WEEVA.EARTH presents itself as a digital system for managing sustainability. Born in April 2020, as the safari industry in Africa crumbled in the face of Covid-19, tourism professionals asked how they could make the sector more durable and resilient. How can progress towards sustainability be accelerated?
While major companies can afford access to the expertise necessary to transform their businesses, smaller businesses and those operating on smaller margins have lacked access to knowledge and expertise. The Long Run, Preferred by Nature and Weeva are all connected through the Oppenheimer Generations community which includes commercial ventures and not-for-profit organisations committed to leaving the world a better place.
The Long Run developed the 4Cs: Commerce, Conservation, Culture, Community, moving on from John Elkington’s Triple Bottom Line, the 3Ps: People, Planet, Profit. Weeva has taken the 4Cs and developed 18 Parameters ranging from customer satisfaction to carbon emissions. Weeva focuses on transparent reporting and continuous improvement. Practical guidance, tools and policies support each parameter.
Weeva recognises that businesses will have different starting points, facing different issues in a world diverse in geography, climate and culture, and they have made it easy to begin. “Once you’ve read the introductory guide on a particular topic (parameter), you can get started by entering relevant data into the Weeva system; whether that’s the litres of petrol or diesel you’ve consumed that month, your kilowatt hours of solar energy produced, or your employee engagement survey scores.” Weeva enables businesses to choose their own journey using the tools that enable them to tackle the issues that matter to their business, their neighbours and their environment.
There are many problems with certification. One of the biggest issues is that they are opaque. No certification scheme enables a customer to identify the hotel or lodge with the lowest water consumption per bed night, the lowest carbon emissions or the best employment practices in the destination they plan to travel to.
Weeva takes the raw data inputted by the business and produces a visual dashboard showing what the business is achieving – a combined management and marketing tool.
The Weeva Hub carries news and stories which explain why sustainability matters – we are storytelling animals. This is a big step up from certification.
