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Christopher's background
Christopher’s interest in travel was formed in the early 1970’s when his UK-based family embraced the first wave of Mediterranean holiday packages. This was followed by accompanying his father on overseas business trips where he developed a taste for delicious afternoon teas in grand hotels.
I loved the sense of special occasion and the treats presented, I remember even then being curious as to the workings of such amazing places.
Despite these grand trips, Christopher was also influenced by the post-war rationing mentality of his parent’s generation – a mindset that we can get by with what we have, reuse and share, and that limits to consumption do not mean “going without”.
After building his career in London’s advertising and marketing scene, he founded his own agency and spent 17 years living and working in places he called home, including Saudi Arabia and Dubai.
It was a region which taught me so much about offering the traveller true warm hospitality from a deep cultural perspective.
Christopher has always been intrigued by the origins of hospitality, which inspired his journey into the industry.
What I always recall is that the traveller was originally welcomed and looked after with the resources that the humble host had, they were not offered more or less than what was at their disposal in their tough desert surroundings. This philosophy increasingly made me think deeper into the way tourism has expanded.
In 2003, Christopher and his young family relocated to Australia, where he and his wife founded Crystal Creek Meadows in Kangaroo Valley. This small resort quickly gained recognition, becoming a multi-award-winning accommodation nestled in what is often celebrated as ‘Australia’s most beautiful valley.’
Community and knowledge-sharing were central to Christopher’s approach to tourism. He served as president of the Kangaroo Valley Tourist Association for nine years, chaired the local government tourism board, and advised Ecotourism Australia. Currently, he is a board advisor to the Griffith Institute of Tourism.
We wanted to offer the same attentive commitment to hospitality and give the guest a transformative experience whilst they stayed to rejuvenate. It was then that I learnt the true cost of providing hospitality and observed our guests at close contact for several years as I developed and tested different strategies to permit us to offer more using less, less in the sense of reducing waste, and more in the sense of personalisation.
Making a difference...
In 2006, Christopher launched the Green Kangaroo, one of the first carbon reduction tourism programs, voluntarily helping 32 businesses reduce their emissions over an eight-year period. His efforts earned him the EcoTourism Medal for services to tourism and the environment in 2010.
Having conducted carbon auditing for tourist accommodation for two decades it is clear that most businesses face a ‘green ceiling’, where low hanging fruit have been picked and they do not have the resources to progress. Yet they still have abundant opportunities to cut emissions if they approach the challenge from the perspective of conserving behaviours and a stronger guest centric experience design.
Academic study
In the same year he completed his MSc in Responsible Tourism Management at Leeds Beckett University under the guidance of Harold Goodwin and Xavier Font, where he conducted research on guest involvement in sustainability at tourist accommodation.
While managing their resort, Christopher and his partner explored various certifications, consultations, and technologies to reduce their accommodation’s carbon footprint. Yet, they realised something was missing—the people, the heart and soul of hospitality. By focusing on guest engagement and armed with a Ph.D. in sustainable hospitality innovation, Dr. Warren and his team transformed their venue into one of Australia’s first responsible tourism accommodations, earning two Australian Tourism Awards and a World Responsible Tourism Award.
The results from my PhD research conducted over 16 months with thousands of guests showed me that it is perfectly possible to engage guests to actively participate in saving resources. Not only that, but this also had an amazing effect on the staff…they love it and it greatly enhanced their sense of self-worth in the job they did.
Enabling the future of hospitality with WISE Sustainability
Christopher’s company now shares this transformative approach, guiding other accommodation providers on their sustainability journey.
Understanding that the path to sustainability isn’t always straightforward and that recommendations alone aren’t enough, they took a practical approach.
Their patented guest experience app earned UN recognition for its contribution to sustainable tourism, and the company received the Banksia Sustainability Award. WISE Sustainability has since expanded to offer a comprehensive suite of customisable services to support the diverse sustainability needs of hospitality businesses.
Christopher now focuses on sharing insights from his research and book, How to Create Sustainable Hospitality, at live events and webinars worldwide.
He emphasises the power of Responsible Technology: It allows us to turn the invisible into visible, actionable tasks and track progress. It’s an exciting time to offer a practical tool that demystifies sustainability.
And the Green Butlers
