UK: Travalyst, the not-for-profit global coalition of some of the biggest brands in travel and technology, has revealed which sustainability certifications meet its new criteria.
In February Travalyst announced it would be creating the certification initiative in consultation with the GSTC to ensure alignment with industry standards.
At the time it told Sustainable Hotel News: “Travalyst maintains ongoing communication with industry organisations such as GSTC and WTTC to ensure alignment across the industry for initiatives like this one.”
The move came a month before Booking.com, a partner of Travalyst, dropped its Travel Sustainable programme, which was launched in 2021. The digital travel platform said it would introduce new labelling for properties, which have attained third-party sustainability certification.
The aim of Travalyst’s certification initiative, which is free and open to all sustainability certifications for accommodation providers globally, is to ensure certification bodies meet a set of criteria to enable industry alignment, “strengthen credibility and create consistency in which certifications are displayed on travel booking platforms.”
The criteria are designed “to establish an initial threshold that supports the certification industry to meet evolving regulatory requirements.”
Following an independent review of their processes, the certifications are compliant with three initial criteria developed by the Travalyst coalition and validated by its Independent Advisory Group: Travalyst accepts continuous applications from certifications as part of an iterative review process.
Sustainable certification bodies must meet the following criteria:
- Third-party audit that includes on-site and/or remote online assessment of sustainable practices reported by the property.
- Publicly available standards upon which the certification is based.
- Focuses on evaluating the impact of social and/or economic, and/or environmental factors, among others, as encompassed within, but not restricted, to the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
The initial list of the first 49 sustainable certifications, which meet with Travalyst’s criteria, includes: B Lab Global, Bioscore Sustainability, EarthCheck, Ecostars, EU Ecolabel, Green Tourism, Green Globe, Green Key Global, Preferred by Nature, Sustonica and WTTC Hotel Sustainability Basics.
Sally Davey, CEO of Travalyst said: “There are a huge number of certification bodies globally that focus on sustainability within the accommodation sector. We hear time and time again that this can be overwhelming and confusing, not only for people wanting to book a more sustainable stay, but also for accommodation providers and booking platforms. We’re working to make things simpler and easier to navigate.”
Davey added: “This list is the first milestone in a long-term commitment to enhancing the integrity of sustainability information for consumers and the industry at large, and we will continue to work with stakeholders to closely monitor the fast-evolving legislative landscape, and adapt our approach to certifications accordingly.”
You can see the full list here.
At its annual meeting in the south of France this year, which included a virtual roundtable discussion focused on communities, Travalyst looked at how to commit to sustainable and regenerative tourism. Read more below.
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