Girdwood, Alaska tour operator Kirk Hoessle didn't think he'd ever get "green listed." But last year, Conde Nast Traveler magazine rated Hoessle's company, Alaska Wildland Adventures, as the top eco-tourism operator in the world.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Girdwood, Alaska tour operator Kirk Hoessle didn't think he'd ever get "green listed."
But last year, Conde Nast Traveler magazine rated Hoessle's company, Alaska Wildland Adventures, as the top eco-tourism operator in the world.
The magazine gave the top award to Alaska Wildlands -- which offers comprehensive tour packages in Southcentral Alaska -- for its efforts to preserve natural surroundings, contribute to local culture and provide a "rich guest experience."
Hoessle put the Conde Nast award logo on his company site. He quickly discovered that being labeled "green" was good for business.
"It was amazing how many of our customers cited it as a supporting reason for why they bought the trip," Hoessle explained Wednesday.
A movement is under way to encourage Alaska's tourism industry to participate in voluntary eco-labeling.
Hoessle and a handful of other Alaska tour operators say eco-labels are a natural fit for them and could work for others as well.
Why not operate a tour or a lodging in the state's pristine environment with the intent to keep it that way?
And reap financial rewards by marketing that extra effort to travelers?
Some say the rewards are not necessarily financial.
"I don't think it's increased our numbers (of guests), by any means, but it has given us more peace of mind," said Randy Iverson, who operates the Sadie Cove Wilderness Lodge in Kachemak Bay with her husband, Keith.
Several years ago, the Sadie Cove lodge received an eco-label from Green Globe 21, an Australia-based nonprofit.
Iverson said she found out about Green Globe on the Internet. Applying "took a lot of paperwork on our end," she said.
Iverson spent a few months filling out forms on the lodge's fuel use, recycling and other environmental practices. The nonprofit sent an inspector to look at the lodge and later certified it.
"As a result, we're doing an OK business with people that we like to have with us," Iverson said, noting that the lodge is attracting a more ecology-conscious clientele.
U.S. consumers want to "ease their conscience" about their environmental impact, said Wendy Sailors with the Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism Association.
"It's sort of a trendy thing," she added.
Sailors considered the eco-label concept for several years and her organization has now decided to push forward with it.
The concept generated open discussion this month at the Alaska Travel Industry Association annual meeting in Valdez.
"Our hope is that everyone (in the Alaska tourism industry) will want to play to some degree," Sailors said.
"Eco-labels have really taken off ... I think it's a good idea, personally," said John Kreilkamp, a vice president for Cruise West, which offers small ship-based tours in Alaska.
To obtain an eco-label, companies must commit to environmental principles -- such as recycling, using biodegradable products, and reducing fuel consumption and emissions.
As envisioned, an eco-labeling initiative in Alaska would start with finding businesses willing to sign a pledge to operate with environmental principles.
PLEDGE LEADS TO CHECKLIST
The companies that sign the pledge would fill out a checklist describing their environmental practices, Sailors said.
A checklist could require new tasks, such as writing up a company environmental policy, recycling and whenever possible, replacing incandescent bulbs with fluorescents. Full-fledged eco-labels require careful auditing to certify that companies follow through with their claims.
Alaska isn't ready to jump-start its own certification program, Sailors said. At least not without funding, she added.
Some individual operators including Hoessle and the Iversons avoided that problem by joining up with eco-label program outside of Alaska.
Eco-labels have been used in Europe for decades but only in recent years have caught on in the United States.
In the retail world, a growing number of companies are using eco-labels on household products, groceries and paper products. The growing consensus is that eco-labels are good for business. Even Wal-Mart has jumped on the bandwagon.
The best-known eco-labels include those offered by the Forest Stewardship Council, which certifies wood products, and the Marine Stewardship Council, which certifies wild fish.
So far, the marine council has put its seal of approval on three Alaska fisheries: Salmon, pollock and black cod.
Wal-Mart recently joined the list of other retailers that buy MSC-labeled wild fish. This year, Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, also bumped up its sales of organic-labeled food.
Scads of new eco-labels have also popped up on food and household products. They've proliferated to the point that the Consumer Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, launched a Web site to track and compare eco-labels for food, personal hygiene, household cleaners and wood/paper products.
It appears that tourism could become the next sector poised for a boom in eco-labeling.
By next year, a Colorado-based nonprofit, Sustainable Travel International, plans to launch an eco-label and certification program for accommodations, attractions, tour operators and transportation providers in the United States and abroad.
Hoessle was invited to join Sustainable Travel's pilot program last year. He said he had to fill out a lot of forms but, at the end, it was worth the hard work.
At this point, there isn't one tourism eco-label that has garnered a lot of participation in the United States. "Our goal is to fill the void," said Brian Mullis with Sustainable Tourism International.
WISCONSIN: ANOTHER MODEL
The state of Wisconsin took a different approach, launching its own eco-label certification program for tourism.
State officials said they were impressed with some of the other eco-labels now available internationally, but thought they would do a better job at marketing their own.
In some ways, Wisconsin's program, called Travel Green, mimics other eco-labels: the state requires businesses to get fill out a lengthy checklist, including their company's targets for recycling and reducing energy and water consumption.
But marketing those businesses is the ultimate goal. The idea is to steer travelers to Wisconsin-based companies, said Will Christianson with the Wisconsin Department of Tourism.
"We wanted to make it comprehensive enough so that everyone -- from a museum to a small shop to a hotel -- could apply," Christianson added.
Hoessle said eco-labels are another form of branding.
"It's like the AAA label. If a motel gets listed in the AAA book, "Boom, your bookings go up," he said. "That's what we hope eventually will happen with a green label."
Source: McClatchy-Tribune Business News
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