AUSTRALIAN tourism benchmarking and certification group EarthCheck is helping Swedish township Järvsö in its quest to become a global front-runner in sustainable and responsible tourism.

For a start, Järvsö and Gävleborg County regional leaders want the destination to realise the goal of achieving the highest benchmark for sustainable tourism in Scandinavia.

The EarthCheck Sustainable Destinations program will provide Järvsö with a scientific framework to benchmark, certify and continuously improve the region’s environmental, cultural, social and economic performance. The Global Sustainability Tourism Council’s criteria for destinations will be used as a policy and planning guide.

Gävleborg County Governor, Per Bill said the strategic approach would help Järvsö achieve a range of economic and sustainable benefits for tourism, local communities, the environment and cultural heritage. Järvsö, locally known as Jarse, is situated in Ljusdal Municipality in Sweden’s Gävleborg County. 

“Järvsö, as a responsible tourist destination, will be a perfect fit for our sustainable projects throughout Gävleborg,” Mr Bill said.

“Furthermore, this is a positive step for us to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.

Roland Hamlin the project coordinator at Ljusdals Municipality noted that Järvsö has a strong vision and long-term commitment to sustainability and responsible tourism development. 

“Becoming Sweden’s first EarthCheck Certified Destination will add value to the way in which we market Järvsö as a lifestyle destination to visit, work, live and bring up children,” Mr Hamlin said.

“Working with EarthCheck will help us to monitor and improve sustainability and promote our achievements, as well as learning more from the best in the world.”

EarthCheck Founder and CEO Stewart Moore said places where people want to visit and live – and that are sustainable – do not happen by chance. They are a product of visionary thinking and commitment by industry and community leaders, he said.

“Achieving sustainable tourism requires collaboration, determination and systematic planning across the destination,” Mr Moore said.

“Järvsö will join a select group of leading destinations across the world that are taking a holistic and strategic approach to destination management, planning and marketing.”

Based on the fundamental belief that ‘what gets measured, gets managed’ is at the core of EarthCheck’s Sustainable Destinations Program which is built on performance based measurement. The EarthCheck program helps destinations to measure and monitor their environmental economic and social impact, and prepare and track that performance against their own targets and the performance of other destinations.

In recent years, Järvsö has made positive strides in sustainability including the development of a heritage tourism framework, train and bicycle travel network and a training platform for local operators.

https://jarvso.se/

www.earthcheck.org

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NEW South Wales entrepreneurs will hear directly from successful ‘parent-repreneurs’ on how to juggle a fast-paced startup business and parenthood at an event this week.

The Balancing Parenthood and Entrepreneurship event on Wednesday, October 31, at the Spark Festival will assemble a panel of successful entrepreneurs who are parents to discuss the challenges and opportunities of navigating both roles. 

The panel of successful ‘parent-repreneurs’ will include Carrie Kwan, Peter McConnell, Edwina Sharrock and Victoria Stewart – all successful business founders with children. In tune with the event, to be held at the Sydney Startup Hub with the support of the NSW Government, is free onsite childcare for attendees.

“The average age of a startup founder in NSW is mid-30s and frequently that aligns with founders starting a family,” Deputy Premier and Minister for Small Business John Barilaro said.

“Parent-repreneurs are not only looking for opportunities to secure their future but to ensure flexible working conditions to support their families.”
Founding, running and growing a startup business is a huge job and it can be a massive challenge,  but in many ways being a parent is excellent preparation for startup life.

The panel discussion will involve four successful ‘parent-repreneurs’ sharing advice and tips on how they balance parenthood and entrepreneurship to achieve both family and business goals, with lunch and networking to follow.

Jobs for NSW will host the event as part of its sponsorship of the Spark Festival, with free on-site childcare offered for startup parents and ‘babes in arms’ also welcome, a spokesperson said. 

Carrie Kwan is the co-founder and managing director of Mums & Co, a networking hub for Australian women entrepreneurs, who will share her passion and insights on how working parents can realise success in their startups and businesses.

Peter McConnell is executive chair at Commtract, a marketplace for communications professionals. He will share his experience of balancing a young family with two successful start-ups – one led by his wife, the other by him – including strategies for balancing primary care for his two boys and a busy executive role.

Edwina Sharrock is the CEO and founder of Tamworth startup Birth Beat, an online platform for antenatal and childbirth classes. She will share her experience on the steps she has taken to launch her start-up while being a mother of two children under six.

Victoria Stuart is co-founder of Beam Australia, an online marketplace connecting businesses with degree qualified stay-at-home parents. Ms Stuart will discuss her personal search for balance and the positive impact flexible work options are making to lives and businesses. 

Register for the event here.

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THE partnership between eBay and Coles loyalty program Flybuys is set to transform the relationship between retail, travel and brand loyalty.

With Australia’s largest online marketplace, eBay.com.au, partnering with Australia’s most popular loyalty program, shoppers will immediately be able to earn and redeem Flybuys points with 40,000 Australian online retailers.

The impact is heading the way of a Transformers blockbuster movie – where eBay had one of its best brand exposures as part of that storyline.

From May, more than 11 million monthly unique visitors of ebay.com.au have been able to link their accounts to Flybuys to collect 1 point for every $2 spent on eligible items across the site. There are also bonus offers, allowing shoppers to dramatically accelerate their points. 

It is the first move into loyalty rewards for ebay.com.au, as it seeks to offer consumers a more rewarding shopping experience. For Flybuys, this partnership is the biggest expansion of the program since the addition of Velocity frequent flyer as a partner in 2016.

“We know Aussies love rewards points, and at eBay innovation is the focus for our connected community,” ebay.com.au chief marketing officer Julie Nestor said.

“It was a no-brainer to partner with Flybuys to achieve this, as we continue to evolve our own platform in order to stay the number one online retail choice in Australia.”

More than 60 percent of Australian households who actively use Flybuys will now also be able to redeem their Flybuys points for eBay vouchers, amounting to $10 in vouchers for every 2000 points collected.

These vouchers can be used to purchase items from the hundreds of millions of items available to them through the eBay platform, Ms Nestor said.

“We are always looking for new and innovative ways to help our members collect and use more flybuys points and ensure they are rewarded in a meaningful and exciting way,” said Flybuys general manager Alex Chruszcz.

Research on ebay.com.au small business retailers found that while 62 percent believed a rewards program could help their business compete with larger players, 71 percent felt a loyalty program would be too expensive to set-up and run.

“We have listened to our small business community who say that loyalty programs are something they would like to engage in but don’t have access to, which is where the power of the eBay platform comes in,” Ms Nestor said.

The research found 72 percent of eBay sellers believed a rewards program would help attract new customers, and 67 percent said it would likely increase customer spend at their stores.

www.ebayinc.com

www.flybuys.com.au

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SINGAPORE and Australia are collaborating on the first ‘Good Science = Great Business’ festival in Singapore in September.

The festival, delivered by the Australian High Commission, in collaboration with Austrade, CSIRO and Australia’s leading universities, will promote collaboration between Australian scientists and businesses and their counterparts in Singapore and ASEAN countries.

The festival will stage a series of high-profile events in Singapore highlighting the contribution science makes to creating future industries and growing economies in the Indo-Pacific region. 

Events will include commercialisation workshops and ‘pitch’ events for research institutions, Australian industry delegation visits to Singapore medtech and biotech facilities, a lecture series and a gala dinner featuring the Australian National University vice chancellor Brian Schmidt – the astrophysicist and Nobel Prize winner.

Minister for Jobs and Innovation, Michaelia Cash has encouraged business leaders and scientists in Singapore and Australia to join forces to secure future prosperity for both countries.

“Singapore is a key partner for Australia, being our largest trading partner in ASEAN (the Association of South East Asian Nations), eighth-largest trading partner overall and sixth-largest foreign investor,” Ms Cash said.

“Under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Australia and Singapore are deepening cooperation across all sectors and advancing shared interests, including in the innovation and science space.”

Minister Cash said the festival would demonstrate the Australian Government’s commitment to fostering international collaborations that would help Australian businesses grow and reach into global markets.

“Singapore is a natural partner for Australia in entrepreneurship, science and technology activities thanks to its openness to exchanging ideas and talent,” she said.

“The Good Science = Great Business festival will show collaboration between business, industry, universities and researchers in Australia and Singapore remains central to fostering vibrant innovation systems in both our nations.”

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