Global industry leaders hail ‘milestone’ in hotel sustainability

The World Travel & Tourism Council’s Hotel Sustainability Basics programme is to become an independent third-party certification scheme which will align with new EU requirements on environmental claims and meet Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) accreditation standards.

 

Hotel Sustainability Basics was launched in 2023, following a pilot programme in 2022, to “raise the floor of sustainability in the sector”.

 

A three-year programme, it provides 12 sustainability indicators “that all hotels should implement” and requires eight be implanted by the end of the first year and all 12 by the third.

 

The indicators relate to energy and water efficiency, waste reduction, emissions, support for local communities and protection of nature.

 

Adherence until now has been backed by online verification developed by certification bodies SGS and Green Key.

 

The programme has been adopted by more than 8,000 hotels across 85 countries so far.

 

The WTTC hailed today’s announcement in London, at an event to mark London Climate Action Week, as “an important step” for the industry which would strengthen transparency and the credibility around sustainability claims “at a time of increasing regulatory scrutiny”. 

 

It said the certification programme had been developed in response to the EU’s Directive on Empowering Consumers for Green Transition 2024, which introduced stricter requirements for environmental claims. 

 

Hotels already participating in Hotel Sustainability Basics will receive support from the WTTC and its verification partners, including SGS, as the programme transitions to independent certification.

 

The WTTC said third-party certification of alignment with the GSTC Accreditation Framework meant the programme will provide “a robust and internationally recognised approach to sustainability assurance”.

 

The Council will also introduce a second stage of the programme later this year – ‘Basics Plus’, developed with and endorsed by the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance (WSHA). 

 

GSTC chief executive Randy Durband hailed GSTC accreditation of WTTC’s Hotel Sustainability Basics as “a milestone”, saying: “This marks an important moment for the hospitality industry, strengthening alignment around credible and consistent approaches to hotel sustainability."

 

WTTC president and chief executive Gloria Guevara said: “Hotel Sustainability Basics has demonstrated sustainability can be practical, achievable and scalable. 

 

“By strengthening the programme through independent certification, we’re giving hotels a globally recognised framework that reflects evolving regulatory expectations while building greater trust and confidence in sustainability claims.”

 

The WTTC noted the development “sends a strong message of industry alignment on hotel sustainability expectations”.

Announcing the launch of Basics in 2023, the WTTC’s then senior vice-president for advocacy and lead on sustainability Virginia Messina said: “We need to help smaller businesses and bring everyone to the same level or we’ll never progress.

 

“We need a starting point, something basic but with science behind it, that is solid and robust enough to create an impact.”

 

The WTTC confirmed a second phase of the programme was in development with the support of the GSTC and World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance (WSHA) in 2024.

 

Chris Imbsen, WTTC senior vice president for advocacy and research, told Travel Weekly at the time: “Some key interactions now are coming from destinations saying, ‘This is what we’ve been looking for.

 

“A few destinations have changed their systems to incorporate the Basics criteria as their national criteria.”