¡Hola a todos! My name is Alison Smith and in just a few days, I’ll be traveling to Costa Rica with the Pitt Plus3 Program! At Pitt, I am studying Marketing and Supply Chain Management with a certificate in International Business and a Spanish minor. On our trip, we’ll be focusing on supply chains in the coffee and banana industries (now you might be able to tell why I picked Costa Rica as my Plus3 destination!) I am incredibly excited for this new adventure and to kick things off, I did a little bit of research on sustainability in Costa Rica.

Tourism is among Costa Rica’s most profitable industries, and sustainability in tourism is becoming more and more important. Visitors flock to Costa Rica to experience its natural beauty, so the Government of Costa Rica, the Costa Rican Tourism Institute, the Ministry of Environment and the National Chamber of Tourism all work together to institute sustainable tourism practices. This includes making sure that hotels and lodges in Costa Rica follow sustainable practices that ensure the wellbeing of Costa Rica’s people, economy, culture, and ecosystem.

Another major sustainability initiative in Costa Rica is called NAMA-Café, which focuses on eco-competitive and low carbon coffee production. With coffee being one of Costa Rica’s main exports and what the country is known for, it’s especially important that the industry focuses on creating sustainable practices for growing and processing coffee. The NAMA initiative is mainly focused on reducing carbon emissions and promoting adaptation to climate change.

For such a small country, Costa Rica does a lot in the way of environmental sustainability. To me, this makes Costa Rica seem pretty progressive, especially since the country is second only to Switzerland in global sustainability rankings. I’m so excited to learn more about how Costa Rica is working toward sustainability (and practice my Spanish!) during our trip. ¡Hasta la próxima vez!