|
|
|
You can get e-magazine links on WhatsApp. Click here
|
|
|
|
|
|
Growing trend towards sustainable certification
|
|
Saturday, 01 September, 2018, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
|
|
Rachit Kumar
|
With an increase in the number of international tourists, travel & tourism sector has been significantly contributing to global as well as individual regional economies. It’s been a boon to the economy of several regions and smaller countries.
As a result, rapid development in hotels and tourist enterprises is characterised by several classification systems and specialisations to meet worldly demands of the respective tourist groups. Such classification systems have been used for several years in hospitality sector as marketing techniques to enhance custom and creditability.
Today, quality classification has become an integral part in the hospitality sector that intensifies the need for labels and certifications.
As environmental movement is gaining increasing popularity, people have remarkably changed their preferences and take actions to extend their share of support to the concept of environmental sustainability. It has also become a highly important factor to consider in cases of the tourist infrastructures that are located around fragile ecosystems, which may potentially cause degradation of the environment.
Apart from quality classification and marketing aspects, hotels and tourist enterprises incorporate certifications and labels to enhance the sustainability development, as they play an important role in sustainable management of travel & tourism sector.
Non-Sustainable Orgns
Certification process in hospitality sector is gaining utmost importance as it has become a paramount factor to differentiate sustainable and non-sustainable organisations. Today, a range of certifications are available which are awarded after screening or certification process where hotels are required to meet standards and policies related to a specific benchmark.
Several developed countries also dedicate eco-labels and environmental awards to comprehend sustainable products, services, and establishments. Additionally, tourists or consumers have become more aware about green practices and expect the same from the respective sector. In the recent times, a growing trend towards sustainable certification has played a vital role in shaping the hotel and accommodation units.
A chunk of ‘eco-conscious’ travellers has been rapidly emerging since the recent past that exclusively supports eco-labelled or certified travel agencies and services.
In “Protecting Paradise: Certification Programs for Sustainable Tourism and Ecotourism,” certification is defined as a voluntary procedure that conducts audits for ground-truth purposes and provides a written assurance stating a facility, product, process, or service meet the desired set of standards. On meeting or exceeding the baseline standards, certification bodies award a marketable logo to concerned enterprises.
In the hospitality sector, the certification may vary in region, application, complexity, price, and more. Some of the areas covered in approving certifications are energy, waste, water, heritage and biodiversity conservation, community engagement, architecture and design, human resources practices, and more.
The Certification Eco-label certification of the hospitality sector, especially hotels, usually comprises of four steps -
1. A detailed form is filled by hotels mentioning the provided facilities and operating procedures.
2. An independent auditing team or the certification body conducts a site visit for direct observation, findings, and recommendations for further action.
3. Depending on this visit or the outcome of the audit, a hotel is straight-out certified or generally given a time period to put the recommended actions in place.
4. Lastly, certification is awarded to hotels after the verification of the necessary actions by the certification body.
For several certification schemes, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) has developed a set of criteria to provide a baseline standard. Some of these criteria that a tourism operator should follow are - Planning a reliable and effective sustainability strategy; Enhancing cultural heritage; Increasing social and economic benefits for the local community; Decreasing negative impact to the environment.
After the fulfilment of GSTC requirements, hotels and tourist enterprises are authorised to display the designated GSTC Logo. Over the years, the certification process has not only resulted into several market advantages for a large number of hotels over their competitors but also improved their business impact on the environment.
The Critical Role of Process
Most of the sustainable certification programmes of hospitality sector follow baseline standard for areas related to water use reduction, waste management, and energy management. Hotels are incorporating several amenities and products that will make them unique and stand out from their competitors.
Owing to growing awareness about environmental issues across numerous sectors, sustainable certification has become an important tool in the marketing aspects of the hospitality sector.
Certification process helps in identifying the social and environmental impact of the hospitality sector. It offers several ways to improve the internal management process of a hotel or other tourists’ accommodation. During the certification process, a hotel is provided with grace period to meet the criteria provided in the baseline standard of the certification bodies.
As a result, there is a constant shift towards the use of sustainable as well as cost-saving technologies or practices. In addition, it becomes more appealing to the environmentally-conscious travellers or customers, and thereby enhance the sales of their services.
Certification in hospitality sector provides a competitive advantage through adoption and implementation of comprehensive sustainability programmes. Such programmes are not only designed for their environmental impact but also for improving customers’ experiences and increasing their perceive level of the hotel.
GSTC-Accredited Bodies
To be able to certify hotels as sustainable, certification bodies need to go through GSTC accreditation. Processes and procedures of certification bodies and schemes need to meet GSTC and other international standards of competency and transparency. Some of the approved certification bodies are Control Union Certifications; EarthCheck; Ecotourism Australia; Rainforest Alliance.
Many other certification schemes recognised by GSTC at a global level include Green Globe, Green Growth 2050, Travelife Sustainability System, Green Key, Green Key Global, and Green Tourism Active.
Recently, Control Union announced a partnership with Green Globe for travel & tourism sectors. This collaboration aims to function together strategically to audit and certify sustainable operations of hotels and many other sectors, and represent various organisations with enhanced social, economic, environmental, and cultural commitments.
Processes in Foodservice
The foodservice industry has always been an integral part of the hospitality sector that includes hotels, bars, restaurants, and related businesses. One of the primary requirements in this section is food licence followed by health or trade licence, environmental clearance, insurances, and even licence for playing music or video in some regions.
With rapid urbanisation in smaller developing countries, there have been significant changes in lifestyles and food preferences. The concept of sustainability has far penetrated even in the foodservice industry.
Restaurants as well as the customers are targeting the use of sustainable ingredients that promote healthier eating practices, in addition to emphasising the environmental impact.
Emerging certification bodies for restaurants such as ‘Slow Food Snail of Approval’ focusses on local, organic, and sustainable ingredients for all types of eaters. Additionally, ‘Green Restaurant Certification’ include recycling programmes advocating less energy consumption and optimum water usage.
In developed countries such as the US, the ‘Animal Welfare Approved’ certification is gaining increasing momentum – ensuring that the meat, dairy, and poultry products used in restaurants come from animals that lived happy lives or are humanely-raised, and are fed livestock in family farms.
The main objective of such certification processes is to raise concerns about high animal welfare and environmental farming. Grazin’ is the first restaurant in the US to be fully certified by Animal Welfare Approved programme. Furthermore, the ingredients come from farms within an 11-mile radius that aids in minimising the carbon footprint and promote healthy environment.
Nutritional content and food safety will continue to remain the predominant concerns in this section of the hospitality sector. SPE certification, Gluten-Free Food Service, and Heart-Check Meal Certification are some of the schemes that highlight lower calories, saturated fats, trans-fats, sodium, and cholesterol.
(The author is senior consultant, food & beverages at Future Market Insights. He can be contacted at this rachit@futuremarketinsights.com)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|