The GDS-Index is a destination-level programme that measures, benchmarks, and improves the sustainability strategy and performance of tourism and events destinations.
The GDS-Index is aligned with international standards; UN SDGs, GSTC Destination Criteria, UNWTO.
Click here to read more about the benchmarking methodology including data collection and verification, the four benchmarking categories, governance and criteria development and performance scoring methods.
This page highlights each destinations sustainability journey and will showcase their journey.
Performance Overview
The 2023 GDS-Index comprises 69 indicators across four categories. Here is the total score and the score for the four categories for this destination.
Total
0%
Environmental
Social
Supplier
Destination Management Organisation
Environmental
Includes a city's performance pertaining to its policies and infrastructure, such as climate change commitment, carbon emissions, renewable energies, resource and water management, public transport, and air pollution levels.
Social
Indicates the performance of the city against indicators of SDG integration, Corruption, Personal Safety, Access to Information and Communications, Health and Wellness, and Inclusivity, using external sources such as the Social Progress Imperative Index, and Corruption Perceptions Index.
Supplier
Addresses the sustainability commitment and performance of the local meetings' industry supply chain, including airports, events agencies, hotels, venues, and restaurants.
Destination Management Organisation
Indicates the sustainability commitment, including questions pertaining to maturity of a destination's
sustainability and regeneration strategy, leadership,
communication of sustainability initiatives (to support client planners), and the accuracy of their reporting on sustainability operations.
Sustainability Journey
Summary
Environmental
Supplier
Social
Toronto is a caring and friendly city. We have opportunities to sustain and enrich
our lives and reach our highest potential. Our diversity is valued and celebrated and our
communities are a source of pride. We are actively involved in the social, cultural, and
political life of the city.
Toronto is a clean, green, and sustainable city. We integrate environmental stewardship into
our daily activities. We maintain and improve the health of the environment for present and
future generations.
Toronto is a dynamic city. As the nation’s leading economic engine, we are a centre of innovation and growth with a strong international presence. Our dynamic city is well positioned to succeed in the world economy.
Toronto invests in quality of life. We invest in quality of life – socially, economically, culturally, and environmentally – to make Toronto a desirable place to live, prosper and visit.
The City is implementing strategies that align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The City's climate action strategy, TransformTO, has the goal of achieving net-zero GHG emissions in Toronto by 2040 while improving climate resilience, health, social equity and economic prosperity.
The City’s efforts to transition Toronto to a circular economy aims to maximize resources and
reduce waste, while building a more resilient, inclusive, and green city. Both of these two portfolios are aligned with achieving the following environmental SDGs:
• Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
• Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
• Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
• Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
• Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
• Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
• Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
• Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
• Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
• Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
• Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation
and halt biodiversity loss
• Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
The City's efforts to finance initiatives in Social Affordable Housing, Affordable Basic Infrastructure, Access to Essential Services and Socioeconomic advancement and aligns with the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:
• Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere,
• Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages,
• Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all,
• Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls,
• Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all,
• Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all,
• Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation and,
• Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
In an effort to bring Toronto's tourism businesses on a path to greater sustainability, Destination Toronto has run community trainings on how to write a sustainability action plan and how businesses can market their sustainability initiatives. The DMO also completed a sustainability assessment of its own operations and was awarded Bronze Level certification by GreenStep Tourism.
Does
Destination Toronto / City of Toronto have a Sustainability Strategy?
Does
Toronto have a sustainable destination certificate?
Does
Destination Toronto / City of Toronto report on its sustainability performance?
The City is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, building resilience against a rapidly changing climate, moving to zero waste and a circular economy, improving air and water quality, building sustainable energy and transportation systems, and supporting biodiversity.
The City of Toronto’s TransformTO Net Zero Strategy, adopted by Council in December 2021, established accelerated implementation actions to reduce greenhouse (GHG) emissions, particularly in the short term, and set one of the most ambitious targets in North America – to reduce community-wide emissions to net zero by 2040. Leading by example, the City plans to cut GHG emissions from its own operations even faster.
There are five critical steps the City is taking to steer community-wide emissions towards net zero:
- establish carbon accountability and show this accountability through carbon budgeting
- rapidly reduce significant fossil gas use
- establish building performance standards
- increase the use and adoption of low-carbon transportation options
- increase the amount of local renewable energy and storage opportunities
Through the 30 actions in the City’s Short-term Implementation Plan and ongoing delivery of programs, policies, and investments, the City continues to lay the foundation for wide-spread community action to reduce GHG emissions, now and in the future.
Key recent achievements include:
- Version 4 of the Toronto Green Standard (TGS) came into effect, which raised the bar once again for high performance, high quality, low emissions new buildings in Toronto. The TGS continues to raise the bar on building performance and is expected to save more than one megatonne of GHG emissions by 2050.
- Installation of more than 100 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in public parking lots and, by the end of 2024, more than 650 charging ports will be installed both on-street and in public parking lots. An EV Charging Plan is in development to further grow this network and support the transition to electric vehicles, supporting the City’s goal of having 30 per cent of registered vehicles in Toronto be electric by 2030.
- Introduced a Wastewater Energy Program and facilitated one of the largest and first-of-its-kind sewer heat-recovery projects in the world, to expand local renewable energy supply for buildings. Work is also underway to expand the Deep Lake Water Cooling system.
- Established a Climate Advisory Group, comprising 26 members of the public with diverse backgrounds and lived experience, to help guide implementation of the TransformTO Strategy with an equity lens.
- Launch of the 2023 Carbon Accountability Report, which addresses the first of the five critical steps the City is taking to steer community-wide emissions and corporate emissions from the City’s own operations towards net zero. The report outlines a process to establish multi-year emission budgets for Toronto’s corporate and community-wide emissions.
An annual Carbon Budget process will link City decision-making on policies, programs, and projects in the annual financial budget to their expected GHG reduction impact, from now until net zero is achieved by 2040. The Carbon Accountability Report also establishes a science-based corporate policy on offset credits aligned with net zero governance best practices, which will continue Toronto’s leadership in this rapidly developing space.
Community-wide GHG emissions in Toronto have been reduced by 43 per cent against 1990 levels. Significant, accelerated community-wide action is needed to reach future goals and targets, including a 65 per cent reduction by 2030 and net zero by 2040. To reach the City’s 2030 target, emissions must be cut in half in the next seven years.
34%
OF ELECTRICITY FROM RENEWABLES
45%
OF WASTE RECYCLED
273 ha
HECTARES OF GREEN AREA PER 100 000 POPULATION
64%
OF HOTEL ROOMS SUSTAINABILITY CERTIFIED
0%
OF VENUES SUSTAINABILITY CERTIFIED
0%
OF PCOS/DMCS SUSTAINABILITY CERTIFIED
Toronto's motto – Diversity Our Strength – represents the diversity of the City's 3 million
residents. The City strives to be a caring and friendly city that invests in quality of life for all, an objective that includes social and economic well-being and inclusion.
The City's Community and Social services includes a diverse range of essential and socio-economically empowering services and supports to allow all Torontonians and neighbourhoods to fully participate in the social and economic life of Toronto. The goal of Community and Social services is to see a Toronto where individual outcomes are determined by an individual's effort, not predetermined by their address, race, or income; and prioritizes the needs of the vulnerable while nurturing and supporting a Toronto for All.
One of Destination Toronto's four key strategic pillars is to ensure its content, partnerships, membership, brand and team authentically reflect the diversity of businesses, voices, cultures, values and neighbourhoods that make up the Toronto community. This means that the DMO aims to:
- Establish more meaningful community relationships to learn, validate and sustain the content insights necessary for diverse representation in the stories we share and amplify.
- Lean into our ambassadors to provide an authentic, local perspective while continuing to evolve and add new voices that are reflective of the destination.
- Entrench and broaden the "Things to Do" strategy by sustaining engagement with Arts & Culture stakeholders, expanding listing categories and targeting outreach to underrepresented communities.
- Activate renewed CSR program aligned to EDI and Employee Engagement initiatives.