Green Globe
Conference in Pretoria

Green Globe Summits are held throughout the year in key destinations to provide insight to the latest development in sustainability certification, provide training and education to auditors and discuss local issues confronting businesses and the communities they work in.
Based in Los Angeles, California and with partners in Mexico, South America, South Africa, Middle East, the Caribbean and Europe, Green Globe Certification provides certification for the sustainable operations and management of travel and tourism companies and their related supplier businesses.
Green Globe Certification operates under a worldwide ten year license from Green Globe Limited, the owner of the Green Globe brand worldwide.
By the end of 1994, 19 travel industry associations had endorsed the program and through joint marketing strategies, promoted Green Globe to their members.

Green Globe Members commit to managing and operating their business and organizations to the highest level of sustainability. The Green Globe International Standard for Sustainable Tourism has been developed over two decades in collaboration with the travel and tourism industry, communities in tourism destinations and other stakeholders. Green Globe members are committed to benchmarking and managing the use of energy and water with the aim of reducing the use of these resources as well as promoting reuse and recycling of materials. Green Globe members promote diversity and inclusiveness in their work force, while respecting local cultures and ensuring equitable relations and rewards for all. Green Globe members invests in protecting the culture and heritage of their host destination. Green Globe members always act in accordance with local law and respect and promote global compacts promoting equality, health, welfare and human rights and prohibiting child exploitation. These fundamental achievements are managed through an sustainability plan targeting over 300 activities that are carried out at all levels of the company. Green Globe provides certification, training & education, and marketing services in 83 countries worldwide. The Green Globe Standard is based on internationally accepted criteria developed during the 15 years of the Green Globe program. Green Globe is active in harmonizing with other established sustainability certification programs around the world. Green Globe Summits are held throughout the year in key destinations to provide insight to the latest development in sustainability certification, provide training and education to auditors and discuss local issues confronting businesses and the communities they work in. The Green Globe program traces its roots back to the United Nations Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992, where 182 heads of state from around the world endorsed the Agenda 21 principles of sustainable development. Pioneering tourism operators concerned about the effect their operations had on the environment and how best to measure that impact, were often categorized into special interest tourism. Green Globe was developed to provide a way forward for tourism organizations who were interested in measuring their environmental impact and then developing and implementing strategies to reduce those impacts. Following the Summit and after 2 years of additional development, a Green Globe membership program was established. Green Globe’s environmental program played an important role at World Travel Market and helped World Travel Market organize the exhibition’s first Environmental Awareness Day. Under the WTTC umbrella and together with the International Hotel & Restaurant Association, Green Globe’s certification and destination management program was highlighted at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, which took place in New York in April Green Globe also became a separate and autonomous organization from the World Travel & Tourism Council in The 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg provided the structure for Green Globe to assist businesses in achieving the desired outcomes for sustainable tourism. The program was also developed to comply with the Mohonk Agreement, which summarized the guidelines for an international sustainable tourism certification program. Green Globe Accreditation was established in 2002 to maintain quality of assessment services offered through accredited certification bodies, including SGS (worldwide), AJA (worldwide) Groupa Mendez (Mexico) and GT Certification (South America). Leeds Bradford International Airport was the first airport to achieve Green Globe certification and Le Roche Hotel Management School in Bluche, Switzerland became the first educational establishment to achieve Green Globe certification. Under the combined leadership of Green Globe, Ltd. and Green Globe International, programs have been expanded to include additional worldwide certification programs, Green Globe branded tools for carbon calculation and offset, and a broa