GSTC highlights emerging trends in hotel sustainability certification

Friday, January 12, 2024

Roi Ariel from GSTC discusses the transformative impact of the growing number of certification bodies on the meetings industry. The MICE sector has witnessed a surge in certification bodies dedicated to endorsing hotels as sustainable, including notable entities like Bureau Veritas, Vireo Srl, and Control Union, boasting over 200 certification programs.

These bodies align themselves with GSTC accreditation, ensuring compliance with its criteria. GSTC, a non-governmental organization established in 2007 with UNEP and UNWTO support, sets criteria and indicators for sustainable tourism in hotels, establishing a baseline for industry-wide understanding and aspirations.

The Hotel Criteria revolve around sustainability planning, fostering local community benefits, preserving cultural heritage, and mitigating environmental impacts. GSTC’s General Manager, Roi Ariel, sheds light on the evolving landscape of sustainable venue certification in a Q&A with M&C Asia.

Ariel notes a trend where certification bodies experienced in other sustainability standards are witnessing heightened demand for sustainable tourism certification, particularly in hospitality. This surge presents a business opportunity, prompting certification bodies to seek GSTC Accreditation, a process lasting up to two years contingent on quality and readiness.

In regions with pronounced certification demand, such as Turkey, mandating sustainability certification for all accommodations by 2030, or Singapore, with a 2025 target for certified hotels under the Singapore Hotel Sustainability Roadmap, certification prices tend to decrease due to economies of scale.

The proliferation of certification bodies, however, poses challenges. The abundance of choices can lead to a dilution of quality for businesses, emphasizing the importance of accreditation. Accreditation acts as a quality marker, signifying that a certification body adheres to international norms of transparency, impartiality, and competence. GSTC scrutinizes the certification process to ensure merit-based and neutral certifications, addressing liability concerns associated with non-accredited bodies known to lack impartiality.

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