To watch this event, you can rent or buy the video here.
Thursday 9th March saw The Future Economy Network run their first interactive webinar, a business B-Y-O-Breakfast, titled Tourism: Is Weston-Super-Sustainable? The event, kindly sponsored by North Somerset Council, was virtually attended by both decision makers and tourism businesses in North Somerset and beyond, and 100% of those who logged on stayed until the end of the event.
The team introduced everyone to the virtual events space and gave quick training on how to use the virtual tables, ask questions during the seminar, and make the most out of the interactive webinar. The software was chosen for its ease of use, which many of the attendees commented was a huge benefit, and everyone was surprised at how easily they found themselves networking, learning and enjoying themselves in a similar way to a physical event.
Once everyone was used to the space and enjoying the novelty of something brand new, the seminars begun. Katherine Piper, Director of The Future Economy Network, welcomed attendees, highlighting the benefits of joining the Network and also sharing updates about The Future Economy Network’s Carbon Neutral Hub in Bristol, Future Leap. Katherine also briefly ran through the plans for The Festival of Sustainable Business, where you can check out the video here.
Councillor Bridget Petty represented event sponsors and Network members North Somerset Council. She started her presentation by thanking the Council’s economic team for preparing the presentation, and went on to talk about the Golden Circle Principle and its link to the sustainable visitor economy. One year ago, North Somerset Council declared a climate emergency, and Bridget explained what this means and the importance it has. She spoke of the economics of tourism, UK’s largest and fastest growing industry. The visitor economy in North Somerset is worth £370 million. With green tourism a growing trend, and tourism’s very nature having an impact on the environment, Bridget emphasised the importance of North Somerset Council acting beyond the trend and making their key industry as sustainable as possible. She went on to explain how the Council deliver their aims, and what they intend to do (for example, creating small business partnerships linking multiple attractions in one area to reduce travel and drive businesses to businesses).
Next up, we invited Jon Proctor, Founder of Green Tourism. Jon started by introducing himself, giving background on his company, and explaining the aim of his presentation, “to create a more sustainable business”. He talked about the importance of connecting with your community and “people planet purpose” being the key standards for a brighter future. Green Tourism started in Scotland in 1997 and has worked in Canada in 2010, and helped the tourism industry in Sweden, with significant milestones in helping achieve water savings, carbon intensity reductions and waste minimisation throughout the sector. Jon’s key takeaways are:
1. Know your carbon footprint, and reduce it
2. Start a Green Team
3. Add value to your product/service (community benefit for example)
4. Minimise your waste
Jon spoke about altruism and reciprocal working, and how we can benefit our community. He finished by emphasising that we can all make a difference, indeed it is those small groups who have made the best societal changes in history.
Last, we welcomed Debbie Apted, Community Lead for the Plastic-Free Weston campaign, Surfers Against Sewage (SAS). Debbie started by explaining that “Plastic-Free” is an accreditation by charity SAS, where you need to complete 5 objective to gain the Plastic-Free status. SAS’ aim was to get 125 communities in the UK working towards this by the end of 2020, and they currently have 673 (with 88 fully certified). Weston was the 30th to complete its accreditation in August 2018. Debbie noted that plastic is not purely “evil” and has its benefits as a very efficient material; it is its single-use which destroys the environment and creates far more negative impact than benefit. She then ran through how Weston received the accreditation, by working with their local Council, running talks at local events and community groups, litter picking/beach cleans, and running a core steering group of experts, local businesses, public members and council members. The 5th objective was to get 30 businesses to remove at least 3 items of single use plastic from their premises, and they succeeded in getting 70 businesses on board. She spoke about the economic benefits around offering free refills and having your premises shout about its plastic free status to improve booking rates. To finish off, Debbie ran through many grass roots sustainable activities available in the area and emphasised how a carefully managed project or event can easily have minimal/no litter – Pride is a fantastic example.
The seminar finished with some insightful and high level questions to the panel, using the Q&A chat bar and giving attendees the ability to upvote important questions. The event concluded with some valuable networking around the virtual tables and discussing the exciting benefits of using the online platform. A huge thank you to North Somerset Council for sponsoring the event; without this support we would not be able to do these wonderful inspiring events.
