Ecotourism Certifications

Certifications  What is certification?  History…

Certifications vs. Accreditation Certification vs. Accreditation Third party assurance Authoritative body verifies competence of certifiers

Certification Programs (a) FIRST PARTY  Self- assessment SECOND PARTY  A purchaser or industry THIRD PARTY  Neutral, independent party

Certification Programs (b) PROCESS  No universal standards: cannot compare across businesses  Logo given for setting up process, not for achieving fixed goals  Environmental Management Systems (EMS): ISO PERFORMANCE  Tangible criteria that permit comparisons among certified businesses  Measure achievement and results, not intent  Can include check list intelligible to both business and consumers  More transparent

Who certifies businesses?  Multi-government agency models, specifically the European Union (EU)  Individual countries models (Australia)  Independent non-government groups models, either profit or non-profit (Rainforest Alliance)

Certifications Why should an ecotourism related business HAVE one (i.e., what are the benefits)?

Leading Organizations  TIES  Rainforest Alliance  World Wildlife Fund  Conservation International  World Heritage Alliance  Conventional of Biological Diversity Global Sustainable Tourism CouncilCouncil Global Sustainable Tourism CriteriaCriteria

LEED Certification  Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) = green building rating system  Developed by U.S. Green Building CouncilCouncil  501(c)(3) nonprofit  “cost-efficient and energy-saving green building”  LEED rating system & Certification processsystemprocess  Projects Projects

SF and Bay Area Certification  Bay Area Green Business Program  -standards/ -standards/  SF Green Business 