Approximately two and one-half years ago, in the fall of 2008, the Partnership for Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria, a coalition of 27 organizations representing the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, released the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC Criteria). The GSTC Criteria were developed as part of an initiative led by the Rainforest Alliance, the United Nations Environment Program, the United Nations Foundation, and the United Nations World Tourism Organization. The GSTC Criteria are comprised of 37 voluntary standards in four categories: Sustainable Management, Social/Economic, Cultural Heritage, and Environment (click here for details).
The GSTC Criteria were developed to offer a common framework to guide the emerging practice of sustainable tourism and to help businesses, consumers, governments, non-governmental organizations and educational institutions to ensure that tourism helps, rather than harms, local communities and the environment. Today, the GSTC Criteria are managed by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). The Council is the result of a 2009 merger of the Partnership for Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria and the Sustainable Tourism Stewardship Council.
At the time of their creation, there was a lot of buzz about the GSTC Criteria but excitement seemed to wane as there was no concerted effort to communicate their progress. The truth is that the Council did not have anyone charged with communicating its news and that is one of the main reasons for the silence. The Council had actually been making significant progress with GSTC Criteria adoption, even before its new communications director, Janice Lichtenwaldt, was brought on full time; more than 170 cities have adopted the GSTC Criteria. That said, in the membership-based Council, there is still just one lodging company that is a member: Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. (The American Hotel & Lodging Association is also a member.)
Criteria Currently Being Updated
I spoke with Janice Lichtenwald this past week to get an update on not only the GSTC Criteria but also the other activities of the Council. First of all, Lichtenwaldt told me the GSTC Criteria are in the process of being relaunched. The revised GSTC Criteria are being rewritten by the GSTC International Standards Working Group. The GSTC Criteria will be released for public comment in the next 30 to 45 days. Also, Lichtenwaldt says the Council is in discussion with several major hotel chains regarding Council membership. She expects to have commitments by the end of June.
In addition to establishing Tourism Criteria, one of the other goals of the Council is to create an accreditation program for those organizations that certify lodging and other tourism-related establishments (Green Key, Green Seal, Green Globe, etc.). Lichtenwaldt says the pilot phase of that program has been completed. Several certifying organizations allowed their programs to be reviewed as part of the pilot. In the next few months, when the actual program is up and running, certifying organizations will be eligible for “GSTC Accreditation” and the use of a GSTC Accreditation seal. Eventually, Lichtenwaldt says, those properties that have been certified by a GSTC accredited organization could be visible as certified in global distribution systems around the world.
The Council also has education as its mission and its Education and Training Working Group is currently working to develop tools and resources to help tourism-related organizations transition to sustainable practices. “One goal is to create curricula for universities…webinars as well,” Lichtenwaldt told me. For destinations the Council is working on establishing baseline sustainability criteria.
It is exciting to see that the Council now has someone conveying news about all of the good things its working groups are accomplishing. I look forward to reporting more about the Council, its revised sustainable tourism criteria, its accreditation program for green lodging certifiers, and its other activities in the near future.
As always, I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
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