Mission
To help make Ottawa a more sustainable destination by empowering local organizations, residents, and visitors to make informed, responsible choices.
Greener Routes is an Ottawa-based sustainable tourism resource supporting community-focused events, organizations, and small tourism businesses as they grow more thoughtfully and sustainably.
To help make Ottawa a more sustainable destination by empowering local organizations, residents, and visitors to make informed, responsible choices.
Sustainable tourism takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities
Make optimal use of environmental resources that constitute a key element in tourism development, maintaining essential ecological processes and helping to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity
Ensure viable, long-term economic operations, providing socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders that are fairly distributed, including stable employment and income-earning opportunities and social services to host communities, and contributing to poverty alleviation.
Respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities, conserve their built and living cultural heritage and traditional values and contribute to intercultural understanding and tolerance.
Greener Routes believes that tourism and travel can play a meaningful role in shaping a more sustainable future. We use two internationally recognized frameworks to guide our work:
The SDGs provide a broad foundation for addressing global challenges, including climate action, the protection of cultural heritage, responsible consumption, and community well-being.
The GSTC framework is a practical, structured approach to sustainable tourism. This organization has developed multiple standards, which Greener Routes will use as a framework to create sustainable growth for local businesses.
The five sets of standards are:
Destination Standard (public policy-makers and destination managers)
Hotel Standard (hotels and accommodations)
Tour Operator Standard (tour operators and travel companies)
MICE standard (Venues, Event Organizers, and Events & Exhibitions)
Attraction Standard (tourist attractions such as theme parks, museums, and national parks)
Greener Routes believes that a connected and sustainability-driven city is stronger.
We aim to help shape a more responsible and resilient future for tourism in Ottawa by fostering collaboration across industries while empowering organizations of all sizes.
As a growing start-up, Greener Routes is beginning its work by partnering with local community events and small tourism businesses.
These groups are at the heart of Ottawa’s cultural and tourism landscape and play a crucial role in creating meaningful, place-based experiences.
Greener Routes will build shared knowledge, strengthen local networks, and promote accessible sustainability awareness and practices while working with tourism-related enterprises across all parts of the visitor experience, including:
The Greener Routes office is located in Ottawa, on the traditional territory of the Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ, Mohawk, Omàmìwininìwag (Algonquin), Haudenosaunee (Iroquois and St. Lawrence Iroquois), and Huron-Wendat peoples.
We acknowledge that this land remains unceded by the Algonquin Anishinabeg and is home to many Indigenous communities. We extend our respect to all Indigenous peoples and their enduring contributions to this land.
Ottawa is home to multiple host communities. To genuinely promote and enhance sustainability in tourism and travel, it is essential to recognize the historical and ongoing implications of these relationships.
As part of its commitment to sustainable tourism and travel, Greener Routes upholds the principles, norms, and standards of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR).
Greener Routes places particular emphasis on key calls to action and articles from both documents that relate to travel and tourism.
In striving to fulfill this commitment, Greener Routes prioritizes building relationships with Indigenous organizations (particularly those focused on tourism) and promoting access to relevant information and resources.
