Why a Business Sector Sustainability Scan is the Smart First Move

What the BSSS Is

A BSSS is a quick, guided self-assessment for accommodation providers, attractions, tour operators, cafés, pubs and other visitor-facing SMEs. Each business scores itself on ten sustainability pillars, from climate action to fair employment, producing a reliable baseline without heavy reporting burdens.

Why Start Here

• Evidence-based priorities: Pinpoint exact gaps and strengths, so support and investment where it is needed.

• Sector-wide engagement: Every operator has a voice, building ownership and collaboration from day one.

• Transparency and trust: Businesses scoring 50 %+are well placed to achieve at least Good Travel Seal Level 1 certification; destinations gain an aggregated dashboard to assess the strengths and weaknesses of their tourism stakeholders sustainability actions.

• Certification readiness: The verified baseline and action plan cover early requirements of leading destination certification schemes, saving time and money later.

Four Steps to Understanding Your Destination’s Sustainability

1. Onboard: Brief stakeholders and open a secure online portal to maximise participation.

2. Self-assess: Businesses answer a concise set of questions aligned with the ten pillars.

3. Analyse: The results are compiled  into a destination dashboard report that gives destination managers  priority actions for  policy recommendations, training priorities and investment needs.

4. Activate: Use the BSSS baseline report to track progress over time.

What You Receive

• Individual scores for every business.

• A destination-level report showing average scores and pillar-by-pillar performance.

•  A clear priority roadmap linking each gap to practical interventions.

Do You Need a BSSS?

If you can’t state, with numbers, how many tourism businesses have a sustainability policy, if funders keep asking for baseline data you don’t have, or if anecdote still guides your support programmes, a BSSS will give you the clarity and credibility you’re missing. Within weeks, unknowns become actionable metrics.

Ready to ground your sustainability strategy in real data and unlock a purpose-driven visitor economy? Email Nicole Layolle to get started nicole@acorntourism.co.uk