EU project "European Tourism Going Green (ETGG) 2030" supports the tourism industry on its way to greater sustainability

On the path to sustainable consumption and production, the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE) is involved in the long-term development and transfer of innovative tourism management for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe with the European Tourism Going Green (ETGG) 2030 research project. A developed online training and expert system is to be passed on to individual businesses in cooperation with eight partners from six different countries. In addition to sustainability certification, they will be given the opportunity to improve their socio-economic and ecological performance. The main aim is to increase competitiveness.

Numerous crises of global change, such as the rapid decline in biodiversity, extreme weather events, social inequality and, ultimately, the coronavirus pandemic, urgently require answers and swift action - innovative processes in the sustainable management of small and medium-sized enterprises in the tourism industry are also needed in order to increase their profitability in the long term. The European Tourism Going Green (ETGG) 2030 project, co-initiated by the Centre for Sustainable Tourism (ZENAT) at HNEE, aims to support European SMEs on their path to greater sustainability. "The interest of tourism businesses in sustainability has grown in recent months. This project aims to bring know-how and implementation support to businesses," announces Prof Dr Dagmar Lund-Durlacher, who has been working as a project coordinator at HNEE as part of ETGG 2030 since March 2021. With a Europe-wide network of sustainability experts, higher education institutions, business associations, chambers of commerce, tourism organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the aim is to create a digital media-based offering that includes knowledge transfer on the topic of sustainable tourism management and an innovation database with sustainable lighthouse projects. "Our students and graduates will also benefit from the large network of sustainability experts, educational institutions, tourism organisations and businesses that will be created as part of the project and within the collaboration," adds Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Strasdas, Head of the Master's degree programme in Sustainable Tourism Management and head of the working group ZENAT. The ETGG 2030 project has been funded for 30 months since January 2021 with almost one million euros from the EUCOSME programme.

The ETGG 2030 offers for SMEs
The project focuses on the development and establishment of an online training and expert system that gives tourism businesses direct access to expert knowledge and consulting services in the field of sustainable tourism. Furthermore, tools such as the "RU Ready for Certification" app will be provided, which SMEs can use to implement sustainability in their operational procedures and procurement processes. These support services are being trialled in nine tourism regions (in six different countries with UNESCO cultural heritage sites and Natura 2000 areas). In this way, the most threatened European regions can be made more resilient. As part of national competitions to be announced in autumn 2021, a total of 70 European SMEs will be selected to take part in this development process as pilots and receive sustainability funding worth 10,000 euros each. "The exciting thing about this approach is that we are not only developing a knowledge platform and online training materials, but can also apply them in tourism businesses in the next step," emphasises Prof. Dr Dagmar Lund-Durlacher.

From research to the marketplace: market access for certified SMEs
The use of the training system, the tools provided and the realisation of sustainability certification should not only offer SMEs the opportunity to expand their expertise in the area of sustainability, but also to improve their socio-economic and ecological performance and make it more measurable. The implementation of sustainability through certification allows companies better market access, they have more opportunities to apply and are therefore more competitive. By participating, the companies also become part of a global network for sustainable and responsible tourism, which can be found on the website and other media, such as the Travel Green Europe app.

The project partners:

  • Centre for Sustainable Tourism (ZENAT) of the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE), Germany
  • ECOTRANS, Germany
  • ÖHV Touristik Service, Austria
  • Croatian Chamber of Economy CCE, Croatia
  • Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato e Agricoltura di Pordenone-Udine, Italy
  • ASSET Basilicata - Azienda Speciale della Camera di commercio della Basilicata, Italy
  • Asociatia Judeteana De Turism Sibiu, Romania
  • DMD NT, Bulgaria