Hi Brooke,
Nice compilation. I always find way too difficult when I am asked to prepare large-scale criteria instead of localized ones.
Not sure if I read this on time, but in my opinion, the following are some basics that should be reflected as well.
1. Construction Phase
It should also be included on the reflected practices. Current construction procedures are one of the main causes of pollution, even when using lots of sustainable materials. We can use the most sustainable materials ever and the best coastal barrier emplacements, but the methods used to build the infrastructures also count, and a lot. The best practice should be the one that with as little of a negative impact on the surroundings during the construction phase as well.
2. Building materials: I'd also mention ancestral building materials and smart ancestral energy efficiency systems so that people do not think that green architecture is only about fancy and modern mechanisms. This will also foster not only the environmental scope of sustainability but also the sociocultural one (heritage preservation through architecture, which is HIGHLY needed in Tourism).
3. Guest staff
3.1. Cell "Better" } "Environmentally trained staff" for sure. However, I'd also add staff trained on the art of hosting/serving, since their main responsibility is to deal with guests - trust me, training on this is a must too, and even with training, not everyone has the necessary skills to serve/deal with people, especially not if they are out of their comfort zone.
3.2. Cell "Best" } I'd also add something like "communicators of potential corrective operational and environmental improvements", since the staff who is day-to-day working, can track and report this better than anyone else. However, the voice of the staff is not always valued.
4. Cuisine
Cell "Best" } Locally-source and sustainable products enhancing *traditional* gastronomy of the place.
apart from preserving our environment, we must also preserve and enhance our cultural heritage, also through gastronomy. Hence, a pizza, even when made with locally-sourced and clean products, is not precisely the most sustainable cuisine in Asia, for instance.
5. Souvenirs
Cell "Best" } i'd also add the word "traditional" to sustainable handicrafts.
Again, fostering the preservation of autochthonous cultural heritage through ancient crafts it is much better than selling handmade Vietnamese cone hats in La Rambla de Barcelona, as i saw once
Hence, generic criteria, especially in Tourism, must always somehow make strong allusion to local features, to make stakeholders understand the importance to preserve the very genuine essence of their destination (coastal or not). Destinations can be super green, but if they lose their own identity, there is no way for them to be sustainable, since what (smart) visitors really appreciate is the feeling of being in "a different, authentic place".