Green Tourism moves from award tiers to a single, independently audited certification

Green Tourism, which has certified tourism and hospitality businesses since 1997, has launched the latest version of its standard, Green Tourism Certified, with one level in place of its bronze, silver and gold awards. It comes as an EU directive requires sustainability labels shown to EU consumers to be backed by independent, third party checks.

The Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition (ECGT) Directive has applied since 27 September. It covers any business marketing to EU guests, including UK operators selling through booking platforms or EU facing websites. Booking platforms, including Booking.com, use Travalyst’s list of schemes that have self-declared compliance with the directive when deciding which certifications to display, and Green Tourism Certified is on that list.

Andrea Nicholas, director of Green Tourism Certified, said: ‘Bronze, silver and gold were a great way to help businesses take their first steps and keep improving. Now guests are leading the conversation, and they simply want to know if a business is certified. This latest version of Green Tourism is a natural evolution of what we have always stood for: information guests, booking platforms and regulators can trust.’

The latest version also sets out clearly who does what. Green Tourism Certified owns the standard and publishes the rules, including how auditors are appointed and how certification decisions are reached. Audits and decisions are carried out by Green Business UK, which has audited the scheme since 2002. Green Tourism Advisors support businesses working towards certification and take no part in audits.

Existing members don’t need to act now. They keep their current award until their next renewal, when they move to Green Tourism Certified. An advisor will contact each business about six months beforehand, and every member will have moved to Green Tourism Certified by March 2028.

Businesses joining or renewing work through ten environmental, social and governance modules, typically over a 12 week guided programme with an advisor, before an independent audit. Membership includes Carbon Tracker, which measures Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, covering a business’s supply chain as well as its own operations. From 1 November, it also includes the cost of the audit.

Green Tourism also gives certified businesses guidance on what they can say. Certification confirms a business meets the standard but doesn’t, on its own, support wider claims such as ‘eco friendly’ or ‘carbon neutral’. Carbon neutral claims based on offsetting are now prohibited in the EU, and UK businesses must also meet the Competition and Markets Authority’s Green Claims Code.