Welcome to our Blog
Crafting a Sustainable World, One Post at a Time
Unwrapped: Why are we still using plastic food packaging?
You’d think that plastic food packaging would be enough to solve Europe’s food waste problem. The reason why most of our food is packaged in a supermarket is because it keeps our produce ‘fresher’ right?
Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Both plastic pollution and food waste are at all time highs and there has never been a better moment to find solutions. Luckily, there are many innovative packaging ideas, which aim to reduce the source of both plastic pollution and food waste.
Slovenia: The Most Sustainable Country on Earth
In 2017, Slovenia was named the most sustainable country on Earth by National Geographic. While visiting Ljubljana and Lake Bled, I witnessed some visible signs of sustainability: eco-friendly zones, recycling programs, and restricted swimming areas. To go beyond what meets the eye, I decided to do some research on my own to learn more about how Slovenia got its title.
This blog will take a look at what Slovenia has done for sustainability as well as what areas need to be targeted to maintain its reputation as a sustainable paradise.
What are the 7 current trends in tourism?
It can be a challenging task to keep up to date with the newest tourism trends. Luckily, we’ve come up with a list of 7 major current trends and insights in the tourism sector to keep you up to date while inspiring you to use these tips to grow a sustainable business.
Pivoting towards sustainable business: understanding environmental cost
When goods and services are traded in marketplaces around the world, you are able to look at a price tag and decide to purchase the product of your choice. When it comes to thing like safety, happiness, fresh air and most importantly, a clean environment, these qualities are not ‘for sale’ and therefore do not have a price tag.
This is where ECIs (Environmental Cost Indicators) can help quantify the value of the impact an action can have on the environment. Read on to see how your business can use these to become more sustainable!
Turning overtourism into innovation
In global cities around the world, tourists have become a subject of irritation among the locals.
For locals around the world that have been “invaded”, tourists represent the “awful other” and in many cases the “necessary evil”. The impact of heavy tourism only scratches the surface of what negative impacts this can leave behind if nothing is done to regulate it.
This blog will look into what can be done to cultivate the innovative potential generated by tourists to improve city infrastructure and the daily lives of locals.
Sustainable Tourism and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals
The 17 United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), launched in 2015, highlight 169 targets that aim to push forward the current standards of international development. The SDGs focus around many topics including targets for protecting the planet, fighting inequality and combatting the effects of climate change while involving all relevant stakeholders along the implementation process.
The question is: how can these goals be applied to sustainable tourism?
The power of influencing environmental responsibility
What is the power of celebrity and how can it be used for good?
These are two big questions that our generation of Millennials have been confronted with in a world that seeks validation from the internet and pop culture.While social media popularity and the value of celebrity image can be used to promote things from retail products, businesses, and even snack foods, influencers can also be used for fighting climate change and spreading the word on sustainability.
This blog highlights a list of celebrities that have taken it upon themselves to utilize their star power for a greater good. These celebrities are actors of change and models of a sustainable mindset for current and future generations.
What everyone should know about cigarette butts
What is a cigarette filter made out of? The answer is plastic.
Many smokers and non-smokers are now just beginning to realize that cigarette butts have long been our biggest source of forgotten plastic. In this blog, I will discuss the environmental implications of cigarette butt pollution, followed by revelations that I had while taking part in a city-wide cleanup in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Normalizing responsible tourism: the difference our choices make
Some say that traveling can heal the soul, but at what cost for the environment? In this blog I’ll discuss what it would take to normalize sustainable choices and how we can encourage tourists to treat destinations as if they were at home.
Travalyst: A new alliance of industry leaders for sustainable tourism
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, is the talk of the town these days, and no, not just because he is a beloved member of the British Royal family, but because of his new initiative looking to be a driving force for sustainable tourism: Travalyst.
This past Tuesday in Amsterdam, Prince Harry along with some big names in the travel industry, Booking, Skyscanner, TripAdvisor, Visa and C-Trip, gathered together in ADAM Tower amongst an intimate group of local entrepreneurs and professionals, including our very own Founder and CEO, Ally Dragozet.
How sustainability can benefit your business- Our top tips
Introducing sustainability into your business can improve efficiency, encourage employee engagement, drive customer loyalty and ultimately boost the bottom line of your business. For offices looking to cut down their CO2 footprints, enhance their waste management strategy, and introduce more sustainable initiatives into the company, luckily there are many new ideas and practices out there.
It can be overwhelming to take the first steps. Where do you start and what are the most effective methods? We’ve put together a list of our top tips for creating a sustainable business that benefits your bottom line.
Balancing the Pros and Cons of Coastal Tourism through Sustainability
When so many people around the world participate in oceanfront or coastal activities as a part of their vacation or every day lifestyle, the morality of understanding how it impacts our ecosystems should be at the forefront of our minds. The first question we should ask ourselves is this: what are the benefits of coastal tourism? And what can we do to ensure that there are more pros than cons?
What can yacht crew do to improve sustainability?
The superyacht industry isn’t the most environmentally friendly of industries and it often receives negative press when it comes to sustainability, from the endless single use plastic, the food miles consumed to the huge emissions.
Quite simply, it is an industry which relies on the health of our oceans and without them, cannot exist. In recent years, there has been an increase in environmental awareness and changing attitudes within the industry.
The process for change is happening in many ways but one is down to the power of the individual, individual yacht crew making changes to the daily operations of the yacht and taking responsibility for the yachts environmental footprint to provide long lasting benefits. So, what are the steps in which yacht crew can take to flip unsustainable practices onboard? Continue reading to find out!
11 Sustainable Practices for River Cruises
River cruises are becoming increasingly popular, which creates many new opportunities as well as challenges along with it.
In Europe alone, 1.4 million passengers took a river cruise in 2018, a number that’s rising annually. The kind of growth that we’ve seen from cruise tourism has placed a large burden on the marine environment. As a result, we have generally seen a rise in the trend of customers demanding for more responsible and sustainable tourism. To meet the increasing demand for sustainable cruising options, river cruise companies are starting to think about their environmental impact while finding ways on how to reduce it.
In this blog, you’ll find a list of 11 suggested practices that we’ve compiled to help make river cruising more sustainable!
How to reduce your plastic consumption on your next holiday
While getting ready for a long awaited vacation, you know all the tricks for packing light and smart - but what about packing zero waste? Tourism is one of the biggest industries in the world and it has a significant impact on our environment. By making small changes while traveling, you can help cut down your plastic waste footprint and make your tourist behavior more sustainable. Continue reading this article for some useful tips and tricks!
What’s the ‘real’ cost of that lobster on your plate? Tips to avoid unsustainable seafood.
If you’re like me, you love seafood and probably won’t stop eating it anytime soon. But, do you really know where it comes from, and what kind of impact it has on the environment?
What if I told you that some of the lobster you eat could be causing irreversible damage to our ocean’s most threatened species? In this post you’ll find out some tips to avoid unsustainable seafood and how to use your wallet in a more environmentally conscious way.
An Inside Look: the EU and Sustainable Tourism
Sea Going Green goes to Brussels!
This week’s blog provides insight on efforts by the EU to move towards sustainability in the tourism sector. Sea Going Green is happy to note positive steps are being taken in the right direction by the EU and its partners with plenty of room to grow!
World, we have a lot of work to do before 2030
World, we have a lot of work to do before 2030.
Earlier this week, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change broke the sobering news that unless we can limit global warming to +1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2030, the prognosis for our environment is not bright. To achieve this feat (cutting CO2 emissions by ~45%), drastic measures will have to be taken by consumers, industries and government bodies. Come 2030, the state of our quality of life, ecosystems and economy will be reliant on our level of commitment to the sustainability of our planet right now.
In this week’s blog, we’ll take a look at the findings from this new report and the changes that we will have to make in order to reach the 2030 goal of limiting global warming to +1.5 degrees.
Going Strawless in the City... and Beyond
This week Sea Going Green got the chance to talk with IamStrawless (Arian Lurie) on the "going strawless” movement which is making waves in Amsterdam and around the globe!
Read more to see what inspired the creation of IamStrawless, how the movement has caught fire and the importance of engaging the hospitality and tourism industries to embrace sustainable alternatives.
PLA “Biodegradable” Plastics: Too Good To Be True
PLAs have been heralded around the world as a renewable, plant based, biodegradable alternative to petroleum based plastics. Made from fermented plant starch, the plastic is said to be “carbon neutral” and “non-toxic.” However, this is far from the truth. Critics and experts around the world have brought to light that the renewable alternative is not as environmentally friendly as one might have thought.
In this week’s post, we reveal the hidden reality of PLA plastics. Read to find out the truth!