There’s no beating around the bush when it comes to the environmental consequences derived from tourism. Ranging from the carbon footprint of travel, the erosion of local ecosystems, and the significant food waste within the hospitality sector: preserving our planet poses significant challenges for the industry. Do you have a solution in sustainable practices, that ensures preservation of natural wonders, responsible consumption and can be scaled across the Nordics?

In this challenge, we are looking for solutions in areas such as:

• Local food sourcing
• Food waste reduction
• Pollution mitigation
• Responsible consumption
• Natural conservation
• Carbon footprint reduction

As seasons change, it creates considerable peaks and lulls in tourist activity. As the tourism industry is characterised by many small and medium sized businesses, developing sustainable economic business models become especially challenging due to the economic instability derived from varying visitor numbers. This also makes it difficult to offer stable, long-term employment opportunities. Could you be part of solving the challenges posed by seasonality?

In this challenge, we are looking for solutions in areas such as:

• Workforce attraction and retention
• Cooperative solutions that could allow for shared solutions to seasonality, i.e. co-ownership of products, spaces, funding, workforce and more
• Solutions that share risk and commitment to staying open outside of season across different tourism businesses
• Solutions that actively match visitor expectations when visiting outside of high season and potentially during periods of unpredictable weather

For small and medium-sized businesses in the Nordic tourism sector, investing in the necessary components for sustainability focused business models can be a daunting task and investment. Whether it’s adopting ESG practices, investing in new green solutions, delving into carbon accounting, or exploring the next leading initiative, effective sustainability management is paramount for the future of Nordic tourism. The challenge, however, lies in making it manageable, affordable, accessible and with a competitive advantage for small tourism businesses. That’s where we need your innovative solutions.

In this challenge, we are looking for solutions in areas such as:

• Streamlining sustainability management processes, specifically tailored for SMEs
• Co-operative funding, platforms, financial models and more
• Energy optimisation
• Carbon accounting
• Financial models with an environmental focus
• Transparent financial models
• Tools to address complexity and expertise requirements in sustainability management