Why Slovenia’s sleeping beauty capital enjoys fresh and local

Local supply chains now feed the green heart of Slovenia’s lovely Ljubljana

Ljubljana has always had great potential to become one of the most beautiful, green, inclusive and sustainable capitals of Europe. There was always the opportunity to create a city that both residents and visitors would truly enjoy. But it took a while to achieve this vision – and some dedicated work to make sure that both local people and visitors enjoy the benefits of a real local experience.

A great deal of local commitment went into unveiling the inner beauty of this grey, socialist city and successfully turned it into a green, urban, modern destination that has brought Ljubljana many titles in recent years, the most important one being the title of European Green Capital 2016. To achieve this goal, the municipality of Ljubljana and its departments, including the Ljubljana Tourism Board, have implemented numerous innovative measures.

As capital of Slovenia, a tiny country with 2 million inhabitants in the heart of Europe, Ljubljana is now picture-perfect warm and friendly. The city has a population of approximately 280.000, making if one of the smallest European capitals and very easily accessible. Naturally the most visited part is the historic well-preserved atmospheric city centre, which stretches along the Ljubljanica River overlooked by the soaring medieval castle – with stalls and shops and a thriving café-culture it is a delightful walk.

One of the actions taken by Ljubljana Tourism in its sustainable and responsible tourism development include a local supply chain to make sure that everyone in the heart of the city enjoy local produce. The project is called "Green Supply Chains" and it was launched in 2015 as one of key tourism-related activities of the city of Ljubljana in preparation for assuming the title of European Green Capital 2016. The aim of the project was to increase the percentage of locally produced food and drinks in the hotels and restaurants in Ljubljana and its surroundings.

The project was undertaken by Ljubljana Tourism – the City of Ljubljana’s tourism organization.

A study among Ljubljana hoteliers and restaurants was conducted to identify the main obstacles tourism businesses were facing in purchasing locally produced goods. The results showed that price & complexity were the decisive factors. The Green Supply Chains project addressed these problems by developing an innovative solution: hotels and restaurants in Ljubljana and Central Slovenia can now purchase 100 % locally produced foods and drinks via a uniquely managed, centralized and simple-to-use on-line system. Although Ljubljana Tourism initiated this innovative project, it did not implement it alone. In cooperation with the municipal department of rural development and external sustainability consultants, a decision was made to involve a rural development cooperative to act as a linkage between tourism businesses and local farmers.

Today farmers, hotels and restaurants that want to participate in the project sign a formal contract with the cooperative obliging to either delivering or purchasing locally produced goods. Current seasonal offers are available on-line at prices negotiated by the cooperative on behalf of its members. Orders are submitted on-line and goods are delivered to their doorsteps.

Through this project, the city of Ljubljana has innovatively linked the tourism sector and regional agriculture to bolster sustainable economic growth and create new opportunities.

The mission of the Green Supply Chains project is in-line with Ljubljana’s mission: the main intention of the project is to positively affect the living standard of local farmers and create conditions for their long-term operations whereby the quality (and quantity) of (local) food in hotels and restaurants will increase. The project will result in an increased satisfaction of visitors and eventually bring them back to the city and/or turn them into destination’s advocates.

Results are regularly monitored. Ljubljana Tourism is proud to say that at the start of the project, the cooperative did not work with any farmers from the city of Ljubljana. Today, 11 Ljubljana farms are involved in the project, along with 17 farms from the Central Slovenia – 28 in total. 15 restaurants and hotels have so far signed the contract and bought goods via the platform, purchasing in total over 18 tons of local produce.

Results also extend beyond the project. Green Supply Chains have managed to raise awareness among tourism businesses about the importance of serving local food and drinks even in urban destinations, such as Ljubljana. The project is used by the Slovenia Green Consortium as a best case to follow in other destinations that have set the same goal of increasing the % of locally produced goods.

The Green Supply Chains was recognized also as one of the case studies for the "Sustainable Tourism for Development" and it is included in the UN World Tourism Organization Discussion Paper.

More information on Slovenia HERE

Ljubljana is one of the Top100 Sustainable Destinations 2017.