SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

1
Sustainable Tourism Stewardship Council An
Accreditation Body forSustainable Tourism
Certifiers

• First draft of proposals for consultation
• WES, Quebec, 19 May 2002

2
Presentation outline

• Overview of project
• Methodology
• Results
• Organisational Blueprint
• Accreditation criteria
• Marketing strategy
• Budget/finance aspects
• Questions and Answers

3
Introduction

• Stewardship councilsmulti-stakeholder fora that
  create market-based mechanisms to stimulate the
  production and consumption of certified
  sustainable products
• Accredit certifiers based on their performance
  help ensure that certification is being conducted
  in an objective and transparent manner
• License to perform certification based upon
  agreed principles and standards
• Certification entities can demonstrate their
  capacity to undertake certification-build
  credibility

4
Accreditation bodies

• Accreditation bodies internationally recognised
  brands that facilitate consumer choice, protect
  consumers, industry certifiers against false
  claims
• Help certifiers to develop schemes by being a
  forum to share industry expertise, setting
  benchmarks and encouraging a harmonization of
  policies, procedures, and standards
• Represent certification schemes at an
  international level and lobby on their behalf.
  Accreditation bodies help certified companies
  gain access to green funds, and attract political
  and financial support.

5
STSC

• Responds to market demand for international,
  comparable standards to identify and purchase
  sustainable holidays and to minimise false claims
• Over 100 certification programmes many
  underfunded not able to reach the international
  tourism market
• STSC one umbrella competitive advantage
• Catalyst for sustainable business to business
  business to consumer purchasing.

6
Data collection

• Identify extensive contacts database
• Series of workshops to gather primary data
• Series of in depth interviews
• General stakeholder questionnaire (email)
• Government questionnaire to all WTO members
  affiliates (support from WTO)
• TIES WES workshops
• Desk top reviews

7
Organisational blueprint

• Issues addressed include
• The role of governments and international
  agencies such as the United Nations in the
  establishment and operation of the STSC
• Where the STSC should be based, and on what scale
  (regional or global)
• The activities of the STSC once established
• The governance of the STSC once established
• The requirements of the STSC to operate in terms
  of staff, finance and so on
• The processes and procedures the STSC could use
  to accredit tourism certification programmes
• The varying strategies for involvement by tourism
  certification programmes

8
Recommendations

• Global organisation with regional partners where
  possible (VISIT, CST, Green Globe Asia
  Pacific/NEAP, FTT Africa so far)
• Governance Options
• Should be housed within a UN family
  organisation to reduce operating costs
• Could buy at Green Globe global company brand and
  set up independently market penetration of logo
• Could establish new organisation outright,
  preferably as a charity

9
Recommendations (2)

• Activities
• R D of criteria
• Assessment accreditation of existing
  certification programmes
• Advice and assistance to certification bodies
  (but no conflict of interest)
• Training of assessors etc
• Marketing, lobbying ect
• Board, supported by a Secretariat two technical
  committees
• Voluntary/honorary board technical committees
  with some funds

10
Recommendations (3)

• Staff
• Director
• Accreditation officer
• Certification officer
• Finance/admin officer
• Marketing communications officers (2)
• PA/support staff (2)
• Assessors

11
Accreditation criteria

• ISO 14024 - international standard for eco-labels
  combines criteria on the management of standards
  bodies issuing eco-labels with criteria on what
  the eco-label standards should include
• ISO Guide 61 - General requirements for
  assessment and accreditation of
  certification/registration bodies
• STSC will not have its own standard instead
  with accredit certification programmes that exist

12
Accreditation criteria (2)

• International sets exist
• Agenda 21
• WTO Global Code of Ethics
• CSD Tourism Guidelines
• Mohonk (sustainable tourism ecotourism)
• Recommend wider consultation on Mohonk to get
  stakeholder agreement
• Certification programmes to meet minimum criteria
  common in all accreditation, no special mention
  for better necessary

13
Marketing

• Identify the needs of different stakeholders
• Set objectives to satisfy those needs
• Propose positioning benefits to be used as the
  underlying message to influence behaviour in
  those stakeholders
• 9 different target markets and market-specific
  approaches
• Term marketing is also used to mean the promotion
  of STSC-accredited products and services to
  specific markets.

14
Generic strategy (1)

• Objectives
• To reach an agreement on sustainability standards
  for tourism internationally
• To reach an agreement on methods to verify
  standards
• To make the accreditation body financially
  feasible
• To make accreditation equitable and transparent
• To make accreditation appealing to the tourism
  industry

• STSC benefits
• Standards Sustainability standards are quality
  standards. Sustainable products are better
  products.
• Marketing Access to sustainable supply chains
  means increased business opportunities. Industry
  preferential treatment will lead to consumer
  choice.
• Education STSC shares and ensures good practice
  in tourism certification, improving sustainable
  accountability of businesses.

15
Generic strategy (2)

• Delivery of benefits
• International standards set through consensus
• Accreditation of certification to standards
• Marketing by promoting short term industry
  preference, and long term consumer preference
• Build capacity of certifiers, in regions with no
  certification and amongst certifiers requesting
  support.

• Actions
• Increase accommodation applications to certifiers
  through lobbying tour operators
• Start consumer marketing through national tourist
  board awareness campaigns
• Co-branding for B2B, flexibility on consumer
  branding
• Incentive governments to set national
  certification programs

16
Certifiers

• Objectives
• Accredit a core number of certification bodies in
  the first year of STSC operations
• Raise standards through sharing know-how
• Increase the number of applications for
  certification

• Actions
• Agree branding
• Joint marketing campaigns to tour operators
• Joint on-line searchable database

17
Governments

• Objectives
• Be instrumental in elaborating and implementing
  national certification programs

• Actions
• Brand awareness campaigns to tourists via Tourist
  Boards
• Incentives to industry achieving accredited
  certification
• Lobby for government owned accommodation to apply
  for accredited certification

18
Industry

• Objectives
• Increase industry take-up of accredited
  certification programs

• Actions
• Target global companies that make sustainability
  claims
• Lobby industry associations
• Research on the benefits of certification to
  industry

19
Tour operators

• Objectives
• Commitment and evidence of purchasing accredited
• Evidence of purchasing accredited

• Actions
• Introduction of sustainable tourism policies,
  giving preference to certified products
• Support tour operators in promoting accreditation
  amongst their suppliers
• Create buyers group
• Measure the use of accredited suppliers

20
NGOs and consumer associations

• Objectives
• Operationalise NGO and consumer association
  concerns through transparent mechanisms

• Actions
• Gain written support and endorsement from key
  NGOs and tourism generating countries consumer
  associations
• Fund research to assess the benefit of
  accreditation

21
Inter-governmental institutions and international
industry associations

• Objectives
• To secure endorsement at the highest level that
  levers support amongst other stakeholders

• Actions
• Endorsement of proposals
• Seek institution to host STSC secretariat

22
Donors and financial institutions

• Objectives
• To provide financial incentives to tourism
  businesses to be sustainable
• To give competitive advantage to funded projects
  meeting internationally agreed standards

• Actions
• Influence donors and financial institutions to
  include accredited certification as a deliverable
  in funded projects
• Use tourism accreditation to lever ethical
  investment

23
Accreditation industry

• Objectives
• Meet international accreditation standards

• Actions
• Peer review to maintain credibility of
  accreditation
• Piggyback marketing with non-tourism
  accreditation bodies

24
Tourists

• Objectives
• Purchase by default through distribution channels
  
• To influence long term behaviour

• Actions
• Develop a consumer-driven message

25
Feedback

• Use one of the three headings below, state
  reasons for position, in an open-ended and
  free-style format.
• Full support to the current proposals.
• Partial support to the proposals, subject to
  revision of certain issues..
• Opposition to the current proposals.

26
Send to

• All feedback must be sent by July 5th 2002 to be
  considered in the final proposals to
• Xavier Font
• Leeds Metropolitan University
• Calverley Street, Leeds LS1 3HE
• UNITED KINGDOM
• Fax [phone]
• X.Font_at_lmu.ac.uk