SUSTAIN-2 - A Sustainable Model for Tourism (F&B) is an international cooperation project that helps tourism businesses embrace sustainability through practical tools, digital innovation, and cross-border collaboration. Co-funded by the European Union under the Interreg NEXT Black Sea Basin Programme, the project responds to one of the most pressing challenges facing the tourism industry today: balancing economic growth with environmental responsibility and long-term resilience. While tourism continues to be a major driver of local economies across the Black Sea Region, many businesses—particularly small and micro-sized enterprises—still lack the knowledge, resources, and guidance needed to adopt sustainable practices effectively.

With a particular focus on the Food & Beverage (F&B) sector, SUSTAIN-2 supports businesses in reducing their environmental footprint while improving their overall competitiveness. The project combines artificial intelligence, ESG-oriented assessment methods, mentoring, training, and digital learning opportunities to make sustainability practical, accessible, and achievable for businesses of all sizes. Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all solution, SUSTAIN-2 encourages organisations to take gradual, measurable steps towards more responsible operations.

Implemented by six partner organisations from Greece, Moldova, Bulgaria, Türkiye and Ukraine, the project creates a strong network for exchanging knowledge, sharing good practices, and developing common solutions to regional challenges. By connecting public authorities, academia, business support organisations, and tourism professionals, SUSTAIN-2 contributes to building a more resilient, innovative, and sustainable tourism ecosystem across the Black Sea Region.

SUSTAIN-2 aims to support the transition towards a more sustainable and competitive tourism sector by providing businesses with practical solutions that are easy to understand, apply, and maintain. The project recognises that sustainability should not be seen as a complex obligation, but as an opportunity to improve business performance, reduce operational costs, strengthen customer trust, and contribute to the long-term development of local destinations.

To achieve this vision, the project promotes Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles throughout the tourism value chain, with particular attention to the Food & Beverage sector. Businesses are encouraged to adopt responsible practices in areas such as resource efficiency, waste reduction, environmental management, social responsibility, and sustainable governance. Through simplified assessment methods, AI-powered recommendations, mentoring, pilot implementations, stakeholder consultations, and awareness-raising activities, SUSTAIN-2 transforms sustainability into a practical journey rather than a theoretical concept.

Beyond supporting individual businesses, the project also strengthens cooperation between public institutions, researchers, local authorities, entrepreneurs, and civil society organisations. This collaborative approach encourages knowledge sharing, promotes innovation, and creates lasting partnerships across the Black Sea Region. Ultimately, SUSTAIN-2 seeks to leave a legacy of stronger local capacity, improved sustainability performance, and a tourism ecosystem that is better prepared to respond to future environmental, social, and economic challenges.

SUSTAIN-2 transforms sustainability into practical action by developing a set of innovative tools that help tourism businesses understand, implement, and continuously improve sustainable practices. Rather than offering isolated solutions, the project creates an integrated ecosystem where digital technologies, expert guidance, knowledge sharing, and self-assessment work together to support businesses throughout their sustainability journey. Each output has been designed to respond to the real needs of tourism stakeholders, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the Food & Beverage sector.

AIRES is an artificial intelligence-based recommendation system that analyses sustainability performance and generates tailored recommendations to optimise the use of energy, water, materials, and other valuable resources. By providing practical, data-driven insights, AIRES helps businesses improve efficiency while reducing their environmental impact.

EduConnect is a collaborative online platform that combines an Open Educational Resource with a Living Lab environment. It enables entrepreneurs, experts, researchers, students, and public authorities to exchange knowledge, access educational content, and collaborate on innovative sustainability solutions.

Sustainability Facilitators provide hands-on mentoring throughout the implementation process, supporting businesses in turning sustainability goals into practical actions and continuous improvements.

Complementing these tools, the ESG Assessment System offers a simple self-evaluation framework that helps businesses measure their environmental, social, and governance performance, identify opportunities for improvement, and monitor their progress over time. Together, these four outputs create a practical foundation for smarter, more resilient, and more sustainable tourism businesses.

The Interreg NEXT Black Sea Basin Programme is a European Union funding programme that promotes cross-border cooperation among countries in the Black Sea Region. By supporting joint initiatives between public institutions, research organisations, local authorities, and business support organisations, the programme encourages partners to work together on common regional challenges while creating shared opportunities for sustainable development, innovation, and economic growth. Its projects are built on the idea that cooperation across borders can deliver stronger and more lasting results than individual efforts alone.

For the 2021–2027 programming period, the programme focuses on building a smarter, greener, and more resilient Black Sea Region. It supports projects that strengthen the blue economy, encourage environmental sustainability, foster innovation, improve institutional capacity, and enhance cooperation between neighbouring countries. Through knowledge exchange and the development of practical solutions, Interreg NEXT helps transform regional challenges into opportunities for long-term prosperity.

SUSTAIN-2 contributes directly to this vision by promoting sustainable tourism and supporting the transition towards more responsible business practices in the Food & Beverage sector. By combining artificial intelligence, digital learning, ESG assessment, stakeholder engagement, and international collaboration, the project demonstrates how innovation and partnership can help create stronger businesses, more sustainable destinations, and a more competitive tourism ecosystem throughout the Black Sea Basin.