SUSTAINABILITY INCLUSIVITY PROGRAM
Programs > Sustainability Inclusivity Program
The Sustainability Inclusivity Program (SIP) is designed to assist tourism operators in BruceGreySimcoe to promote a new sustainable product, experience, initiative, or inclusive business practice they’ve invested in by supporting a $2,500 social media advertising campaign. Examples of initiatives that would qualify for SIP include the development of a new experience in the shoulder season, the implementation of a green initiative to combat climate change, or the development of an experience that instills a sense of community pride.  New inclusive business practices include participation in programs like Rainbow Registered. 

The initiative must achieve at least one of the following:
  1. Improve sustainability (environmental, social, financial)
  2. Reduce seasonality
  3. Increase visitor yield and revenue
  4. Increase the length of stay or encourage return visits
  5. Implement more inclusion practices in your place of business
 
Please visit the Sustainable Tourism website for more information on RTO7’s sustainability efforts and the 3 pillars of sustainability (environmental, social, and economic). 

Sustainability
The aim of sustainable tourism is to increase the benefits and to reduce the negative impacts caused by tourism for destinations. Long-term sustainability can be achieved by seeking a suitable balance between:
  • Protecting natural environments, wildlife and natural resources when developing and managing tourism activities (environmental),
  • Providing authentic tourist experiences that celebrate and conserve heritage and culture (socio-cultural), and
  • Creating socio-economic benefits and well-being for host communities through employment and income earning opportunities (economic).
 
Inclusivity 
An example of an inclusive workplace: Inclusive workplaces allow people with all kinds of differences and disabilities to feel welcome and valued for their contributions. It’s a place where people with disabilities have the same opportunities as their co-workers.[1]

Tourists, visitors and locals should feel comfortable to participate in activities and experiences offered.  This should be a welcome space. Some examples of inclusivity include unconscious bias training, Rainbow Registered accreditation, acknowledging holiday of all cultures or an EDI training program. 
 
Festival organizers wishing to apply to this program must have a festival that runs at least 2 days and encourages overnight accommodation.
 
Stakeholders interested in the Sustainability Inclusivity Program will be required to demonstrate the following:
  • You have an active Meta/Facebook PAGE and are actively engaged on the platform (i.e. post at a regular frequency and respond to comments within 24 hours).
  • You need to be the Facebook page owner or have access to this individual in order for our social media Agency of Record to schedule the ads to run on your platforms (this can be found under page roles in your page settings).
  • You must have current collateral (produced in the last 3 years); high-resolution images (Min 1MB) and/or 1-3 videos (60 seconds or less) that can be used in a social media campaign. See Resource Guide for best practices.
  • Your website is mobile friendly, must be up to date, and reflect your current offerings, hours of operation, and contact information.
  • Partners will need to have a landing page consistent with what is portrayed in the video/imagery (i.e. a campaign promoting Pride festivities should include folks from the 2SLGBTQ+ community). 
 
Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until January 31, 2024 or until the program is fully subscribed.

Examples of Ways to Qualify for SIP

The following are some ideas of sustainable initiatives that you could implement in order to qualify for SIP:

Business Operations and Planning

  • Have membership, support, and/or training through sustainability organizations (e.g. Sustainable Tourism 2030).
  • Evidence of action to lower footprint (i.e. monitoring of utility consumption and waste production appropriate for business size or taking action to lower carbon footprint).
  • Have dedicated financial efforts for assessing and managing environmental risks and impacts (including climate risks).
  • Become a Rainbow Registered business.
  • Recognize all cultural holidays.
  • Provide Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion training. 


Tourist Information and Promotion

  • Provide product packaging and/or cross-marketing of at least 1 other tourism attraction and service within BruceGreySimcoe that can extend stay, increase expenditures, and diversity of experience during times that you have excess capacity.
  • Use diverse people in your promotional materials.


Tourist Experience & Sense of Place

  • Marketing campaign to encourage tourists to reduce consumption and waste, reduce environmental impacts, and/or green alternatives.
  • Marketing campaign to encourage responsible and/or respectful tourism.
  • Take measures to reduce the impact on surrounding land and biodiversity (i.e. plant native species, reduce paved area, install bird feeders).
  • Long-term planning for maintenance, expansion, and product development for tourists and potential tourist increase (i.e. washrooms, parking, etc.).
  • Include Indigenous language and/or local cultural content in promotional materials.

Please read through the Program Guidelines below prior to submitting your application.

If you require more information or have any questions, contact Robyn Hewitt, rhewitt@rto7.ca / 647-549-2983 or Kim Clarke at kclarke@rto7.ca / 519-379-2506.

2022/23 Sustainability Inclusivity Program Campaigns

·      Drayton Entertainment
·      Brew Bus
·      Quayle's Brewery
 
2021/2022 Sustainability Implementation Program Campaigns

·      None

2020/21 Sustainability Implementation Program Campaigns

·      None

2019/2022 Sustainability Implementation Program Campaigns

·      None