Tourism businesses in Alaska are getting certified for green practices, both as a way to move toward sustainability and a way to attract customers.
The certification, through a program called Adventure Green Alaska, gives tourism businesses a distinction for their efforts at sustainability. The program launched in 2009 and has since been taken up by the Alaska Travel Industry Association, a nonprofit representing tourism businesses around the state.
Some businesses don’t even have to change what they’re doing. Diamond M Ranch Resort in Kenai, an RV and tent campground and ranch on Kalifornsky Beach Road, is certified through the Adventure Green Alaska program. This is largely due to the owners’ composting and recycling efforts, which they were already doing, said owners Blair and Ronna Martin. After watching a lot of fish waste be hauled to the dump every summer, they decided to start using it for fertilizer, Ronna Martin said.
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Elizabeth Earl is a reporter for the Peninsula Clarion and can be reached at elizabeth.earl@peninsulaclarion.com.
