Green France: Pioneering Haute-Garonne and a Cleaner Ferry

Eco-tourism and green living in France is endlessly evolving – here we bring you the latest news and developments in tourism from efforts to make France the leading green destination in the world, to tree-planting in Paris.

As strident eco-tourism pioneers, the Haute-Garonne Tourism Board recently received a double dose of great green firsts. It became the first French department to be awarded the Responsibility Europe and CSR label by AFNOR Certification, promising to accompany various stakeholders (accommodation, restaurants, visitor sites, etc) with training to further ecological transition objectives according to ISO standards. It also became the first French region to be the subject of a Routard guide to sustainable tourism (Guide du Routard Haute-Garonne, Destination Nature). The organisation took the opportunity to release its new logo featuring the words ‘L’accent nature’, a nod to its wide range of back-to-nature tourism offerings. Bravo à tous!

Ship shape

Brittany Ferries has launched a new ferry, the Santoña, powered by cleaner liquefied natural gas (LNG). Passengers on the Portsmouth- Santander (Spain) and Portsmouth- Cherbourg routes can expect a smoother, quieter ride on this state-of-the-art E-Flexer class ship. Crucially, it also means far fewer air quality and CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions from her funnel.

State help

As part of the Destination France Plan launched by the government to make France the leading destination for sustainable tourism, initially nine sites (coastal, mountain and rural) will benefit from State support with a total budget of €4 million. Among them are Ossau Valley (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), Gorges de l’Ardèche and Pont-de-l’Arche (Eure).

Taking root

Paris City Council planted nearly 21,000 trees during the last planting season between November and March, said the capital’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, whose Plan Arbre (Tree Plan) is set to see 170,000 additional trees by the end of her mandate in 2026. Paris currently has about 200,000 trees in its streets, green spaces and municipal facilities.

Eat your greens

Better known for hotels, gîtes and campsites, the Clef Verte (Green Key) label is also being developed for restaurants. To obtain it from the association Teragir, establishments must meet more than 50 criteria, including waste sorting, water consumption and eco-friendly cleaning products.