ANVR develops its new and far-reaching sustainability ambition with CELTH

According to Frank Radstake of ANVR, developing a new sustainability ambition for the travel sector is important and urgent: "There is a political and social reality that we as travel companies have to deal with such as the Paris Climate Agreement, the blending obligations for airlines in 2030 and the UNWTO Glasgow Declaration. There are also a moral and ethical reasons why we will have to work on this. Above all, there is also an economic reason. If we want to have a 'license to operate' also in the future, we will have to undergo a transformation to an industry where intrinsic sustainability, equality and inclusiveness are the norm." By 2050, ANVR aims to have achieved the following ambition:

"The Dutch travel industry has a positive impact. We create social, ecological and economic value and contribute to improving the quality of the places we visit. We work in full transparency and show leadership through the chain."

Reduce emissions

Very concretely, through a clear and common reduction path, ANVR wants to halve its emissions by 2030 and reduce them to zero by 2050 without compromising the quality of experiences. To this end, travel companies must take responsibility by setting concrete social and environmental goals for their own value chain. At destinations, these include promoting the welfare of local people, contributing to regeneration, countering overtourism and reducing exposure to climate risks.
Menno Stokman, director CELTH: It is necessary for ANVR to take its responsibility now and strong that we as collaborating research and knowledge institutions can help in this. This is also in line with our own ambition to facilitate and drive the hospitality domain in its sustainable development. 

Challenges

The realization of that ambition must run along three lines with reducing emissions probably being the biggest challenge for the sector. This cannot be achieved without shifts in supply, increased use of more sustainable aviation fuels and better train and bus connections. In addition, ANVR wants to work with its members to make activities throughout the value chain more sustainable. All this should lead to reducing negative impacts and increasing positive impacts at destinations. 
Project leader Koens of Inholland University: "The vision came about through active collaboration between and with travel organizations and ANVR. This was not always easy. After all, the vision goes a lot further than what is currently customary in the international travel industry. That is why it is so important that the vision is there now, and that it will be implemented in the coming years. In this way, Dutch travel companies can become an international leading example of a future-proof travel industry."

Guiding principles

To give travel companies a foothold in this complicated process, so-called guiding principles have been drawn up. The most important are to take responsibility by not waiting but acting now. In concrete terms, this means a shift from offsetting to reducing emissions throughout the value chain. In addition, transparency and fairness to customers and stakeholders are central. To this end, travel companies must start using objective standards to measure the impact of travel, actively report on it and emphasize in communication trips that have a positive impact. 

Backcasting

In the coming period, ANVR intends to focus on gathering and sharing knowledge, developing a joint system for measuring and reporting impact, and in communication and lobbying on increasing opportunities for sustainability, especially in the field of mobility. Together with CELTH, several backcasting projects will be carried out in the future. These will concretize the necessary steps to reach zero emissions in 2050 and to achieve sustainability in the chain and at destinations. 

Frank Radstake on backcasting : "For the backcasting we take the goals set in the vision as a starting point. We then look for different types of companies to see what steps they need to take over time to achieve those goals. In this way we can do justice to the diversity of the Dutch travel industry and offer practical action perspectives that result in a concrete plan to achieve the goals set."