The answer is simple: because all tourism organizations should be considering becoming Climate Neutral by 2050. Especially organizations based on nature that soon will be destroyed if we do not take action now. By taking action, you are saving your world but also your workplace. The idea of declaring Climate Neutral 2050 Carbon Reduction Plans and stretching Ambitions over time is central to the Paris Accord regime. 

As Maurice Strong said: "This is not just a technical issue. Everybody's actions are motivated by their inner life, their moral, spiritual and ethical values. Global agreements will be effective when they are rooted in the individual commitment of people, which arises from their own inner life." 

Vesterlyng Camping is the first Danish organization registered in the Climate Friendly Travel Registry, which shows their commitment to SUNx Visions:

• Measuring travel-related carbon footprint – including supply chain
• Committing to reduce it to zero by 2050
• Setting out sustainability and climate plans, with targets and operational actions, to achieve this and filing them on the SUNx Malta CFT Registry.

How can they be an example for other camping organizations in Denmark and all around the world?

Vesterlyng Camping, which is part of Camping Outdoor Danmark,  is trying to become a new sustainable travel spot, and they have been trying over the years. They are reducing their electricity consumption and installing solar panels to cover 25 percent of their current electricity consumption and continuously monitoring our water use.  Due to this sector's urgency to be committed to sustainable practices and become Carbon Neutral, more nature-based companies are registering in the Climate Friendly Travel Registry. 

The director of Camping Outdoor Danmark, Jens Brendstrup, also registered his organization recently because they also share SUNx Visions stated previously. He also stated: “In recent years, the UN Sustainable Development Goals have helped to create a greater focus on sustainability in society and among consumers, while studies show that sustainability plays an important role in consumer preferences and thus the survival of businesses in the future. The purpose of Green Stay is to create a sustainability certification for Danish campsites based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and thus get more people to choose camping as a sustainable holiday form by making the campsites' efforts in terms of sustainability visible”.

The result of Green Stay will be used to make sustainable campsites visible to consumers and to make campsites work in a sustainable direction on an ongoing basis.

The project was started at the request of the campsites, based on reflection from their guests. For Camping Outdoor Denmark, it is important that this certification and labelling is transparent and trustworthy, therefore fixed criteria have been created for the labelling, and the certification and control processes are carried out by authorised consultants.”

It is relevant to highlight that according to the IFEU (Institute for Energy and Environmental Research), caravanning and camping have a comparatively good climate balance concerning other ways of travelling, with only 1.36 kg CO²-e/night/person.  Travellers who are more sustainability conscious will tend to travel sustainably, and camping provides this opportunity. Simultaneously, camping organizations need to commit to working towards climate action and the corresponding SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals).

One of the challenges that camping sites face is the lack of electric vehicle chargers. By 2030, the International Energy Agency predicts that there would be 250 million Electric Vehicles around the world. How many of these vehicles will be stationed in campings in Denmark? How are they going to charge their cars? Urban Electric Networks has developed pop-up development chargers for the UEone on-street devices, retracting into the ground. They have plans to begin producing them in 2021. Vesterlyng Camping and Camping Outdoor Danmark registered to show their commitment and work towards innovative technologies that the CFT Registry can support through its «Innovation Hub»

This is the type of innovative good practice that camping bodies need to be aware of.  ACT NOW. 

Financial Sustainability

It is also fundamental for all tourism organizations to consider their financial strategy when investing in new technology. There has been a growth in green investment to tackle potentially adverse effects of climate change. The increased of awareness of future environmental issues and the current pandemic has made it more evident than ever that it is important to invest in green sustainable practices in the tourism businesses. However, it is fundamental to find innovative financing strategies and create awareness, (especially for small businesses), of the possible external support, including government support. For example, in the UN Global Compact Action Platform Financial Innovation, experts develop innovative financial tools to finance critical sustainability solutions directly. All organizations will need to prioritize the environmental challenges as they seek to achieve economic sustainability.