Handbook of best practices in sustainability for Santa Susanna

On October 2019, Santa Susanna City Council decided to join the Smart Tourist Destinations Network (DTI) with the aim of starting the digital and ecological transformation of the municipality. Along these lines, within the strategy to position Santa Susanna as a destination committed to governance, accessibility, sustainability, innovation and technology; the municipality was bestowed with Next Generation European funds to execute a Tourism Sustainability Plan (PSTD). This manual is therefore part of a broad strategy for the execution of this plan.

With this premise, the City Council of Santa Susanna wanted to promote the development of a specific manual of good practices in sustainability to inspire and guide the set of tourist establishments in the municipality, in the improvement of sustainable management of resources and operational aspects. Additionally, the initiative also contemplated accompanying this support material with a series of personalized sustainability mentorships at 10 establishments.

To comply with this request, Pax# defined 13 key challenges of sustainability, in which the Manual would be structured. For each of these challenges, between 5 and 6 good practices were established and detailed to be carried out from the sustainable management of tourist establishments in Santa Susanna, ranging from measurement, to the renewal of infrastructure, controls and reduction, maintenance, communication and digitization plans, among others.

Additionally, this Manual also contemplates a sustainable self-diagnosis test where, establishments that wish, through a self-evaluation in questionnaire format of each of the good practices in the internal operation of their business, can find out at what point they are in relation to areas of sustainability raised by the Manual. And, from here, detect the main areas of improvement. Finally, the Manual also includes a small collection of the main trends in tourism demand in 2023.

Next, the challenges on which the Good Practices Manual is structured are set out. Some of them are grouped into more general areas of action.

1. Environmental management
   • Sustainable water management
   • Sustainable energy management
   • Waste management and reduction
2. Climate change and decarbonization
3. Responsible consumption
   • Elimination of unnecessary plastics
   • Minimizing food waste
   • Sustainable value chain
4. Social commitment
   • Quality employment
   • Equality and inclusion
   • Accessibility
   • Positive impact on the local community
5. Communication and awareness
6. Digitization and monitoring

In parallel with the preparation of the Manual of Good Practices in Sustainability for Tourist Establishments of Santa Susanna, 12 sustainability mentorships were carried out in 12 tourist establishments (mainly accommodation) in the municipality. In these face-to-face visits, it was possible to observe the facilities and make a diagnosis of each of the companies in sustainability, which, subsequently, were provided with a report designed to be able to apply the Manual.

This initiative was taken by the Santa Susana City Council to provide support to the municipality’s private tourism sector, in the transition towards the sustainability of its businesses. This manual includes, in a clear and concise manner, some of the most important aspects and good practices to consider in this transition, and will be very useful for those establishments that truly wish to walk this path, in an honest and genuine manner. It can also inspire and provide many ideas to any establishment, regardless of whether it is located in Santa Susanna.