Pax# Genuine Tourism Advisors guides companies through the process of tourism sustainability certification.
The city of Barcelona, certified in 2011 as a Biosphere World Class Destination, is a pioneer in this recognition by the Responsible Tourism Institute, based on auditing the destination’s tourism management from the environmental, economic, social and cultural perspectives. One of the strongest sustainability bids of the Barcelona destination is the Biosphere Barcelona standard for Commitment to Sustainable Tourism (CSTBB), carried out in all the counties of the province as well. It is a joint effort by the Barcelona Province, the Barcelona City Council, the Barcelona Tourism Board and the city’s Chamber of Commerce. Through a methodology developed by the technical teams of the aforementioned entities and aligned with the principles of the GSTC, companies are invited to join a commitment that places Barcelona at the forefront of sustainable tourism destinations.
Pax# Genuine Tourism Advisors is part of this structure, playing the role of external advisors and accompanying companies in the commitment process. This is a dedicated and personalized service, in which we advise all types of entities (from associations to large companies, SMEs and freelancers) in order to assess their sustainability levels, detect areas for improvement and propose an action plan to address these issues. The methodology consists of a series of criteria on best practices and processes in organizations, closely linked to the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda. The issues addressed cover climate change, environmental preservation, social issues such as equality or accessibility and cultural or economic matters, such as responsible and local consumption.
The Commitment initiative has been implemented in the different comarcas or counties of the province of Barcelona and its capital since 2017 (before that date the SICTED tool -Integrated System of Tourism Quality in Destinations- was used), and it now has almost 700 companies committed to the values and principles of sustainability. In the case of the city of Barcelona the Sustainability Board, formed by economic and social agents of the city’s tourism activity, met last December and agreed to distinguish 335 entities within the framework of the CSTBB. In turn, at the end of last year, it was announced a change of the label to the Biosphere Sustainable Lifestyle (BSL), which is a certification seal that represents a qualitative leap.
From Pax# we have been providing this advisory service for 11 years, first with SICTED and the last 5 years as part of CSTBB, and we have been pleased to accompany hundreds of companies to date. In this latest edition of the project, 311 of the companies we worked with managed to distinguish themselves (and according to the new update, they will be certified with the Biosphere Sustainable Lifestyle seal). We are talking about very diverse companies in the city of Barcelona and the comarcas of Maresme, Vallès Oriental and Baix Llobregat; however, they share a single commitment to sustainability and a strive for continuous improvement.
Furthermore, as part of our mission to promote the sustainable development of tourism organizations and destinations, since 2019 Pax# has also joined the Biosphere Commitment to Sustainable Tourism, undertaking these principles that are part of the following sustainable tourism policy:
- To reaffirm our commitment to sustainability together with Biosphere, with our values, objectives and continuous improvement plan.
- To adopt the principles of the World Charter for Sustainable Tourism, and thus contributing to the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
- To prevent negative impacts caused by our facilities and activities, while maximizing the positive impacts.
- To continuously improve in all areas of socio-cultural, economic and environmental sustainability.
- To persue the satisfaction of our clients and our team, and to guarantee the quality of our services.
At Pax# we are proud to be part of this commitment, and to accompany tourism organizations and companies that have made of sustainability a pillar of their activities!
