Toolkit on Climate Smart Tourism was tested by tourism companies in seven BSR destinations

Climate Smart Business Toolkit

CliNeDest project has created an AI-assisted Climate Smart Business online Toolkit that helps tourism companies make a transition towards low carbon business. The project cooperates with more than 100 tourism companies in Tampere, Helsinki, Tallinn, Kaunas, Gdansk, Stavanger and Aarhus providing them with practical tools for carbon data-based business development, decarbonization strategies and the co-designing of low carbon visitor experiences. 

Tourism companies tested the Toolkit sections in a series of workshops

Helsinki’s pilot brought together 12 tourism companies for a focused, step-by-step workshop process from February to April 2026, moving from basic carbon footprint understanding to concrete climate-smart business plans. The workshops created dedicated time, structure and support to tackle topics that are otherwise easy to postpone.

The Toolkit played a key role in this. It was not just seen as a set of materials, but as a practical support: the AI assistant helped companies quickly turn ideas into plans, while the business plan template guided them from identifying their main emission sources to planning and prioritizing practical reduction measures. This made climate work feel more manageable and less abstract.

A central insight from the pilot was that carbon footprint calculation only becomes valuable when it is directly linked to decision-making. Once companies identified their main emission hotspots, they were able to focus on the few areas that matter most, such as energy use, procurement or food and turn these insights into concrete priorities and even new business opportunities. In this sense, measurement shifted from being a reporting exercise to becoming a practical tool for developing more efficient climate-smart business.

In Stavanger 15 companies particpated in the workshops

One of the most significant successes was creating a space for companies to exchange ideas, share “real-world” stories, and gain inspiration from each other’s experiences.

Participation acted as a catalyst for internal shifts, inspiring businesses to initiate formal processes (one example is a company that started the Eco-Lighthouse (Miljøfyrtårn) certification process).

Participants highly valued having sufficient time for in-depth professional discussions with experts and peers rather than just receiving information.

For some, the process helped them recognize what they were already doing well, providing the confidence to build upon existing values and practices.

What was said about usefulness of the Toolkit?

The toolkit was regarded positively as a supporting framework that complemented the expert-led workshops.

• The Carbon Calculator Guide and the Custom ChatGPT tool were the most frequently used and were rated as highly relevant for calculations and exploring new ideas. The only negative feedback here was that many cannot use ChatGPT because of the company restrictions regarding AI tools and which ones they can use.
• The Prompt Library, the AI assistant, and the Business Plan Template all received high scores (4–5 out of 5) for usability.
• The toolkit’s website was perceived as less user-friendly and in need of improvement.
• The Business Case Tool (Excel) was not used by any of the respondents in the pilot

What was the key learning about the connection of measuring carbon footprint and finding CO2 hotspots with the new ideas for business development?

• By identifying specific hotspots, companies shifted their focus from assumptions to areas where they could get the most significant impact.
• Sustainability mapping became a management tool to define which business projects to prioritize, such as choosing between local or organic food for new menus.
• The pilot helped businesses move away from isolated, fragmented actions (like switching to LED lights) and instead integrate their efforts into a systematic, overarching framework through the climate-smart business plan.

Programme Manual Online

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