, research and commitment this property has taken to get this far. I take my hat off to them in hopes that others will see the benefit beyond their bottom line!

If you are curious to see what other steps the Inn at Laurel Point has made in their commitment to environmental, economic, and social responsibilities check out www.laurelpoint.com.

Furthermore, the other day I read a neat blog entry on http://green.tourismvi.ca that discussed new proof that sustainable and green travel options are deemed important to travellers themselves. Travelling is often a time for us to nurture our soul and rejuvenate our minds. It is refreshing to see that travellers are now aware of the implications of their leisure time activities and are willing to follow this through with environmentally sound travel decisions.