Conference Tourism Has a Significant Impact on Climate Change - Essay Example

?There is an increasing recognition that conference tourism has a significant impact on climate change and the wider environment (Mair and Jago . As this recognition grows, so demands are being place on conference venues to adopt the principles of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and to introduce ‘greening practices’ (Mohindra, 2008). Discuss. 1. Introduction Traditionally, the role of business in society was related to the achievement of profits for its owners. Today, business is considered as one of the key initiators of important social and economic changes. In the protection of the environment also, the role of business is significant; having the power to develop initiatives that help to control the effects of human activities on the environment. The specific role of business is examined in this paper. Emphasis is used on the potential use of a specific business activity, the conference venues, for the promotion of sustainability and the increase of awareness of critical environmental problems. At this point, another issue appears: tourism is not just an activity for entertainment; it can become a means for promoting various social and environmental messages. The review of the existing literature on the specific field revealed the following facts: corporate social responsible is the framework through which businesses intervene in environmental problems and promote relevant solutions. Moreover, it has been made clear that tourism is a social activity with many different dimensions; its use for supporting sustainability and the respect for the environment can be an effective solution for controlling the effects of human activities on the environment. In fact, conference tourism can have a key role in the increase of awareness of environmental issues by promoting corporate social responsibility and greening practices, as analyzed below. 2. Corporate social responsibility and environment In order to understand the role of the corporate social responsibility in the promotion of sustainability, it would be necessary to describe the framework of corporate social responsibility, as used in businesses worldwide. In accordance with Davidson et al. (2006) the corporate social responsibility could be described as ‘achieving commercial success in ways that honour ethical values and respect people, communities and the natural environment’ (Davidson et al. 2006, p.257). In the above study emphasis is given on CSR of the conference industry; it is noted that the firms operating in the above industry have started to refer to their CSR in order to prove their credentials. It is explained though that the firms operating in the particular industry should paid more attention at CSR, meaning that they would need to develop schemes through which their CSR principles could be made clearer to the public. At the next level, explanations should be given regarding the forms of the involvement of CSR in the protection of the natural environment. Through the years, alterations have been made on corporate social responsibility framework, in order to become more effective for achieving its targets. An indicative example is the establishment of the corporate citizenship concept (McIntosh 2001). The above concept was believed as an appropriate framework for replacing the corporate social responsibility framework; such initiatives were developed in 1990s. However, it was made clear that the corporate citizenship concept could serve only specific organizational needs – addressing the communication problems between the business and the community (McIntosh 2001). The corporate social responsibility framework has remained the key vehicle for promoting sustainability through business operations. In fact, the protection of the environment, mainly through the promotion of sustainability has become a key obligation of modern businesses. The above fact is highlighted in the study of Idowu et al. (2010) where the relationship between the business operations and sustainability is explained as follows: business strategies are likely to be developed in order to meet the standards of the ‘‘triple bottom line’, i.e. people, place and profit’ (Idowu et al. 2010, p.79). It is through the above ‘pillars’ that sustainability, as part of organizational strategies, is highly promoted. From this point of view, sustainability has highly affected the priorities of businesses. The increase of profits is still the key target of modern businesses; however, the promotion of social and environmental messages has been also incorporated in the businesses’ priorities, as proved through the events (conference venues) initiated by organizations worldwide. On the other hand, Mullerat (2009) notes that CSR (corporate social responsibility) emphasizes on the impact of business activities on the social environment; i.e. no particular reference is made to the promotion of sustainability through the CSR. Probably it is assumed that the natural environment is part of the organizational environment which is reflected – as a whole – in the term ‘social environment’. The protection of the environment needs to be promoted not just by the state but also by the individuals. The corporate social responsibility framework, as applied in modern organizations, reflects the above need. In accordance with Horrigan (2009) modern corporations have the following challenge to face: they have to align their strategies with the principles of sustainability but trying not to violate the human rights; often this target is not achieved, at least not fully. In fact, while trying to respond to their obligations as derived from the rules of the corporate social responsibility, corporations may be accused for the violations of human rights, but this is not the case. The fact that corporations have significant social and economic power cannot lead to the assumption that their initiatives threaten the human rights. Such problem may exist up to a level, when corporate strategies are not effectively monitored as of all their phases. The development of corporate social responsibility as a vehicle for promoting sustainability is a key part of business operations. The potential opposition of certain business activities with human rights has to be carefully reviewed and appropriately addressed. Because of their size and financial status, corporations can have a key role in the protection of the environment and they should be urged to develop relevant initiatives – in the context of the corporate social responsibility framework. From a similar point of view, Fernando (2009) noted that the role of corporations in modern market is quite complex and demanding; it is explained that the decisions of these organizations need to be appropriately justified being able to respond to the organizational needs in the long term; decisions that are applicable only in the short run would be avoided, unless there are emergent issues that need to be addressed. It is in such context that the corporate social responsibility principles have to be promoted. In conference tourism a similar issue appears: conference tourism is developed in the context of the principles of corporate social responsibility. In any case, the involvement of organizations in such initiatives should not worry managers; as noted by Fernando ‘profits and values can go together’ (Fernando 2009, p.2). This argument could be used for answering to the claims that the alignment of business operations with the principles of corporate social responsibility can lead to the limitation of business profits. 3. Conference tourism and its role in the protection of the environment The increase of awareness of environmental issues can be achieved through various initiatives; events are the most common tool for promoting sustainability, as a framework of activities focusing on the protection of natural environment. The specific issue is analyzed in the study of Raj et al. (2009). In the specific study reference is made to the barriers that may appear when trying to promote sustainability through events. The ‘lack of reliable information’ (Raj et al. 2009) can be one of the most severe problems of such kind. On the other hand, most commonly each event is likely to be ‘extremely fragmented’ (Raj et al. 2009, p.2), being consisted of many different elements (for instance, customers, employees, performance indicators, operational needs and so on); therefore, the promotion of sustainability through events would require that all these elements are taken into consideration; the above process has been characterized as management of the ‘event life-cycle’ (Raj et al. 2009, p.2). At this point, another issue needs to be taken into consideration: the promotion of sustainability within the organization can lead to organizational turbulences; this issue is emphasized in the study of Wankel et al. (2009) where the following problem is mentioned: quite often ‘sustainability theory can threaten business’ (Wankel et al. 2009, p.329). The threat mentioned above usually refers to the increase of operational costs – for instance when traditional machinery or equipment is replaced for securing the protection of the environment. In the case of the conference tourism such risk also exists – i.e. for the appearance of oppositions between the key organizational aims and the principles of sustainability; aligning the former with the latter may be too difficult due to the cost or the time involved. However, conference tourism could possibly help to the limitation of conflicts between the priorities of the organization and the need for the protection of the environment. Indeed, by promoting sustainability through the tourism could lead to less opposition against the specific initiatives. The use of appropriate management tools could also help to align easier the organizational practices with the environmental needs. Such tool is the ‘Sustainability Performance Operation Tool (SPOT)’ (Sloan et al. 2009, p.135). The above tool aims to help managers in the decision making process; indeed, through the above tool, information is provided on the potential methods for promoting sustainability through business operations: three key parts of the business operations are considered as important for the development of sustainability within the organization: ‘a) environmental, b) social and c) economic’ (Sloan et al. 2009, p.135). In the study of Sloan et al. (2009) it is explained that the specific tool can have two different roles: a) to be used for gathering information on critical business operations or b) to provide training to the firm’s employees regarding the principles of sustainability (Sloan et al. 2009). Of course, the risks of such projects cannot be ignored; in conference tourism also, as in other business initiatives, risks can exist when trying to promote sustainability. This problem is highlighted in the study of Grunevalder (2009); the above researcher noted that the effective promotion of sustainable practices within the business environment could be a challenging task. It is also noted that, the influence of climate change on business operations is significant – ‘the higher temperatures and the water scarcity’ (Grunevalder 2009, p.2) are mentioned as examples of the potential effects of climate change on business operations. It is probably in this context that in a survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCooper across 43 countries the value of sustainability was highlighted by the participants; in fact, ‘79% of the participants – all chief executives – admitted that sustainability helps towards the increase of business profits’ (Grunevalder 2009, p.2). The promotion of sustainability in tourism can be developed through various methods; usually, the process requires a series of activities; an indicative example of such process is presented in Graph 1- Appendix. In the context of this graph, sustainability can be a crucial part of business operations for firms operating in the tourism industry. In order for such initiatives to succeed it is necessary for the following requirements to be met: a) information should be gathered in advance for all business operations (phase 1), b) the risks involved need to be identified in advance, as possible (phase 2), c) actions need to be taken for reducing the carbon footprint in business units (phase 3), d) inform visitors on the relevant initiatives so that they could also participate in the particular effort (phase 4), e) the process need to be monitored continuously – comparing with the results from similar initiatives of competitors, so that changes to be made, if required, in order for the performance of the project to be increased (phase 5). Through another approach, see Graph 2 – Appendix, the promotion of sustainability in tourism requires ‘justice, democracy, access and eco-efficiency’ (Graph 2-, Appendix). If the above principles/ conditions exist, then sustainability can be highly supported in the tourism sector under the terms that the relevant project is adequately supported and monitored. At this point, it would be necessary to explain how the conference tourism can affect the environment. The above issue can be made clear by referring to the ‘U.N. Climate Change Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen in 7-19 December 2009’ (United Nations 2009). The above conference focused on the effects of human activities on the environment and the progress of the initiatives developed for controlling these effects – especially, the Kyoto protocol (United Nations 2009). The above event, even it was developed for promoting the principles of sustainability, its effects on the environment have been severe. This fact is highlighted in the report of Rhett-Miller (2009). In accordance with the above report, the 12-day conference was expected to cause ‘40,584 tons of carbon dioxide’ (Rhett-Miller 2009, online article). These emissions include emissions from ‘hotels, transportation and from international travel’ (Rhett-Miller 2009, online article). Regarding the above event, the following issue should be emphasized: the transportation and the facilities engaged in the specific project have been extensive, at such level that strong criticisms have been caused. For instance, in the report of Jorgensen (2009) published in Telegraph, it is noted that in the context of the above Conference a total of ‘1240 limos and 140 private planes’ (Jorgensen 2009) were used for the transportation needs of the participants. Moreover, the concern for the effects of the Conference on the environment seemed to be limited; actually, among the cars used for the transportation of the participants, the hybrid cars were just 5 – while the limos, as mentioned above, reached the 1240 (1200 the initial limos employed in the project and 40 additional as required by the French participants in the conference) (Jorgensen 2009). On the other hand, the performance of the business tourism sector – in which conference tourism belongs, is not standardized. In accordance with a series of statistics published through the Office for National Statistics (UK) in 2009, the following details have been revealed regarding the business travel trends of 2008: in 2008, business tourism in UK fell at a percentage of 8.1% - compared to 2007 (Office for National Statistics 2009); the above percentage refers to the business visits of residents; it is noted that ‘the business visits from Europe and North America were also declined’ (Office for National Statistics 2009). 4. Conclusion The efforts to promote sustainability can be quite challenging, especially if taking into consideration the costs of the relevant projects. Indeed, developing activities using common means of transportation can be less costly instead of using machinery or practices which are based on the principles of sustainability – environmental – friendly technology is usually costly compared to the conventional technology, meaning the non-sustainable technology. It is perhaps for this reason that the promotion of sustainability in human activities is often avoided. This is an issue of particular importance for the conference tourism, where sustainability can be highly involved. The use of conventional cars in the Conference of Copenhagen has led to extremely high carbon footprint, as analysed above. The above example has proved that conference tourism is not fully aligned with the principles of sustainability, either for financial or for administrative reasons, meaning the increased time required for arranging events which are aligned with the principles of sustainability compared to events which are developed using conventional technology. In the future, higher emphasis should be given on the promotion of sustainability in conference tourism; the use of relevant practices would be clear primarily in the conferences developed by international bodies – then the organizations at lower levels of the particular industry could follow. The fact that the performance of petroleum firms, such as BP (see Graph 3, Appendix), has been declined in the last 3 months is not encouraging regarding the promotion of sustainability worldwide. Actions should be taken for the promotion of the sustainability in practice and not its explanation in theory – as in the case of the Conference in Copenhagen. References Davidson, R., Rogers, T. 2006. Marketing destinations and venues for conferences, conventions and business events. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann EnjoyEngland. (2008). United Kingdom Tourism Survey. Available from; http://collections.europarchive.org/tna/20100509080731/enjoyengland.com/corporate/corporate-information/research-and-insights/statistics/ukts.aspx Accessed 15 June 2011. Fernando, A. 2009. Corporate Ethics, Governance, And Social Responsibility: Precepts And Practices. New Delhi: Pearson Education India Grunewalder, A. 2009. 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Available from http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N30271159.htm.Accessed 15 June 2011. Rhett-Miller, J. (2009). Copenhagen Climate Conference to Create 'Huge' Carbon Footprint. Available from: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2009/12/03/copenhagen-climate-conference-create-huge-carbon-footprint/. Accessed 15 June 2011. . Sloan, P., Chen, J., Legrand, W. 2009. Sustainability in the Hospitality Industry: Principles of Sustainable Operations. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann United Nations. (2009). The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, 7-19 December 2009. Available from: http://unfccc.int/meetings/cop_15/items/5257.php. Accessed 15 June 2011. VisitBritain. (2009). Foresight. Available from; http://www.visitbritain.org/Images /Foresight%20Issue%2055update_tcm139-167378.pdf. Accessed 15 June 2011. Wankel, C., Stoner, J. 2009. Management Education for Global Sustainability. Charlotte: IAP Appendix Graph 1 – Sustainability in the tourism sector (Source: http://www.capricorntourism.com.au/wp-content/uploads/pathtosustainability1.jpg) Graph 2 – Sustainability in tourism (Source: http://www.arlt-lectures.com/pyramid.jpg) Graph 3 – Share Chart of BP (Source: http://www.lse.co.uk/ShareChart.asp?sharechart=BP.&share=bp) Read More