New Climate Positive Program & Award
It Must Be NOW is on a mission - to get the hospitality industry to dramatically increase its sustainability efforts and accelerate to Climate Positive. To that end, the NOW Climate Positive Program & Award* is being launched this month, whereby hotels and resorts are offered access to a fully funded, integrated sustainability program for up to 10 years.
It Must Be NOW co-founders, Onno and Alexa Poortier, are vocal about the urgent need for change. Together with EarthCheck (the world’s leading scientific benchmarking certification and advisory group for sustainable travel and tourism), and also with the owners of carbon offset projects worldwide, they have created the only project collaboration which enables companies to accelerate beyond small-scale actions, measure emissions and prioritise reduction before offsetting, saving money, engaging all stakeholders and achieving Climate Positive with accountability and transparency.
It Must Be NOW is the conduit between companies in hospitality, tourism and education institutions, since its co-founders have worked in the hotel industry for more than 50 years, while EarthCheck is best placed to act as the facilitator of this Program and Award.
It Must Be NOW has secured a cap on pricing for certified carbon credits for up to 10 years for members of the NOW Force for Good Alliance. This will make it easier to manage risks and lower their carbon footprint until they can achieve Climate Positive.
Chairman and CEO, Onno Poortier, says, “For business, sustainability with an independent audit is a tool to show more responsibility, improve a company’s overall culture, financial health, internal policing and deliver the shared values that most customers and employees want today. Many companies in hospitality, tourism and education have started their sustainability journey, but many struggle to ‘walk the talk’, be transparent to all stakeholders and prioritise urgent action.”
Valued at CHF 15,000 per year, the program includes extensive training by EarthCheck (for up to 30 people per property per year) to build capacity, understand negative impacts, benchmark and measure carbon emissions so they can be reduced and prepare for an independent audit to obtain a certification, all with the science-backed EarthCheck Certified programme which is aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). This also includes all NOW Tools to communicate transparently and engage all stakeholders.
Speaking on the importance of this collaboration, EarthCheck's CEO, Stewart Moore, says, ‘’If we are to advance sustainability and Net Zero targets, we need holistic thinking and new partnerships. The NOW partnership with EarthCheck provides scientific reporting and certification, independent audits, capacity building and practical options on how to reduce emissions or offset them in a transparent way.”
About the NOW Climate Positive Programme *
A project cooperation to provide:
(1) a Funded Integrated Sustainability Program valued at CHF 15,000/year, which includes:
EarthCheck Certified programme with a Relationship Manager, carbon calculators and reporting templates, training to build capacity (max 30 persons/year) and an annual independent audit for accountability.
NOW Tools for transparent communications and marketing support to engage all stakeholders, with no greenwash allowed. This includes training and an annual review.
NOW Sustainability Tool profiles NOW Members to communicate how they are taking accountable responsibility for their total impact on the community and the environment. This includes an interactive NOW Sustainability Trust Icon and QR Codes.
NOW Carbon Offset Tool calculates air and ground travel carbon footprint and offsetting programmes powered by South Pole, a leading provider of global sustainability financing solutions and services. NOW provides an interactive NOW Carbon Offset icon to be placed in the Member’s communication materials
NOW Travel Diary Tool for storytelling to engage stakeholders
NOW Think-to-Action Forum for internal communications with other NOW Members to share ideas, cross-promote and support each other
NOW Resources for Insights and Innovations, Trends and Tools, Consultancies, SDG Collaborations and Impact Library
NOW Articles for social communications to build followers interested in bold actions and inspiration on sustainability
(2) Exclusive access to certified Carbon Offset Projects worldwide
Option to cap pricing for the duration of the NOW Agreement, up to a maximum of 10 years to control risks (plus relevant transaction fee and country taxes).
CHF 15,000 minimum purchase of carbon credits starts in year 2 after an EarthCheck independent audit.
