In January the Met Office reported that in 2007 the world was likely to experience the warmest year on record. The recent prolonged spell of mild and mainly sunny weather in this country would seem to add some weight to this forecast.

Although as we all know, our temperate maritime climate means that the prevailing conditions can change very quickly. But in general recent research by a number of organisations does suggest that we are in a period of climate change. In this country that probably means generally higher temperatures but with an increased intensity of precipitation.

This change is driven, according to the Met Office’s renowned Hadley Centre, by two things. One is the El Nino effect and the other is human activity, namely greenhouse gas emissions.

The latter is an area where we can all take additional responsibility to help reduce these, both individually and collectively. Climate change is of course also linked closely to sustainability.

The research on climate change does suggest that Scotland will experience considerably fewer negative impacts from this than many other European countries, especially those in the south. (Click here for more details.)

It would therefore appear that this offers opportunities for the tourism industry in this country. However, this is where the ‘S’ word – ‘sustainability’ – enters the frame again. Public awareness of this issue is increasing all the time, and many people are already making decisions based on their perceptions of sustainable business practices.

At international level the members of the UN’s ICLEI (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives) from 2007 are adopting a Triple Bottom Line public sector full cost accounting. This is a more holistic model than before and takes into account also Social, Environmental and Economic performances, sometimes referred to as the 3 ‘P’s – People, Planet, Profit.

With this increased awareness of sustainability and environmental issues, it is likely that the public (ourselves included) will be asking more questions about how we run our operations and our role within a local community. It might even extend to questions about sourcing local products.

In the future then you might expect to be asked how you heat your building and how you deal with waste. Are there any local initiatives that help protect the environment and support conservation, and are there any charities that might benefit from these endeavours? Your visitor might even want to know how they might become involved whilst in your area.

In terms of sourcing local produce, does your site or organisation have a policy on this? This may apply to both food and drink served in your café and to the merchandise sold in your shop.

If local goods are not available (ie coffee, tea etc) are they ‘Fair Trade’? Does your supplier of these have their own ethical policy? These are only indicative but do point to the way ahead. In these days of triple line accounting, where and how the goods were produced become as important as the profit on the goods themselves.

Climate change has the potential to have a positive impact on tourism in Scotland but we will need to continue to develop our environmental awareness and behaviour. As part of the world’s fourth largest economy, we will be expected to show responsibility and take the lead in what augers to be one of the challenges of the 21st century.

Eva McDiarmid