The 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal call to action to protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere. They address the global challenges we face, including health, poverty, gender inequality, climate change, environmental degradation and the sustainability of our cities and communities. Let’s do our part.

From our recent survey of over 1000 Hosts and Guests, it turns out that, even if they care about sustainability, about half have difficulty in connecting the UN SDG goals to holiday lettings, especially among travellers.

The importance and possible impact of sustainable tourism are among the topics of many of our blogs, as well as of the first Fair Talks with Pedro Sanchez, one of our Consultant for sustainability and Ambassador.

At Fairbnb.coop, we think that a community based, regenerative tourism model can be a consistent solution to many of the SDGs. This is the net positive impact we could have for each of the Sustainable Development Goals by spreading the values underlying our project and by putting communities at the heart of every travel experience. We know that it is still a long journey towards completing all 17 SDGs but we are trying our best!

– SDGs Goal 1: No Poverty

Fairbnb.coop’s sustainable tourism model aims to give back to local communities the wealth they produce, by supporting support local associations who take care of the most vulnerable people, such as the homeless. 

– Goal 2: Zero Hunger

In some cities, we support projects that aim to eliminate food waste by redistributing what can no longer be sold to poor families, or to create community gardens self-managed by residents.

– SDG 3: Good-health and Well-being

In order to put the safety, health and security of travelers and hosts at the core of the tourism sector in the era of Covid, Fairbnb.coop shares with the Hosts some harmonized and consistent cleanliness and hygiene standards, inspired by the WTTC’s Short Term Rental Protocol.

Furthermore, we help the health workers in the front line in the fight against Covid-19 and we fund projects promoting accessible tourism in nature as well as the quality of life of Senior people in cities.

– SDGs Goal 4: Quality Education

We try to educate both hosts and travellers about their impact on sustainability and their power to turn tourism into a driver for positive change. Besides our regular blog posts we have launched a series of “Fair Talks“, webinars with sustainability experts to educate and inform our community about the SDGs.

– Goal 5: Gender Equality

Among the collaborators and the working members of our cooperative, all genders have the same opportunities and fair treatment. About half of our hosts are women and we give useful tips to female travellers. In our communities, we empower immigrant women through their work in urban gardens.

– SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

All our Hosts are encouraged to a waste-free use of water and other resources and to sanitize regularly the accommodation to ensure guests a safe stay: Fairbnb.coop Hosts should adopt processes focused on enhanced sanitation, disinfection and deep cleaning practices and frequency.

– SDGs Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

In some of the regions where we operate, we support community projects that aim to produce “carbon negative” renewable energy starting from the recovery of waste biomass.

– Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Fair Bnb Network is a multi-stakeholder cooperative that aims to foster community-based entrepreneurship, involving in particular younger generations, and to promote decent local work.

– SDGs Goal 9: Innovation

Platform cooperativism is increasingly becoming a key success experience towards a people and planet-oriented digital transition, able to respond to present and future crisis.

– Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities

Many of the projects we support aim to meet the needs of disadvantaged people, and our sustainable tourism model can be replicated in favour of the most marginalized populations in each city and country. 

– Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

This is perhaps the goal among the SDGs in which Fairbnb.coop can have the greatest impact, as also recognized by the jury of the Sustainable Tourism Awards 2020 in which we participated for the “Urban accommodations” category. Our main goals are to build resilient cities and communities, create affordable housing and basic services in the cities, and improve participation and inclusion.

– SDG 12: Responsible consuption and production

Our cities are not goods to be consumed: by giving the opportunity to plan responsible travel, we aim to make tourism a resource rather than a burden to communities and a driver for positive change.

– SDGs Goal 13: Climate action

We encourage our hosts to inform about local public transport, to use zero km products, and to adopt a green management policy: less waste production, less energy consumption, efficient use of resources.

– Goal 14: Life below Water

Many of our current destinations are on the Mediterranean, so we disseminate among travellers information about the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment, adopted in 1995.

– SDGs Goal 15: Life on Land

Biochar is a sustainable natural fertilizer, stable for many centuries once it is scattered in the soil, which will be produced thanks to Co.Co. Farm 2021, one of the community projects we support.

– SDG 16: Peace, Justice and strong Institutions

Fairbnb.coop works with local institutions and ensures maximum transparency to develop a system based on sustainability, peace and justice, which are the core of the cooperative principles we put into practice.

– SDGs 17: Partnerships for the Goals

We are ready to welcome in the Fairbnb.coop project and to collaborate with like-minded initiatives, and we participate in several global projects to support the movement towards sustainability and achieve the 17 SDGs.