The Sustainability Removal Test
Most “sustainable tourism” can stop being sustainable tomorrow without the business collapsing.
That’s the problem.
Solar panels on a hotel? Remove them, switch to grid power, hotel keeps operating. Local sourcing percentage? Drop it when costs squeeze, business continues. Carbon offsets? Cancel the program, operations unchanged.
These are additions to business models. Valuable additions, but additions nonetheless.
I’ve spent 19 years testing a different question without even realizing it: What if sustainability wasn’t something you do, but the only way you can survive?
I call this the Sustainability Removal Test: Can your sustainability practice be removed without causing immediate business failure?
If yes… it’s performative (can degrade over time)
If no… it’s existential (structurally permanent)
Example: At CDV We refuse all commissions from partners. Zero. If we started accepting them, our partners would lose trust, our authentic recommendations would become suspect, our premium pricing would collapse, and our business would fail within a year…. no question!
We’re not virtuous. We’re structurally trapped into doing the right thing.
That’s the point.
How would your business model score on the Sustainability Removal Test?
