Jane Scaletta, CIS, DMCP
President Dolfin Destinations
Sustainability Ambassador SITE Sustainability Committee
For developing tools and best practices for sustainability and sharing her passion for reducing waste and the industry’s carbon footprint
Making Change
As a member of the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence’s Sustainability Committee and president-elect of the SITE Florida & Caribbean Chapter, it has been my focus to bring sustainability to the hearts and minds of all our members. I was introduced to creating a roadmap to sustainability in the spring of 2018 through a company called Positive Impact. The SITE Foundation provided a grant to Positive Impact to support the creation of a sustainability charter for SITE. Once I learned how valuable this roadmap was for our chapter, I became passionate about sharing it with other chapters. With my chapter’s past president, Maura Zhang, and current president, Ben Savauge, we have taken our roadmap to the next step and added a system called the SMPP (sustainable meeting planning process) to designated events throughout the year. As the sustainability champion for our chapter, it is my role to make sure we conduct sustainable events and track them so we improve year after year. The industry leaves a large carbon footprint when we put on an event, from flying to the destination, airport/hotel transfers, food waste, and use of plastics and paper. Where will our world be in the future if we do not take care of it now?
What’s Next?
Supplier partners and planners are definitely improving their sustainable practices. However, the knowledge gap is large. I have trained SITE chapters in Mexico, Canada, Texas, and Chicago in the roadmap process and facilitated the creation of a roadmap for the Florida & Caribbean Chapter. However, there are still industry professionals who have not heard about the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals and are not aware of how to get started with sustainability.
Managing Change
It’s important to realize that just one small sustainable action is a good start. To host a sustainable event does not mean that you have to do everything at once. The key is to improve upon each event and move towards a completely sustainable event in time.
Best Business Advice
Whatever you are doing, strive to do it right the first time. Place yourself in your customers’ shoes and solve their problems.
Thinking Differently
I do not believe in the word “no.” I will find a way to make it happen. It might not be the way I thought it would happen, but it will happen.
What Advice Do You Give?
Many of my peers reach out to me to learn about destinations and my connections there. I have been very fortunate to travel to many countries: I was born in Jamaica; I went to boarding school in England; I moved to the United States as a teenager, and I lived in the Cayman Islands for almost 10 years. When I was younger, I was in the incentive travel business as a planner and had the opportunity to travel all over the world.
When Do You Ask for Advice?
I reach out to my peers to stay challenged, to continually learn, and to be open to any suggestions for improvement. I try to learn something from every person I meet.
Got a Spare Hour?
I love to drive my Porsche Boxster on a winding Florida country road. It’s a beautiful thing when the sky is blue, the sun is warm, the wind is in your hair, and you feel fearless in your car.
