Environmental Programs Co-op Student; Destination Canada
This summer, I have had the opportunity to work as an Environmental Programs Co-op at Destination Canada (DC), the Crown Corporation with the mandate to support Canadian tourism. DC strives to be an industry leader in climate action through their commitment to a regenerative approach to tourism, moving past sustainability to support Canadian communities by using tourism as a force for good. My job is to contribute to this commitment through learning new ways to develop our environmental initiatives, teaching staff about new ways to reach net zero carbon emissions and supporting DC in committing to high-level declarations and challenges to pursue climate action.
My main role at DC has been to research for, create, and publish a Climate Action Plan. This plan is underpinned by becoming a signatory of the Glasgow Declaration for Sustainable Tourism, developed by United Nations Tourism, committing to Canada’s Net Zero Challenge, and receiving an invitation to the Canadian Government’s Greening Government Group throughout the duration of my co-op term. This Climate Action Plan will be the first of ongoing annual plans that provide a comprehensive overview of DC’s current and future climate action initiatives. I have been able to work with the various business units at DC to determine how we can bolster the current climate work being done through attending national tourism sustainability sessions, leading company-wide sustainability meetings, and researching the work being done by industry leaders to further industry wide climate action goals.
I have been incredibly grateful for the opportunity to write DC’s first ever Climate Action Plan and am looking forward to publishing this plan to showcase the incredible work we have done this summer to demonstrate our commitment to leading the tourism industry as changemakers in regenerative tourism.