A recent press release from the Region of Crete offers a sneak peek at why the island is in such trouble where regenerative economics is concerned. The fact is, only a scant few people in Crete’s government even understand sustainability, let alone concepts like regenerative tourism or agriculture. However, no matter how hopeless the island’s long-term future is, we can rest assured that the Region of Crete and the Association of Hoteliers of Crete will always agree. Now, let me dissect the government’s latest instance of meaningless meetings.
A Mysterious Circular Economy
According to the press release, Governor Stavros Arnautakis, some of his deputies, and their counterparts within the Association of Hoteliers of Crete recently discussed a mysterious “special spatial plan for tourism on the island.” [Is it in here?] Those attending agreed on a joint decision to do “something” to create a sustainable tourism model. At least, this is all anyone reading the news could ascertain. As we can ascertain, these meetings may have involved making a circular economy (CE) in line with the EU-funded REPLACE project (2022 PDF here). But no, that cannot be right since it seems this project is already falling flat, with only the Lazio Region of Italy participating (PDF). Unsurprisingly, Crete Region was involved in REPLACE, given there was funding available until 2023.
It’s challenging to be sure, but Crete’s Deputy Governor of Spatial Planning and Environment, Nikos Xylouris, is associated with several regional, national, and EU-related entities. Given the dogma and lack of information from Arnautakis’s government, it seems unlikely that the Crete Region and hoteliers will collaborate with entities like the In-Crete Innovation Alliance. This effort appears to be a much more serious endeavour to create a circular economy for the island. Samantha Briggs, the travel planner’s Instagram above, gives the reader some idea of what’s probably ahead for every stretch of beach on Crete.
Perhaps the Crete hoteliers and the Region of Crete will deepen their understanding of what a circular economy is at the Hellenic Society for Circular Economy NGO’s upcoming inaugural conference. Crete Region is a sponsor, but there seems to be no representation among hospitality stakeholders! In fairness, Governor Arnautakis and Crete’s Deputy Governor of Spatial Planning and Environment, Nikos Xylouris, has joined in gathering intelligence about CE via the various conferences. For my part, I would recommend Crete leadership take notice of the launch of “With Life Cultivator,” the world’s first business incubator inspired by the natural world and living systems. New applicants will join over 20,000 of the world’s most progressive thinkers.
This capital venture is led by nRhythm, Zebra Growth and John Fullerton’s (above left) Capital Institute. For those unfamiliar, Fullerton, who is the renowned author of Regenerative Capitalism: How Universal Patterns and Principles Will Shape the New Economy, is trying to take investment and economics overall into a future realm.
Funding and Knowledge is Available
This international conference (PDF) conducted for the Region of Crete by the Social Observatory of Crete was a deep dive into the reality of social-spatial sustainability and other key hurdles Crete must address. For me, this simply means that the government can never claim ignorance or access to the correct answers as an excuse for failing to evolve a regenerative economy on the island. I have serious doubts that this will come to pass even though officials and other stakeholders understand what social, economic, and environmental degradation will lead to. If you look at the companies and NGOs now involved in these “efforts,” I am sure you will see a familiar pattern. LAMDA Development, METLEN Energy & Metals, Lidl Hellas & Co., and especially the V Group, so heavily involved in wind and solar power are but a few. Look at who is winning awards from the Bravo Sustainability Awards.
Turning to what Crete Region and the hotels consider stakeholders, this EU Replace report (PDF) is a bit telling in that the stakeholders mentioned are agribusiness, the Chamber of Tourism, Civil Servants of the region, and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In this most recent meetup, hotel owners within the Association of Hoteliers of Crete have taken their share of Bravo and other trophies, applauding their efforts to create a better world and a better Crete. If we dig down into each hotel’s real sustainability and circular economics reports, we find insult added to injury, especially if you were previously a communications executive.
More Smoke and Mirrors
One hotel group created a sustainability report in 2022, which included photos of swimming pools, restaurants, and spas and the general idea of “Hey, look. We made a report!” A couple of segments got me. One was how the hotel group worked with suppliers and external partners. The substantive effort was for the hotel group CEO to talk to his food and beverage manager. No, I am not kidding. The second and most telling flub came under the heading “local community,” where the hotel chain was so good as to create their report.
I will also mention Agapi Beach Resort (PDF) for having one of the most complete sustainability reports among all Crete hotels. The image at right from the resort speaks volumes about communicating value to guests. There are others, so perhaps we should research and publish a best/worst roundup starting with Heraklion hotels. Some of these hoteliers take the idea of CE seriously, while the majority operate with what has worked for their families for a generation or more. Creating and filling beds is the primary focus, and not the quality of guests or regenerative practice.
So, the public, the people, all of these officials and so-called stakeholders derive their power, authority, and wealth from; they are the dead last group considered when saving this island for posterity. Of course, it is no surprise to Cretans, Greeks, or anybody on Earth if we speak truths here. I’ll be contacting the Region of Crete to see if I can identify the mysterious master plan alluded to in the brief press release I received. Expect an update soon.
