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Sustainable development

Arcachon Tourist Office associates Tourism with the Environment.

We strive to reduce our impact on the destination every day through simple gestures. A number of actions have been put in place at different levels to work towards this goal.

For the Tourist Office team, a Sustainable Development Charter has been drawn up to raise staff awareness. A “sustainable development” workshop made up of staff from all Arcachon’s facilities meets regularly to implement actions and promote this theme among all staff.

Paper and printing :

  • Any printouts that are not used are used as drafts. These drafts have a predefined place at the workstations.
  • We prefer to print in black and white internally, and we systematically use double-sided printing for large numbers of copies.
  • The use of a video projector is preferred at meetings organized by the Tourist Office, to limit the need to print documents on paper.

Documentation

  • Our paper publications comply with Imprim’Vert and PEFC (sustainable forest management) standards.
  • Brochures are printed in a sustainable manner by ecologically-labeled service providers.
  • Use of non-toxic inks.
  • Sorting of remaining brochures at the end of each period, and readjustment of stocks every year.
  • We limit the number of documentation orders outside the Gironde region. We accompany holidaymakers wishing to discover more distant areas by visiting the websites of the resorts concerned to find out about tourist information.
  • We limit the amount of paper documentation we send out. We direct our customers to our website, and if they can’t get there or if they expressly request it, we send them paper documentation.
  • We limit the number of documents we send to holidaymakers and professionals alike. We make our documentation available to them directly on the day of the exchange or at the Tourist Office if they so wish. We organize deliveries to order.
  • We manage partner document stocks according to demand, so that we don’t have to throw any away at the end of the year. We keep an up-to-date stock table to obtain the most accurate estimate of usage.

Digital Sobriety

  • Delete N-1 emails.
  • Limit emails, use a mailbox or the telephone instead.
  • Limit sending of photos.

Taking your digital footprint into account

FINDINGS

E-mails account for 3.8% of greenhouse gases, more than civil aviation!

34 billion users worldwide.

1 MB sent = 1 25-watt light bulb switched on for 60 min.

Only 1% of metals used in the digital sector are recycled.

RESPONSIBLE DIGITAL
  • Reducing your footprint: several steps
    • Raising awareness
    • Measuring consumption
    • Limit to last
    • Buying responsibly (easy to repair)
    • Designing responsibly (building a site in a less cumbersome way)
    • Secure your use and make your data accessible
    • Optimize use and limit data flows
    • Recycle and ensure end-of-life
METHODOLOGY
  • Sort and clean emails
    • Record the number of e-mails and their weight (parameters and storage space)
    • Sorting my e-mails :
      • Sorting and deleting
      • Delete attachments and save them somewhere
      • Emptying the recycle garbage can
    • Send lighter e-mails by compressing pdf files (ilovepdf)
    • Avoid replies with histories
      • Keep only the last e-mail.
      • Do not resend attachments.
    • Use temporary storage sites (e.g. Wetransfer).
    • Set up automatic cleaning rules.
    • Unsubscribe from unnecessary newsletters.
    • Adopt the Inbox Zero method.
    • Use online messaging (e.g. Slack).
  • Clean up your drive and computer
    • Keep track of drive and computer data.
    • Organize and rename my files
      • Ask yourself if these files are useful
      • Editable version rather than PDF
      • Analyze file typology so that it is common to all.
    • Save sensitive data on a hard disk before deleting it.
    • Delete poor-quality photos, and only keep photos in HD, as well as videos.
    • Delete drafts and duplicates.
    • Empty recycle garbage can
    • Empty downloads
    • Empty desktop
    • Run a disk cleanup in the computer settings or with software (e.g. CCCleaner or Duplicate Cleaner Free for duplicate photos).
To find out more ...

Inbox Zero is a method of efficiently managing your e-mails. The aim is for your inbox to be (almost) empty, so you don’t have to stress about your e-mails.

Want to put Inbox Zero into practice? Here’s the key: your inbox shouldn’t be seen as a storage space. Not only should you check all the e-mails that arrive in your inbox, you should also deal with them quickly, either by replying to them or by archiving them.

Follow these 5 steps to success:

1. Delete

If you receive an e-mail that you don’t want or that contains information you no longer need, delete it. This may sound radical, but there’s no point in cluttering up your inbox with messages that contain no useful information.

Also consider unsubscribing from newsletters and marketing e-mails that you never read due to lack of interest or time. This reduces the number of messages you receive per day. This way, you can lighten both your mind and your mailbox.

2. Delegate

Some of the e-mails we receive don’t really concern us, or we’re not the right person to deal with. In this case, forward the message directly to the right person.

3. Reply

If an e-mail requires an urgent response and it won’t take you more than a couple of minutes, do it immediately. For example, answer a colleague’s question, confirm a decision, give feedback on a document, etc. Avoid keeping the message in your inbox or adding it to your to-do list. Answer it right away, then archive or delete the message, and move on.

4. Delay

If an e-mail takes longer than two minutes to answer, file it in a “to be dealt with” folder. During the day, set aside a slot in your schedule to deal with messages placed in this folder. The rest of the time, your mailbox is closed, so you can concentrate on your current tasks.

5. Archive

Some messages require no reply from you. This is the case for meeting invitations or purely informative messages. In this case, read the message, make a note of it (enter the meeting or event in your diary) and archive it.

Today, there are many tools available to help you cut down on e-mails, improve communication with your colleagues and be more productive. Such is the case with the Wimi collaborative platform and its discussion channel system, an instant messaging tool that allows you to centralize and organize discussions by project, and exchange with your collaborators in real time.

Conclusion

Thanks to the Inbox Zero method, you no longer waste time organizing and filing your e-mails, but deal with them immediately. The advantage is that you can quickly decide what to do with your messages. So they don’t pile up in your inbox. Your mailbox is fast (or almost), and you’re more serene and efficient in your daily tasks.

Raising awareness among socio-professionals

  • visits to our premises by representatives of protected natural sites or environmental protection organizations (SEPANSO, PNM, Asso Echomer)
  • an “ecofriendly” section in our tourism magazine
  • awareness-raising and inspiration through the sharing of good examples on our pro space
  • marketing of sustainable development products
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Water protection

Visitor awareness

  • the O.T.’s e-mail signature encourages greater responsibility towards the environment: “Think environment, print this e-mail only if necessary”.
  • the Tourist Office invites and educates its visitors in eco-responsible gestures, in particular by recommending the use of public transport.
  • guided nature tours to discover the richness of the local flora and fauna, and to raise awareness of environmental issues
  • visits to our premises by representatives of protected natural sites, or environmental protection organizations (SEPANSO, PNM, Asso Echomer)

A break in the reception area

  • Use of drinking fountains instead of bottled water.
  • Use of a mug for the coffee machine.
  • Use of recyclable cups and stirrers.

Business travel

  • We use the least polluting means of transport. When distance allows, we cycle or walk to our destination.
  • If the journey is too far, we take the train or systematically try to carpool.
  • Bicycles available for business trips.

Energy saving

  • Recycled plastic water bottles distributed to the entire team at the beginning of the year.
  • Lights and computers switched off at the end of the day or for meetings.
  • Building temperature controlled at 19°C all year round.
  • Used toners recycled by Conibi.
  • Printing as and when required, in black and white and on both sides.
  • Computer screens and copiers are switched on and off according to the Tourist Office’s opening hours, and do not remain on standby overnight.
  • Digital screens in the reception area are automatically set to switch on when the building opens, and off when it closes.
  • Lights are switched on when necessary
  • The structure of the building means that the temperature inside MAAT is always 19°.

Selective sorting

  • Separate paper, plastic bottles, cups and other waste in the garbage cans provided.
  • Use unused paper as scrap paper.
  • Collection of batteries and light bulbs, toys and clothing at the MA.AT Conciergerie.
  • Cardboard recycling
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