Sustainability certification: pursue or avoid? 😵‍💫

Is sustainability certification worth it, or just more paperwork? 😵‍💫

In this week’s episode of Sustainable Today, Successful Tomorrow, we dive into one of the most debated topics in sustainable tourism: certification. 

✅ Is it a stamp of approval that boosts credibility? 
🚫 Or is it just an expensive checkbox that discourages creativity?

We explore the real benefits and drawbacks of getting certified: from third-party validation and internal alignment to missed marketing potential and a lack of global standards. 🌍 

We also touch on the upcoming Green Claims Directive, and how it will change the sustainability certification altogether.  

If you’re unsure whether to pursue or avoid certification, or how to use it as more than a logo on your website, this episode is for you. 🎧

Want to learn more about pursuing or avoiding certification? Read our article on: 📚
https://goodtourisminstitute.com/library/sustainability-certification/

Chapters

• 0:00 The debate on sustainability certification
• 1:23 Latest news in sustainable tourism
• 4:17 Understanding sustainability certification
• 5:49 Benefits of sustainability certification
• 12:45 Downsides of sustainability certification
• 17:08 Marketing benefits of sustainability certification
• 18:56 The EU’s Green Claims Directive
• 22:32 Sustainability certification: pursue or avoid?

Transcript

Anne: [00:00:00] I really hate that part about certification because sustainability should be full of opportunities. Like how can you develop better, community experiences or how can you offer travelers a better experience with locals? It's about, thinking about the opportunities. 

Rik: Welcome back to Sustainable. Today's Successful Tomorrow, where we explore real world sustainable tourism stories that actually work. Today we're diving into a topic that's caused quite some discussion The last time we posted about it on LinkedIn, and this is sustainable certification.

Rik: As a first reaction Anne, what do you think for travel businesses should they pursue or avoid sustainability certification?

Anne: If I have to give one answer, I would say pursue. But I know there are a lot of mixed feelings regarding certification, and this is mainly because it's seen as a positive [00:01:00] thing, like a stamp of approval of that you are a sustainable travel business. But at the same time, the value is not always clear to travel businesses.

Anne: There's this greenwashing concern because some companies use it as a marketing tool. And also there is a lack of a standardization. So there are too many certification schemes, but one answer, pursue absolutely, 

Rik: ,but mixed feelings, 

Anne: mixed feelings. 

Rik: Okay, so before we go in further, I'd like to start with sharing some news, which is, that we refer to this, booking.com sustainability report of 2024 in our first episode.

Rik: Yep. And last week I discovered that they recently released the 2025 version, which has a lot of insights. I think they, interviewed more than 30,000 people from, I don't know, 30 countries, which is interesting. I'd like to start off by reading a quote from the report and let's see what we think about it.

Rik: Okay. [00:02:00] For the first time, more than half of travelers, 53%, are now aware of the impact tourism has, not just on the environment, but also on local communities and nearly three quarters want the money they spend to go back to those communities. That's encouraging. 

Anne: Very encouraging. And I think also what's interesting here is the change of narrative or the change of language.

Anne: Mm-hmm. Because like in earlier research, and also you can see that from other, larger research companies that they focus on how much the travelers care about sustainability or are they interested or would they book a sustainable trip? And you can see that they're now really. Focus on what's the impact on local communities, how do they like to spend their money?

Anne: So it's becoming very specific and this is definitely something that we want to see in communicating sustainability. 

Rik: So good news, but still lots of work to do. 

Anne: Lots of work to do, yeah. 

Rik: How about you? Do you have any news to share from this past week? 

Anne: so I'm [00:03:00] looking into the Bali news a little bit more like Indonesia region. And actually Bali has announced a ban on plastic water bottles, like distribution and production of water bottles under one liter.

Anne: And I think this is a really good movement, plastic issue is, quite big on Bali and also. I kind of contributed to it a few times, like over the last few weeks because I really like drinking water. People don't believe me when I say it, but I like drinking water also, when we go out for dinner and quite a lot of restaurants just serve me a small plastic bottle of water.

Anne: I 

Rik: noticed you stopped ordering them. 

Anne: Yeah. But because of the plastic. 

Rik: Let's say it's a good start banning them under one liter. But I feel most people have these water dispensers, which is convenient and it's good to drink safe water, but there's more problems, where plastic is concerned.

Rik: What I noticed on Bali specifically is that they don't have any public bins. 

Anne: [00:04:00] No. Not enough, at least. 

Rik: For example, if you walk close to the beach, there's no bins at all, which could be a really good improvement. But we have to start somewhere, right? 

Anne: We have to start somewhere.

Anne: But I think like banning, the water bottles under a liter is at least trying to like, reduce that part.

Rik: Let's dive into the sustainability certification. Yes. I think most of our listeners are familiar with sustainability certification in tourism, and it seems like, an easy thing to do. But could you walk us through the basics, like what areas does it concern and what is it exactly? 

Anne: So basically, certification is in voluntary, third party verification of your sustainability practices. So there is a set of criteria, a standard, that has specific criteria on, environmental issues, social issues, and economic, issue or factors. And if you comply with the mandatory ones, you'll be awarded, certification. I think most [00:05:00] of the people that I work with know that I also work for TraveLife for tour operators, which is quite a large scheme for, tour operators in sustainability. So I'm right in the middle. I don't coach companies myself, but I coach and coordinate all the local coaches.

Anne: But yeah, I'm right in the middle of the action so I know exactly what the benefits are or the downsides or yeah, what companies are struggling with 

Rik: and you know, what's going on. 

Rik: I know exactly what's going on. At first sight it does seem a bit like a no-brainer.

Anne: Yeah, like what I said, like it has, it's a stamp of approval. So if you want to prove you are a sustainable tour operator, it makes sense to pursue certification and just say like, Hey, I have the certification. I'm verified as a sustainable tour operator. 

Rik: And you mentioned the benefits. Could you highlight some of them?

Anne: I would say the main benefit of certification is that it's a clear framework, for tour operator travel businesses to get into, sustainability. So you have this set of [00:06:00] criteria, and by working through them, you'll automatically and systematically, improve your business in a sustainable way.

Anne: It's also a great benchmarking tool, so it will help you with ongoing improvement and monitoring. So over the years, the more criteria you comply with, the more sustainable you are. 

Rik: And I think you've mentioned it a few times to me already. They always include like an action plan, right? 

Anne: Yeah, exactly.

Anne: Yeah. So the action plan is mandatory, to really prove that you are thinking about how to improve yourself, over the next years. 

Rik: Because you can't start at a hundred percent. 

Anne: No, and also like even companies that are on it for, a few years already, might not even make it to the a hundred percent because it also depends on, the location, you're offering tours to, or, the type of business that you're running.

Anne: But the goal is to be, more sustainable every time you renew your reserve. Yeah, as 

Rik: sustainable as possible for the position that you are in at the moment. 

Anne: Exactly. Yeah. So it's a personal benchmarking as well, [00:07:00] for your own company. 

Rik: Yeah. 

Anne: At the same time, certification offers the benefit of being, visible to consumers.

Anne: So you can say okay, to consumers, I'm a sustainable tour operator, and, this is what that means. And then by using the certification logo on your website or your communication, consumers or travelers can recognize, saying that, okay, this is an actual sustainable travel business . 

Rik: Definitely. It's a bit of a marketing tool.

Anne: Yeah. 

Rik: We'll dive into that later because there's a bit more to be said on that. But it's interesting that they can at least use it for consumers as well. 

Anne: Yeah, no, definitely it's, I think it's has two faces. So it's a benchmarking tool, it's structure, it sets the standard for the tourism of industry in general.

Anne: It adds credibility like both for B2B, but also B2C. So the consumer visibility and yeah, that you've been verified by third party. 

Rik: And what do you feel is the most important benefit? 

Anne: I think this kind of depends on what kind of travel business you [00:08:00] are. So I would say the biggest benefit for companies that are starting out with sustainability would be that it has a very clear framework.

Anne: So starting out with sustainability, you just simply follow all the steps and just take into account that it will take a bit longer, for you to actually achieve the certification. But if you're there, you have a very solid basis, a foundation of what it is to be sustainable. For companies that are experienced in sustainability and that want to, use it for visibility and credibility. That's definitely the biggest advantage. Because you can say, I've been verified by a third party, so it's not just me saying I'm sustainable, but this certification scheme, says I'm doing that as well. 

Rik: The third party verification is an important part.

Rik: Yeah. And that's something that, if you received an audit, you get these improvement points as well, right? 

Anne: Yeah. So after every audit, you get an audit report including, improvement points for your next audit. And [00:09:00] this is also the benchmarking, monitoring, and ongoing improvement. So it's really focused on how can you do better next time and yeah, it shouldn't, stop there. 

Rik: Of course. Yeah. And you mentioned you've been working with lots of travel businesses. Can you give some real world examples where they've really experienced the benefits? 

Anne: Yeah, absolutely. When preparing for this, episode, I looked into, our preparation work for ITB Berlin, where Travelife did a award ceremony where we asked all certified companies to provide, some answer on what they thought the biggest benefit was of their certification or what were their, lessons learned while working on the certification.

Anne: And one, answer that quite stood out to me was, that there was this company that's actually Travelife certified already, they did it quite fast. And they said we have such a deeper understanding of what sustainability means. And they also said there was a whole part of criteria, regarding customer communication, and product [00:10:00] development that they were not really aware of. So they discovered new things, about sustainability while going through the certification, which I thought was quite interesting. 

Rik: Yeah. I understand there might be quite a lot of things you don't necessarily think about right away when it comes to sustainability.

Anne: Yeah. And that's the whole point of sustainability. We've said it before. It's such a complex topic that you can't cover or grasp everything in one go. So it will take a while to get used to it or to fully understand, and also to fully know how you can implement it in your own business.

Anne: Because knowing what you can do is easy. Actually doing it is the harder part. And also there was one company, which I think is also very related to what we're doing in terms of communication. Is they said like the certification really helped to get all their, staff members on board. Because they now really realize, okay, like we have to step up our game and get all our employees involved in how we do [00:11:00] sustainability.

Anne: Because during the audit, like all the employees or at least part of the employees is also interviewed. Because you wants to know are they in it for real? Are they aware? And they said that. Of the certification, like their team members now understand how to also implement sustainability in their daily practices.

Anne: And then not only product development, but also in the customer service. So where they can now answer questions about the sustainability or kind of steer, booking behavior. So I think that's a very, a very relevant, benefit. 

Rik: I believe it's an important part, to integrate it into your business and that it's not only management who's thinking about it and, make top down decisions.

Rik: Yeah. It should be like an integrated part of your business. 

Anne: Yeah. But it happens more often than you think. That is just only management. So I think a big part of certification is to really get your staff on board. 

Rik: Do you think it would help if you have a specific person that's, responsible for sustainability within the company?

Anne: That depends on the size. But I would [00:12:00] say if you have more than. 10 employees. Yes, absolutely. But also there it should still be connected to management and it should also still be connected to the rest of the, employees in the departments. Because you need, as sustainability coordinator, you need the marketing team.

Anne: You need product development, you need, customer service. You need management to approve these, new operations or decisions. So it should always be a team effort, but having one person designated to. Yeah, to coordinate. Yeah, definitely. 

Rik: Depending on your size, it can exist like on the side of course, but you need that person to talk to marketing, talk to product development, absolutely.

Rik: And be part of the decision making. 

Anne: Yeah, absolutely. So maybe less than 10, 

Rik: maybe less. And of course, these are the positives, but there's downsides as well. 

Anne: Yeah, and I think this is where the mixed feelings come from. And one downside is definitely that it has a limited scope. And of course it also depends on which certification [00:13:00] scheme you're choosing.

Anne: You can't review every aspect of sustainability a travel business is doing. Because if you would want to check every single aspect, you need like a thousand criteria. Mm-hmm. So for example, travel Life Certified has about 250, but still there is like this, gray area that you're not checking.

Anne: And of course you're trying to take it into account, but. There's a limited scope , there's so much you can check in a certification scheme. 

Rik: Not everything is mandatory as well, right? 

Anne: No. I'm not sure to what extent that's the same case for other certification schemes, but, part of it's optional. But we're always encouraging companies to still work on that and to comply with it and to add it to their action plan, to make sure they can work on it, in their renewal, period.

Rik: Yeah, exactly. 

Anne: Another downside is definitely, that it discourages innovation. And this also has to do with the limited scope there are companies that feel, okay, I have achieved, this certification, I'm sustainable now, and they feel that it's like the [00:14:00] highest achievable they can get.

Anne: But then as I said, there's this whole part beyond certification when it comes to sustainability. They're not really thinking about that innovating part. 

Rik: No. It's kind of limiting creativity. I think they feel like we can just get certified, get things done. Absolutely. And as soon as we're certified, we're done. We're sustainable. 

Anne: Yeah. And I think that's. I really hate that part about certification because sustainability should be full of opportunities. Like how can you develop better, community experiences or how can you offer travelers a better experience with locals? Like it's about, thinking about the opportunities and also using it to stand out as a travel business because also if all your competitors have the same certification.

Anne: It's not enough. You need your products to be better. You need to stand out in the market. 

Rik: Any more downsides? 

Anne: Yeah. So one complaint that we sometimes receive is that it's a high, money and high time investment. 

Rik: Money is always an issue, right? 

Anne: Money is always an [00:15:00] issue, but also the time like completing a certification report takes a lot of time. Like what you said, if you are a sustainability coordinator and you have to go talk to marketing, to product development, collect all the information, maybe make some changes, and then you have to write all of that down. You have to work on the feedback from your coach. Yeah, it's a high time investment.

Anne: And then that's also money, of course. So that's definitely an issue. And then also what I already mentioned, the lack of standardization is that there are simply too many schemes. It's hard for on the one hand travelers to recognize which scheme is actually, reliable.

Anne: Yeah. But the same goes for travel businesses. Which scheme do you choose and how do you know it's going to give you the benefits that they promise? 

Rik: What tip would you give travel businesses, tour operators to pick their scheme? 

Anne: I would say go for the schemes that are, reliable and also well known in the industry.

Anne: So for example, look at the GCC accredited [00:16:00] schemes, but also the ones that, yeah, focus on third party, verification, for example, Travellife or Ecotourism Australia. You also have country specific certification schemes. There are a lot of options and I think it really depends on what type of business you are, and, in what region you're most active.

Rik: I guess it's a downside as well that you don't really know which one to pick. Should you pick an international scheme? Should you pick a regional scheme? And then there's still so much to choose from. 

Anne: There's a lot to choose from. Yeah. And I think, squeezing into the green claims directive already is that this is exactly what the Green Claims directive is going to do.

Anne: So they're going to really limit the number of certification schemes. which is very much needed. 

Rik: Lots of them are going to be cut probably, 

Anne: probably. And also the largest certification schemes are already thinking about this. Because some of them have to change a little bit, like how they work in their operations or how they do external audits, for [00:17:00] example.

Anne: So they're already looking at how can we also as a certification scheme comply with the future regulations of the eu. 

Rik: So before we go any further into the green claims directive, can you give us a real world example of one of the downsides that you've mentioned? 

Anne: It's actually not a downside I already mentioned, but I think, one of the downside is the actual marketing benefits a certification has.

Anne: And even though, it looks like a benefit, like you can prove you're sustainable, but. When consumers don't understand what certification means, and this is the downside, it won't actually give you the marketing benefits that you're looking for. There's just a lack of awareness regarding, consumer interests and how much consumers and travelers understand about certification.

Rik: I think you've mentioned before that you received a complaint about that, right? 

Anne: Yeah, so this was a company that achieved certification, published the award and logo on their website, and then came back to us [00:18:00] complaining that he didn't receive any, more bookings, because of his certification.

Rik: Yeah. 

Anne: And I had to go in and tell him, saying that. Okay, so you have the certification, which is great, but it won't give you any marketing benefit if you don't share the entire story, if it's not connected to your, sustainable marketing strategy. You need to explain why did you go for the certification, what does it mean?

Anne: What criteria do you comply with, and also what's in it for the traveler that you are certified. 

Rik: Again, it's coming back to, you've achieved certification, you're not done. This is where sustainable marketing starts because you Exactly, you've done all the hard work, but now how are you going to communicate that?

Anne: Yeah. In 

Rik: a way that's still appealing to travelers. 

Anne: Exactly. How are you going to make sure that travelers care about your certification, about your sustainability stories. Yeah, so it's not really a downside, but it's more something you have to be aware of. 

Rik: And talking about marketing, we need to address something new [00:19:00] that's coming in probably in 2026, which is the green claims directive.

Rik: We've touched base on this, sorry, a bit before, but it's an important part and it's going to change the way people communicate about sustainability in general, but also in the tourism industry. 

Anne: Yeah. It's forcing them to change their communication. 

Rik: Can you explain in short what it is and what it'll do?

Anne: Yes, absolutely. So the Green Claims Directive is an initiative from the EU European Union to protect travelers and travel businesses, against greenwashing. So they really want to make sure that when something like a travel experience or a holiday is sold as sustainable. Is actually sustainable.

Anne: Yeah. 

Rik: We see a lot of that, right? 

Anne: Yeah. So the whole point of, the green claims directive is to make sure that we're really banning all these, travel businesses that say they're sustainable. We're not actually in it. For real or [00:20:00] not, fully operating in a sustainable way or when they have a very limited focus of sustainability. For example, there are quite some examples of travel businesses saying they're sustainable when they only compensate at a carbon footprint. But then again, we know there is a lot more to being a sustainable travel business. So the green claims directive is really focusing on banning, false, vague and deceiving claims.

Rik: Yeah. 

Anne: And instead focused on transparent and truthful communication, supported by data and or certification. 

Rik: A lot of businesses are afraid for the upcoming regulations, but I also feel like it could level out the playing field. 

Anne: Yes, absolutely. I think like it's a scary thing because like we don't really know what the exact regulations are going to be.

Anne: The EU has announced what they planned to do. But also there's quite some uncertainty or how it can actually be implemented [00:21:00] successfully. But what we do know is that what I said, like they're looking to ban vague, false and deceiving claims. And I think this is a really good thing because like it creates again, a fair competition.

Anne: If you are a sustainable travel business and you, work very hard to have sustainable product. You do the right thing, you communicate about it in a truthful way, and your competitor doesn't really do anything, but they share the same stories, like where is the fair competition and how can you make sure by playing against, like by following your rules, basically, how can you stand out?

Anne: So I think it's really good that there are some regulations about that. And also I think, by doing it right and by communicating in a way that EU approves, you're really enhancing your own credibility. Because then it really is. I'm saying I'm sustainable and the EU agrees with that. Yeah. Or at least [00:22:00] certification scheme that's approved by the eu.

Anne: I 

Rik: think businesses could look at it more as an opportunity instead of a threat. 

Anne: Yeah, absolutely. And I think it's like a change is scary. You might have to change your communication. You have to think twice before you share a story. You have to really go back to okay, is this claim.

Anne: Is this going to be approved. And I think it's really good to, yeah, to start looking at your communication and to, see it as an opportunity, to stand out and do better. Absolutely, definitely. 

Rik: And given all this, the benefits, the downsides, the green claims directive, could you give a definitive answer to the question, should travel businesses pursue or avoid certification?

Anne: Yes, I will stay with my first answer, which is: pursue. But then again, I really like to say like it's a cherry on top. So I really see certification as something that is your award or your reward for [00:23:00] doing, sustainability really well. So focus on having sustainability implemented successfully.

Anne: Make sure your products are sustainable, that your offer runs in a sustainable way, that your employees are aware of sustainability, that they know what's going on, how to put in impact practice, and then use this certification to enhance your credibility and to use it in your sustainable marketing.

Rik: Is it something you would start right away with or do you need a baseline in sustainability to get started? 

Anne: You can definitely get started right away, but you just have to take into account that it will take a lot longer.

Anne: Because like you can use it, with a framework. You can use it in a way to say, okay, I'm not sustainable yet, but I'm going through the certification. I'm going to go through step by step, and implement sustainability in my business. Benefit from the framework, benefit from the guidance you're receiving.

Anne: And then the cherry on top will be the end, and reward. But for, [00:24:00] companies that are genuine who have implemented sustainability. It's a way of improving their practices. There might be criteria you have not thought about. So try and do better. But also don't let yourself limit, to sustainability certification.

Anne: So be creative. But yeah, definitely pursue for the cherry on top. 

Rik: So to summarize, whether you're just starting out or already in sustainable business for a while, certification can definitely add something to your business. Absolutely. Any final tips for businesses who want to get started?

Anne: I think what I said is most important to, select a scheme that is seen as reliable. So either GSTC certified or a scheme that's working to comply with the EU regulations and to start there. So focus on the reliable scheme and just get started and think about the end goal. And don't go in it just [00:25:00] for marketing purposes.

Rik: You need to be genuine. If you are not genuinely working on sustainability, stay away from certification, please. 

Anne: Absolutely. And also, and that's the thing, this is also why the eu, wants to regulate which certification schemes exist, is to also do this. In the end, if the eu, green claims directive has a certain, amount of certification schemes they approve, means that any business certified by one of those certification schemes, is in it for real.

Anne: So it will be a lot harder for companies to greenwash with certifications that are, not really fake, but have very low standards, so yeah, definitely a good thing. 

Rik: And if certification is a step too far for you right now, you can start by reading our article on pursuing or avoiding certification. We'll link that in the description. 

Anne: Yes, absolutely.

Anne: Okay. So thank you for listening, and we would also love to hear from you, certification, pursue or avoid. [00:26:00] Let us know what you think and also why you think that. Thank you for listening, and we hope to see you at the next episode. Bye.