Kelowna sustainability performance company GreenStep Solutions has joined the big leagues.
GreenStep was officially accepted as an affiliate member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization at the organization's 25th general assembly held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan earlier this month.
The United Nations name carries clout as the instantly recognized and respected multinational organization that promotes global peace and human rights by fostering international cooperation.
The World Tourism Organization arm of the UN promotes responsible and sustainable tourism and has 160 member states and 500 affiliate members.
GreenStep CEO Angela Nagy made the trip to Uzbekistan to take part in the assembly and accept the affiliate member certificate from United Nations World Tourism Organization affiliate member director Ion Vilcu.
Uzbekistan is in Central Asia, north of two other 'stan' countries -- Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.
In all, there are seven countries with the 'stan' suffix that confound many people with their exotic land-locked locations, convoluted spellings and complicated histories.
The other four are Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan.
By the way 'stan' is the Persian word for 'land' or 'place of'.
Anyway, back to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.
The general assembly this time around was held in Uzbekistan because Central Asia wants more 'silk road' tourism and development.
The every-other-year general assembly has been held in countries that are well-known for tourism (Spain and Italy), but also less-well-known (Bulgaria, Senegal and Zimbabwe and even one of the aforementioned 'stans' -- Kazakhstan.)
"I am incredibly honoured to have the opportunity to join this international community of leaders committed to shaping the future of tourism," said Nagy.
"We are proud to join just five other Canadian affiliate members."
Coincidentally, one of those other affiliates is the Kelowna-based Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, another the Tourism Industry Association of Canada.
As an affiliate member, GreenStep can collaborate with United Nations World Tourism Association member states, companies, educational and research institutions, tourism destinations and non-governmental organizations around the world to share information, establish new business relationships and create innovative products -- all with the common goal of advancing sustainable tourism.
GreenStep, which was founded in 2002 by Nagy, helps small-and-medium-size businesses and organizations to improve their sustainability with consulting, strategy development, carbon footprint measurement and the training and implementation to make it happen.
GreenStep also helps tourism businesses and destinations achieve various sustainable certifications.
Beside working with tourism businesses and destinations, GreenStep also helps retail, professional services and manufacturing businesses become more environmentally friendly.
