Visit Oslo Responsibly

Background

Here at VisitOSLO we believe tourism can play a huge part in positively impacting our city. By protecting the environment, nurturing our culture, respecting our heritage, and recounting our history, we can in turn support communities, sustain jobs, boost local supply chains, improve infrastructure, renovate buildings, and protect nature. We do, however, fully recognize that tourism can also negatively impact the environment and the people it serves.

With the "Visit Oslo responsibly" criteria, we hope to provide relevant and useful information, so that visitors can make informed choices on where to stay and play while in Oslo. This, in-turn, can help reduce the footprint, ensure that the visit to Oslo leaves a positive impact, enhance the stay, and provide a win-win-win situation for all!

See which businesses that fulfil one or several Visit Oslo Responsibly criteria.

About the “Visit Oslo Responsibly” criteria

Oslo is one of the leading capitals of the world for its forward thinking on sustainability. Therefore, we would like to showcase those tourism businesses who have taken considerable action in this area, shown long term sustainability commitment and actively practice responsible tourism.

Sustainability is a very broad term, and to translate it to a tourism perspective we chose to take a responsible tourism approach. To make the information as usable, transparent, and understandable as possible, we have broken it down into 4 categories with 17 relevant subcategories.

The four categories Planet, People, Prosperity, and Partnership represent the three dimensions of sustainability + partnership, which, we feel, is an essential element when working with sustainable development – especially in a tourism context.

Each of the categories have a set of subcategories representing a broad range of sustainability topics. To receive a listing in any of the subcategories, businesses must fulfil a minimum criterion, based on a total of 80 indicators.

How do we collect and verify the information?

The information for the “Visit Oslo Responsibly” criteria is collected through a mapping specifically developed for this purpose. The survey has been prepared and designed in collaboration with an external responsible tourism consultant. All information is based on self-reporting on 80 indicators from each individual business.

The survey is designed so that each category has a set of questions to verify the commitment to that area. It is not enough that the business meets the legal requirements – we want to highlight those who go the extra mile.  If the business fulfills the requirements, their effort and commitment will be showcased on our website.

The process is trust based, and except for questions requiring 3rd party certifications the businesses are not asked to provide evidence of their claims.

The survey questions are asked in a progressive order – ranging from small measures up to extensive upgrades and investments.

In order to receive a category listing, each individual business must fulfill a predefined minimum number of requirements per category. The number of requirements that must be met varies for the different themes.

In total, the survey asks 80 questions, and the same survey will be conducted annually to keep the information up to date and measure any progress.

Please note: Not qualifying for a listing does not mean that the business is not committed to sustainability at all. It means that they do not fulfill the criterion yet and still have room for improvement. In order for the business to retain the criteria on its listing, the form must be submitted every year.

The planet category examines the businesses commitment to climate & environmental issues. It covers 6 categories with a total of 34 indicators to support the listings.

Energy: Businesses with this listing work actively to reduce and streamline energy consumption. The information is based on 6 questions regarding energy efficient lighting, renewable energy, building management, upgrades and maintenance work, as well as capturing of renewable energies.

Requires a score of 4 out of 5 to be listed.

Waste management: Businesses with this listing have a well-functioning waste management system. The information is based on 5 questions regarding recycling facilities, systems to separate waste, waste bins for plastic bottles in common areas, sustainable alternatives to replace single use products and packaging and removal of single use plastic products.

Requires a score of 4 out of 5 to be listed.

Food: Businesses with this listing have taken positive sustainable food action. They actively reduce food waste and offer low carbon food. The information is based on 9 questions regarding systems to manage food stock, food portion control, composting of food waste, plant-based alternatives, use of local/regional ingredients, certified organic food, display of carbon emissions per dish, and food distribution programs to redistribute surplus food.

Requires a score of 7 out of 9 to be listed.

Water: Businesses with this listing work actively to reduce water consumption and water pollution. The information is based on 5 questions regarding technology, devices or other methods used to reduce water consumption, water refill stations, the use of cleaning products that cause minimum damage, management of wastewater and rainwater harvesting.

Requires a score of 4 out of 5 to get listed.

Transportation: Businesses with this listing encourage and facilitate reducing transport emissions from staff and guests. The information is based on 5 questions regarding greener travel arrangements, safe bike parking, electric charging points for cars and bikes, discounts for people arriving with public or more environmentally friendly transportation, as well as viability assessments for flight travel.

Requires a score of 4 out of 5 to be listed.

Biodiversity: Businesses with this listing promote and preserve green spaces and biodiversity. The information is based on 5 questions regarding utilization of green spaces at the property, sound and light pollution, provision of information on nature, ocean and environmental protection, responsible behavior when visiting conservation areas, nature and national parks, contributions to the upkeep of the environment and natural areas through staff or guest volunteer programs.

Requires a score of 4 out of 5 to be listed.

This category examines the businesses commitment to social sustainability issues. It covers 4 categories with a total of 19 indicators to support these listings.

Quality employment: Businesses with this listing provide good working conditions and welfare for employees. The information is based on 6 questions regarding the employment policy, health, safety, equal opportunities and human rights, monitoring of employees’ job satisfaction, provision of health promoting initiatives for employees, and fairer and better employee conditions than statutory guidelines.

Requires a score of 6 out of 6 to be listed.

Training & upskilling: Businesses with this listing train and upskill staff on sustainability issues. The information is based on 3 questions regarding employees’ opportunity to develop, upskill and reach their full potential.

Requires a score of 3 out of 3 to be listed.

Community engagement & empowerment: Businesses with this listing offer an inclusive workplace with possibilities for on-the-job training and career opportunities. The information is based on 5 questions regarding contribution to improvement of industry standards, salaries and working conditions, work-training or employment opportunities for members of society who may find employment hard to come by, apprenticeships and training schemes and contribution to enhancing and sustaining wellbeing and quality of life in the community.

Requires a score of 4 out of 5 to be listed.

Accessibility and inclusion: Businesses with this listing facilitate accessibility and inclusion. The information is based on 5 questions regarding the accessibility of the property, the ability to accommodate for people with mobility challenges or special needs, adherence to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), gender balance and open-for-all employment policy.

Requires a score of 4 out of 5 to be listed, with the two first questions being compulsory.

This category examines the businesses commitment to local value creation at the destination. It covers 3 indicators with a total of 17 questions to support the listings.

Community, culture and heritage: Businesses with this listing preserve and promote local culture, heritage and community. The information is based on 4 questions regarding preservation of the property’s authenticity, promotion of the city’s unique history, heritage and culture, support to local businesses and social entrepreneurs, and initiatives to encourage guests to stay longer at the destination.

Requires a score of 4 out of 4 to be listed.

Suppliers and local value creation: Businesses with this listing consciously contribute to local value creation. The information is based on 5 questions regarding purchasing policies, giving preference to local and sustainability certified suppliers, monitoring of supply chains, use of local products and ingredients, recommendation of local products and services, and measurement of local value creation.

Requires a score of 4 out of 5 to be listed.

Measurement, evaluation and reporting: Businesses with this listing actively measure and report on sustainability. The information is based on 7 questions regarding sustainability strategies, climate budgets, carbon offsetting to mitigate emissions, targets to reduce carbon emissions, waste and water, baseline measurements, and annual sustainability reporting.

Requires a score of 6 out of 7 to be listed.

This category is about the power of community and examines the businesses cooperation with other actors in order to create a positive impact.

The information is based on 10 questions regarding the business's partnerships with other actors to have a combined impact on sustainability issues and create positive change. This includes sponsorship or support to a local charity or sports teams, organization of a beach-cleanup or fundraising event, as well as employee volunteer programs, participation in networking groups or innovation and research programs. It also asks if the business has a third-party sustainability certification.

Requires a score of 6 out of 10 to be listed.