Greenwashing has shifted from cleverly deceptive marketing spin around environmental practices and ambiguous claims on the benefits of services and products, to violating consumer protection laws and misleading investors. Then SDGwashing and climate-washing emerged with vague and false claims on sustainable development, climate action achievements and Net Zero pledges.

Intentional or not, the consequences for engaging in these behaviors can be severe with fed up stakeholders, investors on high alert and brand reputation at stake.

Greenhushing or remaining silent is not an option. According to the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Brands and Politics, when a brand is under pressure to take a side on a controversial or political issue, 71% of respondents say the brand must take a position. And when a brand does not communicate its actions on societal issues, 51% believe the brand is doing nothing or hiding something. Brands need to communicate with immediacy, agility, cleverness and honesty NOW.

GREEN CLAIMS DIRECTIVE

To drive genuine sustainability efforts among businesses and to rebuild consumer trust, the EU Commission approved the Green Claims Directive (GCD) in January 2024, marking a crucial stride in fostering environmental accountability with rigorous verification standards and transparency measures. GCD obliges traders – companies and businesses of all sectors of activity –  worldwide that target the EU consumer to provide evidence proof about their environmental claims.

Detailed explanations on the scope of GCD, on clearer evidence-based claims, on prior verification and simplified procedure, on public environmental labels and on climate-related claims can be viewed HERE.

The GCD will apply to traders that make environmental claims or use environmental labels referring to their performance, services, or products in their business-to-consumer commercial practices.

WARNING TO THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

Strict EU regulations are impacting the hospitality industry. If you happen to be a hotelier operating a microenterprise,  small, medium or large hospitality business anywhere in the world and targeting the EU consumer, the GCD applies to your hotel with established timelines for compliance.  Microenterprises will have 14 more months than other businesses to comply with GCD rules.

Evidence proof is required for all oral and written messages around environmental claims in digital or print. This includes Mission and Vision Statements, Annual Reports, pledges on carbon reduction and mitigation (i.e. Net Zero pledges), F&B and spa menus (i.e. a farm-to-table offer, or a spa product claim on natural or organic, etc), in-room signage on water saving measures “to help conserve water and to help save the planet”, and more.

IMPORTANT: To ensure compliance with regulatory standards, it is imperative that hotels possess a certification scheme that has been verified by an independent certification body recognized by the authorities of EU Member states. Only by obtaining such certification can hotels legitimately make any environmental claims and communications.

REGULATING LABELS & CERTIFICATION SCHEMES & AUDITORS

The EU Commission only deliver directives and regulations and does not approve the certification schemes or accreditation bodies or independent auditors.

Examples of popular certification schemes and labels are EarthCheck, the International Organisation for Standards (ISO), Green Globe, Green Key, and Travelife.

The certification scheme must be approved by accreditation bodies per country, known as a Conformity Assessment Body (CAB). The audit and certification process must be accountable and transparent and only carried out by an independent, recognised and accredited CAB.

1. Sustainability Labels

The EU is regulating the use of sustainability labels given the massive confusion caused by their proliferation with different levels of credibility and their failure to use comparative data with independent audits. Under the new rules, only sustainability labels that are by officially accreditation bodies are allowed in the EU. Companies outside the EU that targets the EU consumer should also have a sustainability label by officially accreditation bodies allowed in the EU.

For example, the EU Ecolabel is compliant and recognised as a trustworthy, third-party certification of environmental excellence and provides a significant competitive advantage in the marketplace. It has also been integrated into the new Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, which serves as additional evidence of adherence to the Regulations’ eco-design requirements, reducing the burden on manufacturers.

2. Certification Schemes

A certification is a confirmation by a “Third-Party” that the requirements of national or international standards have been met.

A certification scheme is a third-party verification system that certifies a product’s compliance with specific requirements and an audit methodology for assessment.

– Certification schemes must be accredited and registered under an independent Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) or public authorities where the business is registered. 

– A CAB must be listed in the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) – Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MRA), an agreement that facilitates mutual recognition of accredited certification and validation/verification statements among IAF Accreditation Body (AB) Member signatories, and they are intended to reduce the costs of testing and certification. Essentially, it allows accredited certificates across national borders based on a single accreditation. VIEW how it works.

IMPORTANT: A significant conflict of interest arises when a certification scheme, which owns the criteria and label, simultaneously serves as the programme administrator, programme consultant, and Conformity Assessment Body.  This conflict pertains to the evaluation of results delivered by the hotel’s independent auditors.  This risk violating government certification rules. 

3. Independent Auditors

An independent auditor should complete the following requirements:

1. ISO Standard Lead Auditor Training to comply with ISO 19011 Management Systems Auditing

2. the course provided by the certification scheme to be audited

3. the course provided by the independent auditing company, i.e. Control Union

VITAL QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CERTIFICATION SCHEME PROVIDER NOW

Determine if your certification scheme is compliant with the requirements of the EU Commission.

I. Three questions a Hotelier should ask the Certification Scheme provider:

1. Is the certification body scheme officially accredited by an accreditation body in the place where the business is registered and originates?

–  If the answer is yes, ask which one?

– If the answer is ‘GSTC Recognised’, it only means that the criteria are aligned with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). The certification programme is not accredited since the GSTC has no jurisdiction over the certification process and is not an accreditation body recognized by the International Accreditation Forum.

If the certification scheme is international, it should be accredited by the accreditation body of the country where the certification programme originates. The accreditation body must be accredited according to ISO/IEC 17021-1 or ISO/IEC 17065 and must be listed by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF-ML). For example:

For a Certification Scheme originating in Australia, i.e. EarthCheck, the accrediting body is the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JASANZ).

For a Certification Scheme originating in Denmark, i.e. Green Key, the accrediting body is the Danish Accreditation Fund (DANAK).

For a Certification Scheme originating in the UK, i.e. Tavelife, the accrediting body is the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).

For a Certification Schemes originating in the USA, i.e. BCorp and Green Globe, the accrediting body is ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), or International Accreditation Service (IAS), International Organic Accreditation Service (IOAS), or United Accreditation Foundation (UAF).

– If the Certification Scheme does not conduct the audits or do not issue the certification, ask which certification body is the “Conformity Assessment Body” (CAB). This CAB must be accredited by a National Accreditation Body only and listed by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF-ML).

CAUTION: If the Certification Scheme does not answer any of these questions and do not have proof or evidence, your certification may be marked as not legitimate and raise doubts due to the lack of accreditation and transparency.

2. Who is conducting the audit?

– Ask your auditor if he/she is sent by the Certification Scheme provider. Check the Certification Scheme website to check if the auditor is listed.

– Ask your auditor if he/she is contractually appointed by a certification body (CAB) accredited by the authorities to audit “Management systems – Products & Services” according to ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 or ISO/IEC 17065:2012. Ask for evidence.

– Ask your auditor to prove with evidence that he/she has the competence requirements to provide audit services according to “ISO 19011 Management Systems Auditing” and that he/she has been appointed to an accredited CAB accredited by an Official National Accreditation Body.

CAUTION: The certification scheme provider should not be involved in the auditing and certification process. If the auditors are not appointed by an Accredited Certification Body (CAB), the audit is not legitimate due to the lack of accreditation and transparency, creating uncertainty about whether it is an independent third-party audit. Instead, the audit may be considered an internal audit or simply consultancy, but not “Certified.”

3. Are there any conflicts of interest between the Certification Scheme Advisors/Consultants and Auditors?

– The certification scheme provider should not be involved in the auditing and certification process.

– The certification process should only be carried out by an impartial and independent third party accredited by the authorities.

– The body issuing the certification should only be the Accredited Certification Body (CAB) and not the certification scheme provider.

CAUTION: Under no circumstances should the consultant, consultancy firm, group of consultants or foundation provide consultancy and audit services simultaneously, nor act as a certification body. The advisor and auditor should not be working in the same company or umbrella of companies.

CAUTION: In the hotel industry, there are certification schemes with misleading methodologies and practices. Two or more freelancers who are independent (an entity without staff according to the Chamber of Commerce in their countries) but work under the same name, advisory group or foundation – one does the implementation and the other the audit – under one umbrella and acting as an unofficial or illegal certification body.

II. Three criteria to be fulfilled by Certification Schemes to be registered under a Conformity Assessment Body (CAB)?

1. The certification scheme must be science-backed and based on EN ISO 14024 Type 1 Ecolabeling Scheme standard. These schemes are exempt from additional verification if they are officially recognized in at least one EU member state and can be marketed across the entire EU without needing further verification.

2. The certification scheme must have an independent audit that is transparent, legitimate and conducted by an organization recognized as a CAB.  The CAB  must be entirely independent of the certification scheme.

3. The certification scheme must have an aggregated sustainability performance scoring or grading system.  Recognising how many years a company has been part of a certification scheme is permitted.

CAUTION: Regulations prohibit the use of certifications where individual point score “level ups” or aggregate scoring for their certification. An example is scoring whereby the more optional measures one takes, the higher the level that is achieved, i.e. 10 points gets a Bronze stamp, 20 points gets a Silver stamp, and 30 points gets a Gold stamp.

ARE THESE HOTEL’S CERTIFICATION SCHEME LEGIT?

To date, examples of popular certification schemes that are complying with the requirements of the EU Commission:

– EarthCheck (Australia) promotes itself as the world’s leading certification, consulting and advisory group for sustainable destinations and tourism organisations. EarthCheck owns the programme and criteria, and guides hotels in interpreting the criteria and how to use the reporting tool, without going into “consulting”.  A Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Master “stamp” is provided to EarthCheck Members to recognise how many years a company has been part of a certification scheme.

EarthCheck has already started the process of accreditation criteria via Raad voor Accreditatie (RvA) in the Netherlands to be accredited under European jurisdiction.  Achieving accreditation in Australia is underway with the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JASANZ).

EarthCheck has already signed up with Control Union for Europe as its CAB to ensure independence of the audit process and compliance. Control Union is accredited by RvA Holland under ISO17065.

– The International Organisation for Standards (ISO) is a non-governmental organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, that develops international standards and control frameworks that guide industry best practices. ISO does not perform audits, a task undertaken by various Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) worldwide that are accredited to demonstrate a company’s compliance with the requirements established by the ISO through an independent third-party audit.

As of the publishing of this article, examples of popular certification schemes that are not yet complying with the requirements of the EU Commission, considering the independence of certification process via an official Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) are:  

BCORP (USA) is a benefit corporation and promotes itself as a designation that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability and transparency, and measures a company’s entire social and environmental impact.  A company submits a B Impact Assessment online and eligibility for B Corp Certification is reviewed by a B Lab Global analyst. Recertification takes place every 3 years at the sole discretion of the Standards Advisory Council and B Lab’s Board of Directors.

GREEN GLOBE (USA) promotes itself as the world’s leading certification for sustainable operation and management of travel & tourism worldwide. Green Globe offers a 2-to-3 day Auditor & Consultant Accreditation Course for consulting firms or for individuals, and list them in their website.  Their role is to provide Green Globe clients with third-party independent audits, in addition to providing all tools needed to perform consulting services to implement the Green Globe Standard.

GREEN KEY (Denmark) promotes itself as an international sustainability certificate for tourism enterprises and promote its certificate as the leading standard for excellence in the field of environmental responsibility and sustainable operation within the tourism industry. It is managed by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), a non-profit, non-governmental organisation. The Green Key operator acts as both the program administrator and a certifying body. FEE offer a 3-to-4 hour Green Key Auditor Certification course designed for third-party auditors, and upon completion, auditors are allowed to conduct on-site audits.

TRAVELIFE (UK) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA).  It promotes itself as a global accommodation sustainability certification body that is respected for being impartial and robust and its Travelife Sustainability System as having achieved ‘GSTC Recognised’ status for its Hotels and Accommodations Standard requirements. Travelife Member Support Team allocate an auditor to hotel properties for an on-site audit, submits a report to Travelife for their Certifications Team to check, then certifies the hotel.

BEING CERTIFIED DOES NOT MEAN A HOTEL IS LAWFULLY CERTIFIED 

CAUTION: IF the certification is not issued by an official certification body, the hotel that receive this certification can be considered dubious, making false claims about its level of sustainability and misleading consumers.

Certification schemes that do not comply with the requirements of the European Commission considering the independence of the certification process via an official CAB, also do not comply with the EU Green Claims Directive because:

– they do not have the oversight required under the new system and laws

– the companies performing the audits do not have the correct level of accreditation.

– they are not audited by any official body to verify the integrity and quality of the audits (which is what a CAB would do), or to verify that there is no conflict of interest (when consultants also work as auditors for the certification scheme

– they do not comply with ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 (Management Systems) or ISO/IEC 17065:2012 (Certifying products and services)

– the auditors trained by the certification scheme have not yet completed the qualifying courses and are not yet appointed to any accredited certification body that proves the competence of the auditors and ensure the quality and credibility of their audit.

MESSAGE FROM NOW

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NOW Sustainability Reporting Tool will transparently communicate your sustainability and decarbonisation performance, to inform and engage stakeholder support, and to avoid accusations of greenwashing.

View WHATLEY MANOR, the first hotel in the UK to do beyond Net Zero (January 2024) with accountability and transparency.