Cape & Islands Green 2011

It’s a fact: Cape Cod’s economy centers on tourism, and the local tourist economy is based on the natural environment.
Visitors come to the Cape for beautiful views of the ocean, quiet days at the beach, and for nature-based activities such as whale watching.

Sustaining the environment isn’t just a nice idea – it’s crucial to sustaining our economy. To protect Cape Cod’s natural resources, and support the local economy, people who live and work here are starting to incorporate green practices into their daily routines at home and at work.
Cape & Islands Green, a step-by-step verification program sponsored by the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce and local chambers, has been helping guide businesses for the past year toward best sustainable practices.

Wendy Northcross, CEO of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, says that in the last several years, the Chamber has been hearing from meeting planners and travelers “looking for destinations with hotels, convention centers and other businesses practicing sustainable and green business tactics.”

In response to the growing demand for green destinations, tourism and hospitality industry leaders are incorporating sustainability into their business models to establish competitive advantage, enhance brand value and increase sales. Adopting greener business practices makes good marketing sense.

And according to the 2010 Green Traveler Study published by Community Marketing, Inc., “The fundamental question today is not ‘whether’ sustainability will influence consumer choice and [the] bottom line, but ‘how.’”

The local shift reflects a global trend in people’s consumption habits moving toward those that are more environmentally responsible. Every choice that a consumer makes now has a greener alternative, including choices in where to take vacations and what to do while on vacation.

Amidst the move toward sustainable alternatives, travelers want to know from a trustworthy, independent source whether businesses claiming to be “green” are, in fact, being forthright.

Cape & Islands Green offers consumers the third-party verification that they are seeking, giving them a way to identify those businesses that are not only capitalizing on the Cape’s beautiful natural environment, but are also working to keep it that way. – cha

Written by Amanda Converse, edited by Susan Spencer

For upcoming Cape & Islands Green workshops: www.capecodchamber.org/capeandislandsgreen or follow Cape & Islands Green on Facebook.

READ OUR CAPE & ISLANDS GREEN STORIES:

VERIFIED GREEN

Eco-Tourism for the Cape & Islands

Related Posts:

CHA Advertisers

Special Sections

Like Us on Facebook

Explore CHA Magazine