Loch Lomond Shores is trying hard to become one of Scotland’s top green tourism destinations. The mixed-use development’s 17 shops, restaurants and visitor attractions have committed to working toward the ‘Green Tourism Business Scheme award accredited by VisitScotland. With support from Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire and Envirowise, the shops have now taken part in environmental awareness training, set targets to improve their green credentials and agreed to a strict monitoring process.
Lock Lomond Shores says going green could mean big savings for participating businesses. They could cut waste by up to 95 percent through better recycling and by using less packaging—that’s equivalent to a reduction of 282 tonnes of waste annually. There is the additional potential for a minimum 40-percent improvement in energy efficiency with savings of up to £15,000 (€22,200), while cutting back on water consumption could save a further £4,000 (€5,920).
"The environment around us is our biggest business asset, so it makes sense that we should be leading the way in making a firm contribution to protecting and improving it," said Clare Gemmell, centre manager of Loch Lomond Shores.
The savings will be gained by developing environmental action plans for each business, combined with training and teaching packs for staff in order to change behaviours and drive home the importance of thinking green.
"A number of individual businesses in Dunbartonshire have successfully achieved a green business award, but this is the first time a whole visitor destination has been persuaded by the need to improve their green credentials," noted Jim McAloon, operations director at Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire.
"This is not just about painting on a green face; it is about taking real positive steps to improving our surroundings, making Destination Loch Lomond an even more attractive place for people to live, work and visit."
According to Gemmell, Loch Lomond Shores has developed a strategy which is working both on matters which can be seen by visitors as well as a tight ship behind the scenes. Every shop has its paper, cardboard, glass and plastics recycled locally, which improves the destination’s carbon footprint—not only because of the recycling itself but also because the new business practice has reduced the carbon emissions from the lorries which used to be sent from various head offices to pick up items for recycling, many travelling quite a distance to do so.
"We are also encouraging the sale of local producers and where local isn't possible then [we promote] the use of fair trade suppliers," Gemmel added. "Even the stuffing in our teddy bears has been looked at to see where it comes from! We are currently addressing the re-use of rain water for our site systems and are also doing our composting [using bio-waste] from the florists and restaurants so that we can use this on our landscaped areas."
Besides adopting more environmentally friendly business practices, Loch Lomond Shores also inspires its customers to go green through community outreach initiatives and special events.
The destination participated in the national Outdoor Access Festival, held from 8th April to 7th May to celebrate outdoor access rights and responsibilities, encourage enjoyment of the outdoors and promote awareness of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.
"The aim of the festival is to encourage people to enjoy the fabulous countryside around them but to ensure that they do so in a way which is safe for them, the land and the animals all around," Gemmell said.
Loch Lomond Shores presented several activities and hosted local Council representatives who handed out dog litter bags and provided visitors with information on reducing, re-using and recycling. Participants even got to explore their creativity and make an outdoor fashion statement by painting their wellies.
On 19th & 20th May, Loch Lomond Shores will present two more outdoor-themed special events. During the Flora Celtica, visitors to the site’s National Park Gateway Centre will discover Scotland’s native plants and how they have been used over the centuries for food, crafts, survival, dyeing and textile-making. They’ll also learn about some of the folklore that surrounds these plants. Meanwhile, The Angling Experience will comprise of fishing displays and exhibitions, course fishing, fly casting tuition and special spey casting clinics.
Loch Lomond Shores noted that its efforts to develop the area as a world-class visitor destination had already paid huge dividends. Recent figures show that 2006 was the busiest year so far, with nearly 1.1 million visitors.
The area hopes that achieving the Green Tourism Business Scheme award will inspire even more people to visit and abide its motto to "shop, eat, play—naturally." .

Bubbles and The Green Team

Sustainability was front and centre this past Easter at the UK’s Telford Shopping Centre. The marketing plan included an invitation for visiting children to meet Bubbles the Frog and join The Green Team to enjoy green activities ranging from environmental workshops to arts and crafts sessions to competitions.
From 2nd to 6th April, children could join The Green Team for free, learn how to grow and look after plants, and then take away a complimentary information kit that included a packet of seeds to grow at home. There were also prizes to be won in the Easter egg hunt competition, such as a giant Easter Egg, teddy bear or family tickets to the Grand Theatre Wolverhampton to see Noddy or the Chuckle Brothers.
"We love the idea of combing fun activities with education and helping children learn about the environment and how to take care of our planet a little better," said Chris Crane, the former events and promotions manager, at the time of the programme’s launch. ":Bubbles the Frog will be a big hit we’re sure, and The Green Team workshops are our best ever. And of course, there’s chocolate too!"

Electric Avenue

Now that Riverside Plaza has completed its redevelopment, consumers in Southern California, USA, have a new destination to discover for shopping, eating, entertainment and social gatherings. And despite the site’s expanded grounds, visitors won’t feel compelled to jump into their cars to explore the shops because the centre now offers a trolley service.
"We are excited to present the new two-car trolley to our customers and feel that it completes the picture of the old-time Main Street experience at Riverside Plaza," said Carol Scott, general manager.
"The Trolley runs between the West side of the property and the East end of Main Street and provides assistance in parking lot circulation."
Scott said the trolley, which Canadian-based Wattman Trains & Trams manufactured, was based on an environmentally friendly system. The trolley runs on batteries, is wheelchair accessible and is the only one of its kind found at a Southern California retail centre.

Earth Day Boutique

Marketers at Canada’s Montreal Eaton Centre (MEC) showed their green bent when they partnered with the Jour de la Terre (Earth Day) organization to open a unique temporary shop. From 18th to 22nd April, MEC encouraged shoppers to act on behalf of the environment by visiting the boutique and purchasing one of the Jour de la Terre items available for sale. The boutique operated daily in centre court from 11am until 3pm.
Earth Day has been celebrated annually on 22nd April since 1970. For more information on Earth Day, visit www.EarthDay.net.

Christmas Card Drive

This past January, Beacon Centre in North Shields, UK, set up a collection point on the mall for customers to deposit their Christmas cards. The initiative was launched in partnership with Tesco, which took the cards to its distribution depot for the Woodlands Trust to collect and recycle.
The Woodlands Trust, a conservation charity dedicated to protecting the UK’s woodland heritage, says it collected 91.5 million Christmas cards nationwide during its month long campaign, preventing over 1,813 tonnes of cards from going into landfill thanks to high public participation and the support of partners like Beacon Centre. That’s an 11-percent increase over last year.
For more information on the Woodlands Trust, visit www.woodland-trust.org.uk.