Executive
Track: Parks, Recreation, & Tourism
Assessing “Benefit”: The Creation of Vocabulary for Green Investment
Tuesday, April 13, 3:35-4:15pm EDT
In 2019 Portugal introduced the Green Visa to attract international investment in organic agriculture, renewable energy, ecotourism and a wide range of environmental projects in exchange for residency and eventually citizenship. Globally, many other international, national and regional green bond or green investment initiatives have come into being within the last three years, and more will follow.
As investment in sustainable practice grows, particularly in developing regions, the outcome is often desired to be of “benefit to the community”. To distinguish itself, the green finance sector must invest toward positive outcomes within recipient communities, but while the language and practice of risk management is robust, the metrics of community benefit are not.
To foster genuinely green investment, the metrics of community benefit must be aggregated from standardized data, founded in respect for the recipient communities, and given equal footing with the financial goals of investors.
Jon Bruno
Jon Bruno
Executive Director at The International Ecotourism Society
Jon Bruno is the executive director of The International Ecotourism Society, affectionately known as TIES, and has been an executive with the organization since 2008. During his tenure at TIES, membership has grown from 800 members to over 15,000 in over 195 countries and territories, and TIES remains the largest ecotourism society in the world. Jon has spoken to travelers and tourism professionals alike on 6 continents and has been interviewed and quoted in major publications on 5 continents. He has worked with several major universities to create educational content and is an expert in the field of travel finance.
