Glohaven Community Hub Announces Indigenous Globox™ Campaign with Shop First Nations & Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association

Glohaven Community Hub (Glohaven.com), a socially impactful eCommerce platform that makes it easier for people to explore, shop, and support local economies in a more sustainable way, has announced a collaboration with Shop First Nations (SFN) and the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA). In recognition of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, the organizations are co-creating an Indigenous gift box platform that will feature authentically local First Nations products and experiences from the Nlaka’pamux, Syilx Okanagan, and Secwepemc.

Through the Indigenous Globox™ Campaign, Glohaven and Shop First Nations will work with tourism partners like TOTA to develop, promote, and distribute a specially curated gift box that will showcase the creations of local Indigenous artisans, crafters, and experience providers in the Thompson Okanagan region.

The Indigenous Globox™ contains several Indigenous products from the Thompson Okanagan region, including:

• Cover art by Syilx artist Janine Lott;

• Angie’s N8ive Beading Orange Shirt Day pin and hoop earrings;

• Moose Hide Campaign pins;

• LIVN GIVN art card;

• Stickers from Shop First Nations and North Okanagan Apparel;

• Calling My Spirit Back book by Elaine Alec;

• Okanagan Select Smoked Salmon made with organic Maple Roch syrup;

• Glohaven Community Hub recycled plastic tote bag;

• Up The Hill At Loakin’s Chocolate and Roses Lotion Bar, Birch Bath Salts, and a 2-pack of Rose Petal Blend Tea.

The Beginnings of the Globox™

In 2021, TOTA and Glohaven Community Hub connected and discovered a shared goal to support the many small and medium size tourism businesses in the Thompson Okanagan region. TOTA and Glohaven worked together to create the Globox™, a tourism gift box showcasing a variety of locally curated products and experiences from Thompson Okanagan businesses. Each Globox™ proudly features at least one Indigenous product or experience as well as a product or experience from a Thompson Okanagan Biosphere Committed Company.

“TOTA appreciates our ongoing relationship with Glohaven and working together with their team to help bring awareness to Indigenous Tourism experiences and products within the region,” said TOTA CEO, Ellen Walker-Matthews. “It has also provided a tremendous opportunity to elevate the many Biosphere Committed Companies we work with throughout the Thompson Okanagan.”

Growing Indigenous Tourism & Economic Reconciliation through the Indigenous Globox™

“Indigenous tourism was the fastest growing sector in the Canadian tourism industry prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Glohaven CEO, Michael Benedek. “With leisure and business travel grinding to a halt during the pandemic, many tourism businesses - especially those owned by Indigenous entrepreneurs - have been severely impacted by significant losses of revenue and livelihoods.” 

 “The goal of the Indigenous Globox Campaign is to amplify the voices of Indigenous owned businesses and provide consumers with the opportunity to demonstrate economic reconciliation by consciously shopping for and supporting the unique products and experiences of Indigenous creators,” said Shop First Nations President, Rob Schulz.

 TOTA, Glohaven, and Shop First Nations recognize the power of working together to leverage each other's unique skills and resources to support Indigenous businesses with innovative, creative, and tangible sales and marketing solutions. Furthermore, this campaign contributes to the recognition of the Thompson Okanagan region as a sustainable Indigenous tourism destination.

Show Your Support for Indigenous Owned Businesses in the Thompson Okanagan

You can show your support for Indigenous entrepreneurs and businesses based in the Thompson Okanagan by:

• Purchasing an Indigenous Globox™ at www.Globox.Market/products/Indigenous-Globox™

• Learning about and supporting Indigenous businesses and artists, like Syilx artist Janine Lott, creator of the Indigenous Globox™ cover art - watch the Glohaven video about Janine's work to learn more.

• Visiting TOTA’s Indigenous Tourism webpage.

• Taking a photo of your favourite Indigenous product or business in the Thompson Okanagan, then posting your photo to social media with these tags: #GlohavenCommunityHub #ShopFirstNations #IndigenousBC #IndigenousBusiness #ThompsonOkanagan #ExploreBC

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About Glohaven Community Hub

Glohaven is a socially impactful eCommerce platform that offers a greater sense of community and connection to 'local' in the online world.

On one side of the platform, Glohaven provides tourism organizations and their stakeholders with direct-to-consumer sales, marketing, and distribution channels that generate and retain more revenue, representation, and control on a local level.

On the other side of the platform, Glohaven.com is an eCommerce marketplace that makes it easier for people to explore, shop, and support local economies in a more sustainable way.

Follow Glohaven on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube.

About Shop First Nations

Shop First Nations (SFN) is an Indigenous-owned digital platform seeking to enable Reconciliation through impactful consumer purchasing, e-commerce and digital marketing, and education initiatives. SFN’s mission is to support First Nations, Inuit, and Métis businesses by encouraging consumers to invest in Indigenous goods and services, and supporting such businesses in the digital economy while honoring the Truth and Reconciliation 94 Calls to Action.

Follow SFN on Instagram, Facebook, or by joining the Facebook group for supporting Indigenous businesses in BC.

About the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association

The Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) is a non-profit society governed by an elected Board of Directors, which represents business and community tourism interests throughout the Thompson Okanagan region of British Columbia. TOTA is supported by and representative of Destination BC and the BC Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, and Sport. It is an industry-led organization that represents and supports all business and community tourism interests in the region, while also helping to implement provincial tourism policies.

The Thompson Okanagan region lies on the traditional territory of the Syilx, Nlaka'pamux, and Secwépemc peoples.

Learn more on the industry website, TOTABC.org and the traveller website, ThompsonOkanagan.com.

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For more information, contact:

Angela Case

Chief Creative Officer, Glohaven Community Hub

Email: Angela@Glohaven.com

Phone: 1.250.307.9227

Carbon Prices On the Rise: How and Why to Measure the Carbon Footprint of Your Hotel or Tourism Business

Image: Chun Lee

Contributed by Angela Nagy, GreenStep Solutions

With the re-election of a Liberal minority government in Canada, carbon pricing, which is supported by a wide range of academic, public sector, energy executives, and other business leaders, is here to stay and it's on the rise. Measuring and reporting on your carbon footprint is just the beginning, and is something that you should plan to do on an annual cycle. If you want to better understand the risks and opportunities that come with an increasing price on carbon, read on for the break down of the how and why of measuring your corporate carbon footprint.

Since 2019, every jurisdiction in Canada has had a price on carbon pollution, and currently the federal price for carbon is set at $30 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). In 2022, this price will increase to $50 per tonne, and by 2030 it will reach $170 per tonne of CO2e.

Measuring your carbon footprint is actually not that complicated, and similar to financial accounting standards, greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting standards exist. Most tourism related businesses will follow the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard published by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). This is the international accounting tool most widely used by global government and business leaders to understand, quantify, and manage GHG emissions.

Based on these standards, there are five key steps to measuring your carbon footprint:

• Step 1. Determine Your Organizational and Operational Boundary

• Step 2. Determine Your Reporting Year and Base Year

• Step 3. Selecting Emissions Sources that Apply to Your Organization

• Step 4. Identify Data You Need to Collect and How to Track it Over Time

• Step 5. Report

Next Steps: Reduce and Repeat

Measuring and reporting on your carbon footprint is just the beginning, and is something that you should plan to do on an annual cycle.

Google Adds Carbon Emissions Data to Flight Search Results

Google is now showing carbon emissions estimates for nearly every flight included in Google Flight search results. When searching for flights, users can see an estimate of emissions for flights and specific seats, and compare these emissions to average emissions for that flight route. The results can also be sorted to bring the greenest flights to the top.

These emissions estimates are flight-specific as well as seat-specific. For instance, newer aircraft are generally less polluting than older aircraft, and emissions increase for premium economy and first-class seats because they take up more space and account for a larger share of total emissions.

The news follows another climate-friendly travel initiative introduced by Google in the past month – badges that identify sustainable hotels.

Big White Top 5 Ski Resorts in Canada: Readers' Choice Awards 2021 | Condé Nast Traveler

Big White Ski Resort has been voted the best ski resort in the province and the second best ski resort in Canada by readers of a major US Travel Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler.

“As one of the few Canadian family-owned and -operated resorts in Canada, this award speaks volumes to the commitment our team has to providing a stellar resort experience,” said Peter Plimmer, Big White president and CEO, in a news release.

Alberta’s Lake Louise was voted number one and Whistler-Blackcomb took the number three spot on the list.

Condé Nast Traveler has a print readership of five million a month – not to mention 16 million unique users on its digital platforms. For 34 years, the magazine has released its “Readers’ Choice Awards,” surveying hundreds of thousands of readers from across the world on their favourite hotels, spas, cities, and, of course, resorts.

Pledge to Measure - AccessibleEmployers.ca

Tourism businesses can download the President Group’s "Make it Count: Measuring for Disability Inclusion in Your Workplace", a practical guide for employers seeking to measure the rate of disability in their businesses.

The guide draws on real-world experiences of BC employers to explore common barriers, lessons learned, and innovative solutions.

Businesses can download the guide for free, or request a mailed copy.