Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Sustainable Development

Low Carbon and Resource Efficient Action Plan for Accommodation in Saint Lucia

United Nations Environment Programme (
United Nations / Multilateral body
)
#SDGAction33787
    Description
    Intro

    This action plan is for policy makers, destination planners and managers, and private sector industry stakeholders. It explains how to make the accommodation value chain more sustainable, reducing the negative impacts of tourism, such as marine pollution and environmental degradation, and its high demands on natural resources. Taking action now will secure a better environmental, social and economic future for Saint Lucia. Tourism is crucial not only for Saint Lucia but for the entire Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) region, therefore this action plan also provides top-level regional recommendations. The Saint Lucian accommodation value chain has been carefully mapped and analysed, including all activities that happen within a hotel and those needed to supply them, such as electricity generation. Where there was a lack of data from within Saint Lucia, proxy data from similar Caribbean islands, such as Antigua, British Virgin Island and the Dominican Republic, has been used to complete the analysis.

    Implementation of the Project/Activity

    To achieve these targets, the action plan focuses on energy and waste as priority areas, through two main programmes: 1. Smart Energy. This programme aims to reduce the amount of energy consumed by the accommodation sector and its value chain. Recommendations for government and its agencies focus on creating an enabling environment through measures such as adequate policy formulation and enforcement. Incentives will be provided to increase energy efficiency, promote electric vehicles for tourism-related transportation and improve renewable energy infrastructure. Recommendations for private sector businesses focus on reducing fossil fuel consumption through increasing energy efficiency and use of renewables and developing solutions to reduce transportation of people and products. 2. Towards Zero Waste. This programme aims to reduce the amount of waste generated by the accommodation sector, working towards the goal of zero waste. Recommendations for government and agencies focus on improving waste management infrastructure and fostering the recycling sector. It is about bringing stakeholders together to develop solutions tailored to the accommodation sector and its value chain. The reduction targets for GHG emissions, energy consumption and waste generation will be measured against the Business-As-Usual (BAU) emissions projections in line with the Nationally Determined Contribution of Saint Lucia. Recommendations for hotels focus on rethinking needs, for products and services as well as operations, the use of ambitious voluntary pledges, and initiatives to encourage the uptake of sustainable procurement practices to reduce waste generation – particularly regarding plastic and food. Since the island is facing challenges posed by increasing waste generation, such as limited infrastructure and land constraints for waste management, businesses are also encouraged to collaborate with academies, research institutes and public sector partners to develop technologies and relevant circular procurement approaches. A third set of actions, namely Supportive actions, that are relevant to both programmes, is also proposed. The implementation of the action plan will build upon, and create synergies with, initiatives already underway in the areas of energy and waste reduction. Its effectiveness will require local ownership and public and private partnership including mutual learning and support, expertise-sharing and effective communication. To this end, an implementation plan is being developed in consultation with stakeholders. Finally, the recommendations for the OECS region within this action plan focus on reduction of energy consumption and waste generation by scaling up the actions recommended for Saint Lucia. This includes the creation of regional forums to share energy and waste management expertise, regional awareness-raising campaigns, provision of information, training and resources at OECS level, adopting holistic approaches for sustainable energy development, and an integrated waste management system for the region taking advantage of economies of scale. Policies will also be reviewed and aligned, working towards a low carbon and resource efficient OECS tourism industry.

    Results/Outputs/Impacts

    By transforming its tourism value chain to improve resource efficiency and reduce GHG emissions, Saint Lucia will increase its competitiveness and resilience, and meet its national and international commitments to climate change mitigation. The two programmes of the action plan have a particular focus on energy and waste as priority areas, with solutions that can be delivered through government strategy and policy development. These particular programmes were selected and designed because: ➔ they provide a comprehensive, multi-level process to address priority hotspots identified by stakeholders; ➔ they align with the wider vision for Saint Lucia as well as its national, regional and international sustainability obligations; and ➔ they are considered the most appropriate and feasible in the context of Saint Lucia

    Enabling factors and constraints

    -

    Sustainability and replicability

    -

    Other sources of information
    COVID-19 Impact

    -

    N/A
    N/A
    No progress reports have been submitted. Please sign in and click here to submit one.
    False
    This initiative does not yet fulfil the SMART criteria.
    Share
    FacebookTwitterLinkedIn
    Timeline
    01 September 2017 (start date)
    31 August 2020 (date of completion)
    Entity
    United Nations Environment Programme
    Ongoing
    No
    SDGs
    Other beneficiaries

    The development process of this action plan took over 18 months and followed five key phases: 1. Identification and engagement of stakeholders at national and regional level to form the Stakeholder Advisory Group (STAG) 2. Data collection and analysis 3. Value chain mapping and identification of hotspots2 4. Stakeholder consultation process through workshops, regular STAG meetings and bilateral meetings with key stakeholders 5. Drafting and validating the action plan The implementation of this plan will require collective work and partnerships to guarantee its success and sustainability. This action plan will be supplemented with an implementation plan developed in close collaboration with stakeholders.

    More information
    Countries
    Saint Lucia
    Saint Lucia
    Contact Information