This project will see the creation of a data-driven digital solution to accelerate the roadmap to net zero in tourism in places across the UK, enabling them to benefit from the market opportunity presented by green travel. The software will support holiday properties to effectively manage their carbon emissions in a single system that connects with their property management. They will use the novel software to calculate the per stay carbon emissions of their property, track changes to their property emissions and identify their most cost-effective pathway to net zero. Network analysis will be used to identify specific place-based drivers to accelerate the net-zero tourism pathway of places.
The solution will utilise emissions data, industry data from hospitality and transport, and renewable energy project data, among others, to create a recommendation engine that supports holiday properties to identify the most cost-effective path to reducing their emissions, reaching net zero, and even achieving net negative emissions, for example by generating on-site renewable energy that is sold back to the grid or by implementing regenerative land management practices on-site that store carbon. The software will gather user data to monitor per stay carbon emissions and utilise a bespoke recommendation engine, which will be trained on user data to improve recommendations and use advanced analytics to optimise the recommendations according to place-specific data.
Ecosy Travel is the project lead. It is a certified social enterprise and pending B Corp dedicated to reducing the climate impact of travel & tourism. It will partner with a consortium of sustainable holiday properties to deliver the project, all of which are potential users of the emissions management software. Ecosy will work closely with them, employing a user-focused innovation approach, to design and develop the software in line with their specific needs and pain points.
The emissions management software will connect directly with Ecosy's consumer facing green travel booking platform, supporting responsible consumption and making net zero living that much easier for travellers. It will connect low-carbon places with eco-conscious travellers so that places on the path to net zero can benefit from the market opportunity of being a green travel destination.
The project will also explore how best to connect into the consumer facing platform, supporting management of property availability and showcasing other key indicators for sustainable properties such as availability of electric charge points, being a women-owned business and accessibility.