By Jordan W. Smith, Ph.D. | January 6, 2025


Strategic Lenses to Address Emissions in the Tourism Industry

 

The Good

Tourism is undoubtedly a vital engine of the global economy, contributing significant revenue and supporting millions of livelihoods around the world. Its ripple effect reaches numerous industries—hospitality, transportation, retail, cultural services—and stimulates development not only in established destinations but also in emerging markets. In many countries, tourism represents a large share of GDP, providing essential revenue streams and driving job creation in communities large and small. It also has immense potential to foster cultural exchange and create mutual understanding across borders.

However, these benefits can mask serious challenges. In some regions, rapid tourism growth can lead to overtourism, strain local infrastructures, and generate cultural and social tensions. Thus, even as tourism underpins economic growth and cross-cultural connections, the question arises: at what cost?

 

The Bad

Recent evidence suggests that the environmental footprint of global tourism has expanded dramatically (Sun et al., 2024). Emissions associated with tourism—including transportation, accommodation, and food production—continue to climb, adding substantially to climate change. Beyond carbon emissions, tourism can intensify other environmental impacts, such as resource depletion, habitat loss, and increased waste generation. While the sector’s resilience and economic importance are clear, its unchecked growth poses clear risks to ecosystems and local communities alike.

Moreover, tourism’s carbon intensity is notably higher than the global economic average—reflecting an ongoing reliance on energy-intensive services like air travel, extensive supply chains, and high consumption patterns. Policy interventions, technological advancements, and shifting consumer preferences can mitigate some of these harms, but progress remains slow in many parts of the world. The result is a persistent tension between tourism’s undeniable benefits and its escalating environmental costs.

The Turning Point: Strategic Lenses

Balancing tourism’s contributions to economic and social well-being with its environmental impact requires a more intentional and strategic approach. Here, leaders in the tourism industry—and indeed any sector grappling with sustainability—can benefit from the four-lens framework developed by Jay et al. (2025) in Harvard Business Review [I read this article, ironically, while flying to Oregon to visit family over the holiday]. This framework offers a systematic way to focus on sustainability issues that matter most, preventing organizations from being pulled in too many directions.

According to Jay et al., sustainability strategies often fail when companies “try to tackle too many issues at once” and end up with scattered efforts. The four-lens framework helps prevent this problem by inviting leaders to look through four modes of inquiry—Business Value, Stakeholder Influence, Science and Technology, and Purpose—in order to identify where their efforts can be most impactful. Issues that show up clearly in all four lenses deserve the greatest attention and resources.

Business Value
  • Key Question: “What affects our bottom line?”
  • Purpose: Identifies areas where sustainability can reduce costs, open new revenue streams, or prevent regulatory penalties.
  • Tools: Cost–benefit analyses, financial modeling, market research.
Stakeholder Influence
  • Key Question: “What are people trying to tell us?”
  • Purpose: Spotlights the pressures, expectations, and emerging trends dictated by customers, NGOs, policymakers, and local communities.
  • Tools: Roundtables, surveys, forced-ranked questionnaires, A/B testing of consumer preferences.
Science and Technology
  • Key Question: “What does the data say about our impact and future?”
  • Purpose: Grounds decisions in objective analysis—climate-risk assessments, life cycle analyses, and social science research.
  • Tools: Life cycle analysis (LCA), climate physical-risk modeling, technology learning-curve analyses.
Purpose
  • Key Question: “What do we stand for?”
  • Purpose: Ensures that the sustainability strategy aligns with an organization’s values and guiding mission, providing long-term direction and consistency.
  • Tools: Facilitated organizational dialogues, internal values surveys, leadership retreats.

By synthesizing these lenses, companies can find their “sweet spot” of sustainability challenges that are both critical to solve and realistic to address, given each firm’s unique capabilities, market position, and purpose.

The Solution

Applying the four-lens framework to the tourism sector offers multiple pathways for transformative change. Instead of deploying isolated, scattered measures, businesses can design well-coordinated strategies that tackle issues of highest priority.

Business Value Lens:
  • Possible Action: Invest in renewable energy, improve operational efficiency, reduce waste, and optimize logistics.
  • Benefits: Cuts costs while strengthening the bottom line. For example, airlines might reduce fuel consumption, and hotels could invest in energy-efficient appliances to lower utility bills.
Stakeholder Influence Lens:
  • Possible Action: Engage eco-conscious travelers by offering carbon-neutral packages or visibly demonstrating reduced water and energy use. Collaborate with NGOs or local communities to address sustainability concerns directly.
  • Benefits: Boosts brand reputation, meets growing consumer demand for eco-friendly options, and secures the trust of regulators, employees, and supply-chain partners.
Science and Technology Lens:
  • Possible Action: Leverage climate modeling to anticipate future risks such as changing weather patterns or rising sea levels that threaten coastal destinations. Use life cycle analysis to evaluate carbon hotspots in supply chains.
  • Benefits: Provides data-driven clarity, helping businesses pinpoint the highest-impact areas for sustainability investments.
Purpose Lens:
  • Possible Action: Align sustainability commitments with core company values—whether it’s protecting cultural heritage, preserving local environments, or championing fair labor conditions.
  • Benefits: Inspires long-term dedication, reduces risk of greenwashing, and can motivate employees, partners, and customers who share similar values.
Advances in the Ski Indusry

A vivid illustration of these four lenses at work comes from ski resorts, which are proactively seeking to mitigate their considerable energy use and carbon footprint.

  • Aspen Skiing Company has captured methane from a nearby coal mine to generate carbon-negative electricity, reducing emissions while cutting operational costs.
  • Berkshire East in Massachusetts meets 100% of its energy needs through on-site wind and solar installations, thereby slashing its carbon footprint.
  • Big Sky in Montana has targeted lift operations—which represent a third of its energy use—by purchasing Renewable Energy Credits and upgrading infrastructure for efficiency.
  • Jackson Hole in Wyoming relies entirely on wind-generated electricity year-round, demonstrating that large-scale resorts can significantly reduce emissions without compromising guest experiences.

Through these science-driven and purpose-oriented strategies, ski resorts are creating a benchmark for sustainability innovation within tourism.

Conclusion

Tourism’s contribution to the global economy is both undeniable and deeply complex. On one hand, it creates jobs, fosters cultural exchange, and generates essential revenue for communities worldwide. On the other hand, it places growing pressure on ecosystems and our climate, underscoring a stark choice for industry leaders: adapt or exacerbate environmental stressors.

The four-lens framework can guide businesses in setting focused, high-impact priorities. By identifying issues that clearly appear across all four lenses, leaders in tourism (and beyond) can commit resources where they will have the most meaningful effect. In doing so, they can address pressing environmental challenges without losing sight of economic viability or organizational values.

Ultimately, achieving sustainability in the tourism sector is not just about mitigating harm—it’s also about fostering resilience, innovation, and trust. As companies like Aspen Skiing Company and others have shown, when leaders blend profitability, stakeholder engagement, data-driven insights, and a clear sense of purpose, they shape a future where tourism continues to thrive economically and preserves the very landscapes, cultures, and communities it depends on.

Further Reading
Jay, J., Isaacs, K., & Nguyen, H. L. (2025, January 1). Getting strategic about sustainability. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2025/01/getting-strategic-about-sustainability

Sun, Y.-Y., Faturay, F., Lenzen, M., Gössling, S., & Higham, J. (2024). Drivers of global tourism carbon emissions. Nature Communications, 15(1), 10384. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54582-7
 
Jordan W. Smith, Ph.D.

Professor and Director