Kelowna Businesses Showcased: Sustainability in Action

Tourism Kelowna showcased four Biosphere Committed Companies in their recent Earth Day post: Accent Inns, Tantalus Vineyards, Meadow Vista Honey Wines & The Harvest Golf Club. Their commitment to preserving and restoring our region is inspiring and we appreciate how sustainability is woven into everything they do. More than 30 Tourism Kelowna stakeholders are now participating in the Biosphere Commitment Program and making a commitment to the United Nations (UN) 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Together, it is vital to strength the sustainable development in our region so it can be enjoyed by both residents and visitors for years to come.

The four businesses answered: “Why did you decide to join the Biosphere Commitment Program? How has it helped your business in its goals to be more sustainable?”

“We were really attracted by the Biosphere Commitment Program’s holistic view of sustainability and we love that all of the Thompson Okanagan tourism region is getting behind it. We are proud to be part of these big community initiatives. Many of the UN's SDGs, such as Good Health and Wellbeing, Gender Equality, and Responsible Consumption and Production, speak to our company’s longstanding Core Values. We’ve been thrilled to participate in recent Biosphere programs like Energy Audits, in partnership with GreenStep, and with support from Go2HR, we are working towards our Certificate of Recognition for Workplace Health & Safety. We love the leadership the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) is taking in ensuring our whole region is moving the needle on this holistic view of sustainability in our region. Thank you, TOTA!”

“We decided to join the Biosphere Program when it was first introduced in Kelowna, as we saw a similar vision to our values and goals and decided we needed to support and be a part of it immediately! We were extremely fortunate to have one of the Biosphere Commitment Program’s Energy Analysts come and do an eco-efficiency assessment for us last fall. This was extremely helpful with accolades for programs we have in place and suggestions for increasing our eco-efficiency. We were able to introduce a full composting program, energy-saving practices, and make a green team to work on more plans for the future!”

“As a farm and winemaking facility, we have always been very focused on our practices that directly affect the land that we are farming but as we grew, we wanted to take a more critical look at the public-facing pillar of our business – our tasting room and wine shop. We were drawn to the program mostly because it looked at the eco-efficiency of our business, such as our energy and water use. But more importantly, it dove into the human resources and labour make-up of our team, opening up discussions for us about hiring practices, work/life balance (especially in COVID times), occupational safety, and diversity. It has been a valuable tool for our business so far and we are excited to dive into more of the training opportunities and resources available with Biosphere.”

“One of our members saw firsthand that the practices we had in place were at the highest level of sustainability, so he encouraged us to be part of the Biosphere program. The Harvest Golf Club wants to be part of the community and we believe that what we are doing aligns with the program very well.”

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