The four webinars in August-September 2020 is organised to support tourism establishments with practical information on how to integrate sustainable practices in the operations, particularly in light of the current environmental and social challenges, as well as the long term financial benefits from cost savings.
Lorraine Dixon, Green Key National Operator for Kenya says: “The webinars are free of charge and will be 1 hour long with an allowance for extra 30 minutes in-depth Q&A sessions. Although there is content more applicable for Kenyan establishments, there are definitely elements that will cut across and be useful in different countries.”
These are the four webinars:
Session 1: Hygiene and Sustainability – Thursday 20th August 2020 [2.30 – 3.30 pm EAT]
This session will focus on how tourism and hospitality businesses can maintain enhanced hygiene standards through sustainable alternatives, that can help them protect the health of guests, staff and the environment. Our expert for this session is Joanne Hendrickx, the Founder of Travel Without Plastic.
Session 2: Resource Efficiency [covering energy and water management] – Thursday 24th August 2020 [2.30 – 3.30 pm EAT]
This session will focus on how tourism and hospitality businesses can maximise the efficiency of their energy and water use, both in the short term with minimal to no capital investments, as well as the long term with larger investments that tend to give higher returns. I will co-facilitate this session with Eng. James Gathage, a mechanical engineer by training with over 20 years’ experience in resource efficiency in various sectors, including hospitality.
Session 3: Waste Management – Thursday 3rd September 2020 [2.30 – 3.30 pm EAT]
This session will focus on how tourism and hospitality businesses can truly take stock of all their waste streams, and highlight practical measures that can be taken to either reduce, reuse or recycle. This will include aspects of solid waste, wastewater and food waste management. This session will be co-facilitated by Eng. James Gathage who also has great expertise on waste management in the tourism and hospitality sector, and an expert from the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA). Their contribution is particularly important in light of various compliance requirements for the hospitality sector, as well as Covid-19 Waste Management Guidelines they have developed.
Session 4: Sustainability Strategy & Policy – Thursday 10th September 2020 [2.30 – 3.30 pm EAT]
This session will focus on how tourism and hospitality businesses can bring all the above components together, as well as other aspects such as community engagement and sustainability communication, more so taking into account the need for crisis management and longer-term thinking in institutionalising sustainability for their businesses. The idea is to get the participants to appreciate a holistic approach to sustainability, having seen the value from the practical aspects, as well as other softer areas, for meaningful change. Our experts for this session are Angela Murugi Njehia and Barbara Schott, co-founders of Tierranjani Africa, both with over 10 years’ experience in tourism operations and development in Africa and abroad.