Tourism certifiers join forces preparing for the EU Green Claims Directive

Green Destinations ’ President Albert Salman recently joined a meeting of the world's leading travel & tourism certification organisations held in Copenhagen. This meeting was pivotal in responding to the rapidly growing demand for robust, credible sustainability certifications driven by both consumer preferences and emerging legislative frameworks. The following core themes were discussed:

• A unified response to the upcoming EU Green Claims Directive.
• Enhancement of existing sustainable tourism certification standards and practices.
• Strengthening cooperation across certification bodies ensuring a harmonised approach to sustainable tourism globally.

The meeting cohort included the leadership of Biosphere Tourism (by Instituto de Turismo Responsable ); Blue Flag (by Foundation for Environmental Education ); Green Key (also by FEE); Ecotourism Australia ; Good Travel Seal (by Green Destinations ); Green Globe Certification , Green Key Global ; TourCert ; Travelife for Accommodation ; and Travelife for Tour Operators .

For over three decades, these leading certification organisations have been responsible for developing internationally accepted sustainability criteria, constituting the industry-recognised standard for sustainable tourism. Collectively these organisations have certified more than 19,000 of the world’s leading travel and tourism enterprises, organisations, and destinations.

The meeting tackled the pressing needs of the travel and tourism industry around sustainability certifications, with key outcomes focusing on:

• A reaffirmed commitment to developing and maintaining high-integrity certification processes that are transparent and based on independent verification.
• An agreement to work collectively towards satisfying the stringent requirements of new consumer protection laws.
• A strategic plan for continuous improvement of sustainable performance standards applicable across different geographies and market segments.

"The Copenhagen meeting represents a significant milestone for the travel and tourism sector” says Albert Salman . “As global promoters of sustainable practices in tourism, it is our responsibility to ensure that our certification services remain both rigorous and relevant in a world in which more than 40% of tourism sustainability claims are false and misleading. We are proud to lead by example, demonstrating that together, we can forge a future where tourism respects and actively enhances global sustainability."

About the Good Travel Seal

Green Destinations offers solutions for businesses designed to evaluate and certify the sustainability efforts of tourism businesses and Destination Management Organisations. These solutions include the Good Travel Scan, a free self-assessment, as well as the Good Travel Seal, which provides 3rd-party audited certification at three progressive levels aligned with the SDGs. Level 1 targets micro and small businesses with initial sustainability steps, including self-assessment, technical reviews, and expert interviews leading to a certification and scorecard. Level 2 caters to SMEs with some sustainability experience, requiring reporting against 76 criteria and an audit ensuring at least 75% compliance for certification. Level 3 is for advanced businesses, demanding reporting against 89 criteria and rigorous audits to confirm compliance and award certification, continuing the support for enhanced sustainability efforts at each stage.

?? More information: https://www.greendestinations.org/good-travel-seal/

About Green Destinations

Green Destinations is a Netherlands-based organisation working on the assessment, capacity building and certification of destinations and businesses committed to sustainable tourism. Green Destinations leads a global partnership of over 75 partners and representatives, consisting of sustainable tourism experts, consultancies and non-profit organisations. To date, 600 destinations and 400 businesses from over 60 countries have participated in one of our programmes. The Green Destinations Certification is globally accredited by GSTC.

?? Visit us: https://www.greendestinations.org/

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For more insights into our certification programs or to join our global network, please contact us at [email protected] . We are dedicated to empowering destinations and businesses to achieve their sustainability goals through our comprehensive suite of frameworks, tools, and resources.