Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, has big ambitions with being a sustainable city – and by reaching bronze status in its recent Destination benchmark performance report with Earthcheck, it is one step closer to being just that.
“We want to be the first capital in the world with a sustainability certificate – and we want to attract those who share our vision for a sustainable future”, says Charlotte Ludvigsen, Mayor of the Municipality of Sermersooq.
The municipality of Sermersooq, which Nuuk lies within, has participated with EarthCheck in its Sustainable Destinations program. This program’s goal is to facilitate the development and management of responsible and sustainable tourism outcomes for communities. The program provides communities with a framework to benchmark and certify their environmental and social performance and continuously improve their performance.
Nuuk is making commitments to address key environmental issues facing the planet, including greenhouse gas emissions, environmental regeneration and environmental improvement as well as the conservation of existing heritage assets. The program is designed to empower the local community and help them take ownership of sustainability goals and build on their own local initiatives.
“We aim to raise the bar by placing sustainability at the core of our vision for Nuuk”, notes Mayor Ludvigsen and adds: “We want to deliver sustainable outcomes by including our local partners in the process”
Every year environmental performance is monitored, and benchmarks are updated with the latest sustainability-data and compared to the goals set forth by the municipality. Over time, it is possible to both compare performance to previous years as well as against other destinations around the world.
“The EarthCheck Benchmarking Performance Report provides a solid starting place. It not only demonstrates that we are seriously committed to tackling this challenge but information will be visible to both current and potential business partners as well as the growing number of tourists, for whom sustainability is a key issue”, continued Mayor Ludvigsen.
“We are doing comparatively well on our consumption of water and obviously, on the green electricity provided by Nukissiorfiit. However, we do have some way to go when it comes our consumption of fossil fuels. The yearly benchmarking will provide us with an overview of our current progress and challenges,” Asmus Jessen Rubæk, academic consultant in Sermersooq Business says.
“At EarthCheck we are committed to help businesses, communities and governments deliver results that are both good for the planet and good for businesses. We are very impressed with how the Municipality of Sermersooq have remained committed to delivering sustainable results despite being in the midst of a global pandemic. We hope to see others follow suit,” said André Russ, Vice President of Sales, EarthCheck.
Visit Greenland congratulates Nuuk and Sermersooq Municipality on its fine achievement. Visit Greenland’s tourism strategy has sustainability at its basic principle and focuses on Sustainable Development Goals 4, 8, 12 and 17.
Source: Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq
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