Port, fireworks and travel agencies

Since 2024, announcements are raining in the tourism sector. Tourisme Montréal, Owl’s Head, Bromont Mountain of Experiences, AML cruises, Destination Québec Cité, Port de Québec, Large Loto-Québec fires, Saguenay international cruise stops and many hotels have announced in the last 18 months having obtained certification in sustainable tourism.

In the Quebec region, sixty companies, encouraged by a destination Quebec Cité support program, hold a Biosphere certification, an international system based on the 17 Sustainable Development Objectives (SDG) of the United Nations (UN). Others have obtained a Greenstep certification, green key or the green pages. And that is without counting the eco -responsible attestations as ecotourism and blue pavilion.

Since June, Law C-59 to combat scubbling requires companies that they support their environmental claims with serious evidence. For many, relying on a certification is a way of documenting their actions. Certification also facilitates the obtaining of bank loans at preferential rates, certain government subsidies and the reception of international congresses.

“There are more and more tourist companies that want to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable development, that’s why we are witnessing a race for certifications,” observes Yasmine Benbelaid, a postdoctoral researcher at the eco-consultant’s chair from the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi (UQAC). It is as if having good practices was no longer enough. »»

For the marketing teacher Laurent Bourdeau, the presence among the certified companies in certain sectors of activity with a high environmental impact, such as a port, a pyrotechnic show and travel agencies, is highly open to open. “Talk to the citizens of Limoilou of the emanations of the port [liées principalement aux activités de Glencore]says the one who teaches the foundations of sustainable tourism at Laval University. Is the port a sustainable company? »»

The professor deplores that even if these certifications have been created with “good intentions”, be to support companies in a sustainability approach, they do not question their role and impact in society.

“What is rewarded and recognized are their efforts in relation to their activity,” says the manager of the regenerative tourism center at Ellio, Véronique Lévy. This sustainable developing advisor firm issues Biosphere certifications in Canada. This is the certification held by the Port of Quebec.

M^me Lévy notes that the port is an infrastructure which “is not master of the boats which disembark at home, but which is master of its territory and the actions which it takes on site”.

Site greening, best communication with the community, electrification of quays, reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG): in its plan entitled “Vision 2035”, the port of Quebec has acquired ambitious objectives in terms of eco -responsibility.

The 17 UN SDGs, evaluated by Biosphere, also affect economic and social aspects such as the fight against poverty, health and well-being, gender equality and education. Véronique Lévy underlines the commitment of the Port of Quebec in this chapter. The organization has made 173 actions of the Biosphere Program on a total of more than 400, which is “enormous”, she said.

“The goal is not to exclude, we need to be all together and to progress,” she continues.

Yasmine Benbelaid stresses that such choices can affect the credibility of a certification with the public.

However, she adds that sustainability is a “process” and not a “finality”. This is also the opinion of William Hogg, business development manager at Greenstep, a certifier organization established in British Columbia. If Tourisme Montréal was able to obtain such a high note during its evaluation, despite its financial support for a car race, it is because it “pushes events to reduce their impact on the environment”.

“Either we say to ourselves we stop cruises, snacks, but is the population ready for this?” Request Olivier Donzelot, Hotel and Acting Managing Director of Sustainable Tourism Quebec. I am less convinced. Either we try to move a little bit of the ship in the right direction by going step by step. Certification is a way to set foot in the stirrup of people. »»

Increased credibility

Mr. Donzelot notes that the certifications are increasingly reliable and rigorous. An opinion shared by Yasmine Benbelaid.

Both greenstep and biosphere, green and green key pages require companies to justify their actions by proof (photo, video, accounting or other). A virtual audit is then carried out by an external firm.

According to Yasmine Benbelaid, certifications are not immune to “clandestine passengers who will use them for strictly utilitarian purposes”. The safeguards are perfectible, she believes, and certifying organizations work to tighten them.

For example, a green key, a certification issued by Green Key Global, which is owned by the Association of Hotels of Canada (AHC) and the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), has been in its fourth overhaul since 1994. The declarations of the establishments are now the subject of an audit by a third party while before, a self-evaluation was sufficient. “He is not a hotelier who assesses another hotelier, it has never been the case,” said the CEO of the Quebec Hospitality Association (AHQ), Véronyque Tremblay.

About fifty Quebec establishments have been certified a green key under the new version and around thirty others are in the process of obtaining it, reports the AHQ. The others have until the end of the year to complete the process. Certified establishments receive a rating of 1 to 5 green keys, 5 being the highest level of sustainable performance.

Finding in the world of certifications

For several years, the credibility of a certification has been judged according to its recognition by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). In recent months, certain major certifications, including Biosphere and Green Key, have broken with the GSTC. They denounce the fact that the latter now requires audits on site, which can represent costs of some, or even several thousand dollars for a company looking for a certification.

“The GSTC is doing something elitist when the goal was to have as many companies as possible [dans une démarche de durabilité] “, Denounces Véronique Lévy. In Quebec, the majority of tourist companies are small and medium -sized businesses.

“It’s no longer fair,” deplores Véronyque Tremblay. This represents exorbitant costs for establishments located outside the major centers. »»

Thus, in order to remain accessible, several major certifications have gathered within a new association, the Tourism Sustainability Certifications Alliance (TSCA). They thus wish to establish a new credible standard in terms of sustainable certification.

In the eyes of Laurent Bourdeau, the stake is more fundamental: “There are tourist taboos that we do not yet approach, such as the questions of energy and water. You can build a hotel in Quebec without there being any requirements on energy and water. He would like to see Quebec inspire France, which has set up rules to reduce the footprint of the tourism sector. However, it is rather a strategy of sustainable tourism growth that the Quebec Ministry of Tourism presented last May. An “oxymoron”, according to the professor, who believes that the concept of growth is in opposition to that of sustainability.

Learn more

• Between $ 500 and $ 2500

  Cost of certification in sustainable tourism with action plan for a company

  Sources: greenstep, biosphere, green key, green pages