beSMART Platform*
beSMART is a digital one-stop-shop for companies and destination authorities
designed to power the sustainability transformation of travel and leisure
based on smart behavior changes and technology innovations
easy-to-access
beSMART Platform*
beSMART is a digital one-stop-shop for companies and destination authorities
designed to power the sustainability transformation of travel and leisure
based on smart behavior changes and technology innovations
*beSMART exists as a prototype and is under development pending investment.
WHAT beSMART does?
The beSMART Platform accelerates travel and tourism’s progress towards sustainability and net zero goals by:
- activating gradual changes in human behavior and consumption patterns
- across many companies at the same time
- at great speed and scale
beSMART engages individual companies, business clusters and destination ecosystems in making sustainability the norm of doing business in travel, leisure and beyond. It works by making sustainability:
SIMPLE – the effortless and most logical choice for workers and clients
ACTIONABLE – something that businesses of all sizes advance and keep improving
MEASURABLE – quantifiable and made visible through data capture and analytics
SCALEABLE – designed to reach many at the same time and produce results at speed
beSMART Platform as an ecosystem
The beSMART platform catalyzes change based on an ecosystem approach channeling influence through the three main stakeholder groups in travel and leisure:
WHY beSMART Platform is needed now?
Travel and tourism is one of the largest global economic sectors generating over 10% of global GDP and 1/10 jobs worldwide (pre-pandemic).
It is also one of the sectors that produces significant undesired footprint:
- Tourism accounts for between 8 – 11% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions*
- Popular destinations such as the Mediterranean can experience 30% increase in plastics waste during season**
- 59% of professionals at tourism companies think that their work contributes to damage of natural areas***
There is recognition that travel and leisure is in need of making a rapid transition towards operations that make sustainability non-negotiable and that move closer to net zero.
…solutions that support gradual change in sustainability performance.
HOW does beSMART work?
The beSMART Platform uses the digital journey approach to enable companies to go beyond intentions and achieve actual performance improvements. It breaks down complex sustainability challenges into small, doable, investment-light changes packaged as easy-to-execute digital behaviour change journeys.
The beSMART journey ends with quantifying the effects from the behaviour change and communicating its benefits.
beSMART knows HUMAN BEHAVIOR = how to design the needed behavior change journey so that the change really happens and sticks.
beSMART knows SUSTAINABILITY = what are the sustainability and climate action challenges in the sector; what makes it difficult for tourism companies to address them and what are the needs of the different sub-segments (accomodation, food, attractions, etc.).
beSMART knows TECHNOLOGY = how to automate and scale advisory and facilitation support; how to quantify and produce data-driven evidence, what tech solutions are available to support sustainable behaviour change.
beSMART engages companies and destination ecosystems in a gradual process of sustainability/ net zero improvements that begin producing immediate results and lead to long-term system change. The key groups of interventions are:
- Make sustainability visible – signaling and communication tactics that bring to light existing sustainability efforts across the travel and leisure supply chain
- Facilitate behaviour change – guide companies through behaviour change journeys that make sustainability the norm
- Adopt sustainability innovations – match and accelerate the adoption of existing sustainability innovations and tech tools.
beSMART for destinations and associations
beSMART Platform for destinations and associations (Phase 1 MVP):
beSMART for individual companies (Phase 2 + 3):
WHERE is beSMART now?
2022
✓ Manual (analog) execution of advisory projects for proof of concept
✓ Development of clickable design prototype
✓ Identification of first paying clients
✓ Received Innovation Norway grant to support technology mapping
→ Raising of pre-seed investment
→ Development of BeSMART Phase 1 MVP
2023
→ Onboarding of first paying clients (aim for between 50-500 companies)
→ Refining concept for BeSMART Generation 2 and prepare for seed investment
→ Launch active outreach for second round of clients
→ Seed investment
→ Development and launch of BeSMART Phase 2 + onboarding of individual company users
→ Onboarding of first clients on BeSMART Phase 3 + launch of real time data functionality
*World Travel & Tourism Council (2021). А net zero roadmap for travel & tourism: Proposing a new target framework for the travel & tourism sector
**World Wildlife Fund (2019). Stop the Flood of Plastic: Effective measures to avoid single-use plastics and packaging in hotels
***World Travel & Tourism Council (2022). Nature Positive Travel & Tourism: Travelling in harmony with nature