Image credit: unswfounders.com
EarthCheck Certified members can now use givvable, the advanced platform that’s making sustainable procurement easier than ever, to showcase their commitment to providing sustainable travel experiences.
The brainchild of sisters and co-founders Frances Atkins and Naomi Vowels, givvable makes it easy for organisations to find suppliers that are aligned with their sustainability goals, and have the certification to prove it.
The platform is used by organisations to instantly validate supplier claims and monitor their sustainability credentials, giving these organisations confidence that their procurement is advancing their environmental, social and governance (ESG) objectives.
“We’re well and truly on the pathway to mandatory supplier diligence across a range of ESG issues, including climate risk, human rights, modern slavery and other social risks,” Frances says.
“Regulators are interrogating sustainability claims, and businesses need evidence to back them.”
Ultimately, however, Frances says the givvable platform isn’t just about compliance – it’s about giving organisations the information they need to embed sustainability into their operations, and supporting suppliers to make meaningful change.
“The givvable platform is all about action,” she says. “Our goal is to surface the right data at the right time in the buying or procurement process, so organisations can continually grow pools of suppliers making progress on sustainability.
“Organisations can quickly see that progress, suppliers get rewarded with new business for making that progress – and reporting and compliance simply becomes the output, not the end game.”
How does it work?
“The givvable platform does two things,” Frances says. “It curates data, and then translates it so organisations buy better.”
The platform maps millions of complex data relationships to ESG targets, frameworks and reporting standards. It does this in order to validate supplier sustainability claims with verified, credible data, and instantly align suppliers with organisational sustainability targets.
“givvable maps to over 200+ ESG issues from widely-used reporting standards,” Frances says. “Actions or credentials are then mapped along a range of dimensions and indicators, so in effect, the deeper the level of verification or commitment, the greater the weight that credential will have.
“We have developed a deep and comprehensive data model to do this, using both human and artificial intelligence. We have an incredible team of data scientists, former lawyers, environmental engineers, PhDs and research analysts who work tirelessly on this.
“We use AI to curate, cleanse and structure the data, and to derive insights that enable organisations to quickly identify whether a supplier advances its sustainability objectives.”
The platform can be used by organisations to discover new suppliers that align with their objectives, or to track the progress of their existing suppliers against their targets with on-the-go reporting.
“givvable continuously monitors actions, attributes and credentials of suppliers, as well as policies and practices,” Frances says.
How can EarthCheck Certified members use givvable?
EarthCheck Certified is the world’s leading science-based environmental certification and benchmarking program for the travel and tourism industry.
EarthCheck’s certification process has long been embraced by the world’s most recognised travel and tourism brands to help them demonstrate their sustainability commitment and attract more customers – and now EarthCheck certification is recognised and highlighted on the givvable platform.
“Sustainable travel and tourism is not only important to individuals, but companies and governments as well,” Frances says. “It was important for givvable to provide organisations with indicators to use in everyday purchasing of travel and tourism operators, but also larger procurements.
“Recognition of EarthCheck certification is surfaced to buyers in two key ways – in supplier screening and in supplier search and discovery. This instantly boosts the visibility of EarthCheck Certified members to new and existing customers searching or screening suppliers for action on sustainability, and indicates to those customers how the EarthCheck member advances their targets and goals.”
EarthCheck Certified members can manage their profile on the givvable platform for free.
“EarthCheck Certified members have access to a range of tools and resources in the supplier portal,” Frances says, “including a free shareable profile that can be used at the quote, tender and contract renewal stages to make it easier for buyers to validate their sustainability claims.”
André Russ, EarthCheck’s Vice President of Business Development & Sales, says the intersection of sustainability and technology brings “a wave of opportunity” for EarthCheck members.
“givvable is a testament to that,” he says, “as it provides our EarthCheck members with an innovative platform that shines a spotlight on their commitment to sustainable practices. It’s an exciting time for all of us.”
Frances says tourism organisations can use the free tools and modules available through the givvable platform to engage, educate and encourage action by suppliers, so that nobody is left behind on the sustainability journey.
“The requirements for supply chain diligence are tightening, and in tourism, like other sectors, we need to do this efficiently and in a way that doesn’t marginalise our micro and SME suppliers,” she says.
“To support local tourism with local suppliers, there is an opportunity to design programs that bring SMEs on a journey, while enabling larger organisations to meet their ESG requirements. For events, such as the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and Paralympics, this will be key as we seek to achieve ambitious sustainability targets, while also engaging our local economy and communities.”
EarthCheck Certified members can register their business on givvable at supplier.givvable.com.
Learn more about how your organisation can achieve EarthCheck certification here.
