About Sustainability Leaders United

Sustainability Leaders United celebrates and connects sustainable tourism champions and changemakers. Through our interviews we give changemakers an opportunity to share their learnings, success strategies, dreams and ambitions. And our panel of experts offers timely advice on trends, challenges and how to make it happen.

The project was founded in New Zealand back in 2014, by Florian Kaefer and Natàlia Ferrer Roca. The motivation was – and still is – to encourage tourism professionals to embrace sustainability and to recognize its potential for making tourism more resilient and better for communities and the natural environment.

Now based in Switzerland, Florian continues to develop and manage SLU as a private initiative, supported by collaborators around the world – most notably Supriya AN, our social media ninja and editorial wizard.

In mid-2022 “Sustainability Leaders United” was born  – replacing “Sustainability Leaders Project” alongside a complete redesign of the website, attributed to the project’s growing success.

Apart from his work as editor and project lead, Florian supports organizations and events as speaker and strategy advisor. His most recent book, Sustainability Leadership in Tourism: Interviews, Insights and Knowledge from Practice (Springer, 2022) is a summary of Know How gained from interviewing over 250 leaders and changemakers, in addition to over one hundred portraits which form the second part of the book. More about the book here.

Testimonials

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Steve Noakes interview

Steve Noakes

Australia

Sustainability Leaders United fills a gap. It gives travellers, businesses, policy makers, students, NGOs, development agencies and others who might be interested, the opportunity to get an insight into ‘how’ and ‘what’ experienced players in the sustainable tourism field have done or are doing.      
Karma Tshering, sustainable tourism expert panel member

Karma Tshering

Bhutan

Sustainability Leaders United is a great platform to provide inspiration and give impetus to spreading sustainable tourism. Through its networking it is able to solicit information from experienced and visionary individuals and advocate it to strengthen the understanding and applications of sustainable tourism. This is truly a noble initiative and commitment from the team. Your efforts are highly commendable.
Palitha Gurusinghe

Palitha Gurusinghe

Sri Lanka

I think the work you are doing under Sustainability Leaders United is great! Highlighting sustainability leadership examples across the world is a great contribution. The interviews with key players in the sustainable tourism world are a great source of inspiration to the leaders in the tourism industry. Reading through the interviews one can learn very interesting and valuable facets about the sustainable tourism world.
Ary Suhandi

Ary Suhandi

Indonesia

Simple and inspiring. Stories from inspiring people are very important. Considering all the negative events and actions in the world, we need to make people understand that there are still people with integrity and high spirits in keeping the world in good shape and harmony. I think it is our responsibility to spread news about these people to the global society; to inspire people to do the same in their own league, no matter how small it is.
James-Crockett

James Crockett

St Lucia

It is great to have this resource to come to for inspiration and to reinforce your knowledge of others working towards sustainability within the travel industry. So many champions doing great work go unnoticed and it is helpful that some of the hardest working and most passionate devotees to this mission get highlighted here and their work and insights shared.
Jonathon Day, sustainable tourism expert panel member

Jonathon Day

USA

Sustainability Leaders United is incredibly important. First – it is inspirational! The stories of each of these leaders serve as an incredible testimony to what can be done. Secondly – it shines a light on the thinkers and doers and shows a global community of like-minded people. So many advocates of sustainable tourism work in their own fields – unaware of the other “fellow travellers” facing similar issues. SLP proves that no one is alone as they work to promote sustainability in the tourism system.
Anna Alaman, sustainable tourism expert panel member

Anna Alaman

India

Sustainability Leaders United is one of these places where you feel proud to be part of it when you are selected. Some of the “gurus” in sustainability are featured here. It is a space to share experiences, learn from each other and to grow our responsible tourism network.
Kathleen Pessolano

Kathleen Pessolano

USA

Sustainability Leaders United is a valuable voice in the responsible tourism discussion. I read its incisive interviews and articles to learn about good practice examples, stay informed about colleagues’ work, and even find potential partners and collaborators.
Professor Vik Nair

Vik Nair

The Bahamas

This is an excellent project to pool all of the experts in one platform. These experts can jointly collaborate to contribute more effectively in making this world more sustainable. Every destination has unique challenges and no one approach can solve these issues. Hence, only through smart collaboration can we be more effective in sharing our expertise globally (thinking globally but acting locally).
Theodota Nantsou

Theodota Nantsou

Greece

The stories and testimonials presented through the SLP spark hope that human ingenuity, coupled with good intentions is an endless source of solutions to the global environmental crisis. Very well presented and easy to read, not filled with the usual technical jargon but narrated in words that come from the heart of the sustainability leaders, SLP is a pool of valuable knowledge on how to build living economies.
Amran Hamzah

Amran Hamzah, Ph.D

Malaysia

Sustainability Leaders United is an excellent platform for sustainable tourism champions to share their knowledge and experience in an informal and yet informative medium. The interview format allows for the sustainable tourism leaders to share their insights and even candid views as we search for novel solutions to long standing as well as emerging issues. What I like most about the format and questions posed is that they are thought provoking and yet grounded in pragmatism and hope.
Shannon Stowell

Shannon Stowell

USA

I’m honoured to be included in this hall of amazing people and hope that together we can make real differences in our own circles.  It’s a real encouragement to see so many people sacrificing to make the world better.
Peter de Wilde

Peter de Wilde

Greater Bruxelles Area

To give a platform to anyone who is contributing to more sustainable and more flourishing destinations is very valuable. Every new vision which contributes to a better industry and a better world, needs pioneers. Sustainability Leaders Uniteds inspires and broadens the network of engaged people.
Eduardo Santander interview

Eduardo Santander

Belgique

Sharing best practices and knowledge is an essential element to boost sustainable transformation and engage more businesses and destinations to follow this path. ETC highly values your inspiring work to create a network of sustainable leaders gathering all changemakers and I am personally delighted to have a chance to share our work and contribute with my views!
Les Carlisle inteview

Les Carlisle

South Africa

Sustainability Leaders United is definitely one of the strong initiatives needed to assist with future-proofing all remote tourism operations, for people and organisations to collaborate, learn from each other and pool resources to make a real difference.

Join Partner Network

Sustainability Leaders United is transforming businesses and communities by inspiring professionals through stories and examples, and by transferring knowledge and ideas across borders and disciplinary boundaries.

We are keen to work with like-minded individuals, brands and institutions that are committed to ensuring the livability and sustainability of our planet – tourism and beyond. Please email Florian for details on partnership and sponsorship opportunities.

Let’s connect:

Contact us with your question or idea – or  follow Sustainability Leaders United’s thriving and highly engaged communities of professionals on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

"Sustainability Leaders United has been a fantastic way of connecting with organizations seeking insights into sustainable tourism and hospitality. Florian and the team provide professional vetting to ensure the best possible fit between event organizers and speakers. The process creates a win-win for organizations and speakers: I am able to add value for event organizers through tailored presentations while advancing my mission of promoting the importance of sustainability in the tourism system."

Dr Jonathon Day
USA