Website URL

Share your contribution to SDG12 and sustainable consumption and production

Costa Brava Girona Tourism Board

The Costa Brava Girona Tourism Board is in charge of tourism promotion of the province of Girona, for which it carries out actions such as running tourism fairs, publishing material, accompanying journalists, agencies, tour operators, influencers who visit the destination, etc. Single-use plastic has been eliminated in all tasks carried out aimed at the tourist promotion of the destination. For example, merchandise is made with reusable or recyclable materials and whenever possible local and traditional production (baskets, elements made with cork, pottery, wooden pens, metallic water bottles, etc.). Also, when participating in fairs, the bags given to visitors are paper or cloth bags. The team of the Tourism Board avoids using single-use plastic on the organization’s premises, using refillable metallic bottles, lunchboxes and coffee cups (so no plastic is used in the office for personal use). 

Role in programme(s):

Commitments:

In the framework of the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative, the Costa Brava Girona Tourism Board commits to: 

  • Stimulating elimination of problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging and/or items by 2024, by organizing training aimed at tourist companies in the destination so that they substantially reduce (and, if possible, eliminate) single-use plastic from their establishments. 

  • Encouraging reuse models where relevant, to reduce the need for single-use plastic packaging and/or items. The Tourism Board has drawn up a manual, for internal use only, in order to achieve better sustainability in the actions it organizes or in which it participates. This manual will be implemented from 2024 and will include an evaluation of the actions taken and proposals for improvements. The manual includes the elimination of single-use plastic at all events and in all merchandising, as well as other proposals for reducing the carbon footprint, reducing the use of energy and water and reducing the generation of waste. 

  • Promoting/incentivizing the use of reusable, recyclable, or compostable plastic packaging and/or items by putting tourist establishments in contact with suppliers specialized in reusable packaging linked to the tourism sector, organizing a meeting to promote the elimination of single-use items in restaurants and hotels based on specific options that are reusable, and promoting implementation of voluntary and circular agreements with companies from the distribution and retail, commerce, hotel and catering sector with the aim of waste prevention and transition to a circular economy.  

  • Supporting initiatives that aim at increasing collection, sorting, reuse, and recycling rates, and facilitating the establishment of the necessary infrastructure and related funding mechanisms. This will be achieved by collaborating with local environmental organizations that collect and sort plastics in natural spaces to provide support in the form of financial aid, volunteering or promotion of their activities. Collaboration will also be implemented with public entities at municipal level. During 2024, a work session will be organized so that environmental entities of the territory and tourism companies can get to know each other and can collaborate. A voice will be given also to organizations that work to clean beaches, riverbanks and natural spaces, and Corporate Social Responsibility projects will be linked to help with initiatives to eliminate waste from the natural environment and reduce the use of plastic. 

  • Supporting initiatives that aim at stimulating the demand for recycled content across all plastic packaging and items used by 2025, by supporting local initiatives for the cleaning of plastics from beaches, the sea, riverbanks and other natural spaces, sorting the collected waste and recycling that which is recyclable. Awareness-raising activities will be implemented to engage potential visitors through social media and blog content. 

  • Promoting the engagement of travellers on recycling and reuse through communication material addressed to visitors explaining the importance of eliminating plastic and how they can collaborate. 

  • Collaborate with the private sector, NGOs, and other destinations towards achieving the vision and objectives of the GTPI by working with NGOs and public and private entities in the territory to improve environmental management. The Tourism Board of the Costa Brava Girona has been working for some time with a system of co-governance between the different actors linked to tourism (public and private), and has several co-creation spaces where it works with more than 800 members through different tools: committees, assemblies, work tables, etc. 

  • The Tourism Board has also created a technical secretariat to help implement measures to improve sustainability of the tourism sector and of the destination. A sustainability board has been made up of public and private representatives that goes beyond tourism to help the destination be more responsible. In the action plan, many lines of improvement are being worked on, for example training is given to the private sector to better manage waste and reduce water and energy, good practices and sustainable proposals are communicated, and workers are trained to include sustainability in all aspects of daily work, etc. 

  • Reporting publicly and annually on progress made towards these targets.