Sustainability certifications, standards and schemes

Travalyst does not charge a fee for the review process. Travalyst is a not-for-profit, and aims to align the industry behind clear, consistent and compliant sustainability data which is then shared at scale, for free, on platforms people already know and trust.

Travalyst is a not-for-profit coalition aiming to align the industry behind clear, consistent and compliant sustainability data. We are not a certification body or certification scheme owner.

Travalyst is reviewing sustainability certifications, standards and schemes against a set of criteria intended to support the certifications industry on its journey towards regulatory compliance, and drive consistency in the minimum threshold these entities meet.

Details of the review process are outlined in the ‘Ground Rules’ document, which is available on this page. This document is also shared with applying entities at the beginning of the review process. It has been validated by our Independent Advisory Group (IAG) and is an evolving document that will continue to develop with each iteration of the initiative.

Following successful review, applicant certifications, standards and schemes will be included in Travalyst’s list of entities compliant with its criteria. Travalyst makes its list of compliant entities publicly available for its partners and the wider industry to align behind.

If a certification, standard or scheme owner applies and is not compliant with the Travalyst criteria, they will be informed of missing requirements and are welcome to provide further documentation for review. There is no limit on the number of times an entity can re-apply, and there is no closing date for the initiative.

Participating in our certifications initiative may be an early step in a certification body’s sustainability journey, and we encourage them to seek further support and accreditation where appropriate.

Travalyst is not facilitating the onboarding process between entities compliant with its criteria, and travel booking platforms. Our partners reserve the right to display certifications, standards and schemes on their platforms at their own discretion. Some of our partners work with sustainability data management platforms to support their processing of data associated with sustainability initiatives, and therefore certifications, standards and schemes may be requested by our partners to liaise with these platforms directly.

As our criteria evolve, we will iteratively review all certifications, standards and schemes. This is so that we can continue to support the certifications industry on its journey towards regulatory compliance, and raise the minimum threshold these entities meet over time.

Third-party auditing refers to an evaluation process to assess compliance with specific standards or criteria. The independent reviewers for the initiative refer to ISO 14024:2018 which defines a third-party organisation as a person or body that is recognised as being independent of the parties involved.

A third-party audit supports the reliability and credibility of sustainability claims. Third-party auditing for the verification of sustainability claims is likely to become a requirement in EU legislation through the forthcoming Green Claims Directive, and our criteria are intended to support the certifications industry on its journey towards such regulatory compliance. We expect our criteria to become more robust with each iteration, in line with the evolving legislative landscape. 

In defining third party auditing in the first iteration of this initiative, we have used international standards, such as ISO 14024:2018, and industry best practices to guide us, which include in-person and online third party auditing.

We acknowledge the latter is not foolproof and our review process strives to address this by requesting that the applicants share additional details such as photographic evidence. We believe it is important for this initiative to remain as inclusive as possible from the very start; every property, however small, should be able to credibly demonstrate their sustainability practices to the industry and traveller. Achieving a critical mass of credible entities that are working towards the same goal is crucial. However we remain reasonably cautious to ensure we do not, inadvertently, legitimise inequity in the certifications industry.

We will continue to evolve the definition of third party auditing and requirements in line with impending regulation.

The EU Green Claims Directive is yet to be finalised, and is not expected to enter into force before 2026.

We are aware that the current iteration of Travalyst criteria will need to become more robust to meet all of the requirements likely to be set by incoming EU regulations, and we will continue to work with stakeholders to closely monitor developments and adapt our approach accordingly.

Our partners reserve the right to display certifications, standards and schemes at their own discretion. Travalyst is not facilitating the onboarding process between entities compliant with its criteria and its partners.

This is a voluntary initiative. Entities are required to apply to confirm their interest in being reviewed against the criteria and therefore added to our list. Travalyst will not add any entity to the list that hasn’t confirmed their interest. Please contact [email protected] for further information.

Entities that provide or own certifications, standards, or schemes related to sustainable accommodation practices can apply to be reviewed against our criteria. These entities aim to help hotels, resorts, short term rentals and other accommodations meet sustainability criteria and validate their efforts.

As a general guideline, if an entity offers services that meet criterion 1, and to a particular standard meeting criteria 2 and 3, then Travalyst considers them eligible to apply for review.

One entity may use more than one standard for accommodation if they have a broad portfolio (for example, ISO standards, GSTC standards, etc.).

If an entity is eligible to apply to have their certification, standard or scheme reviewed against our criteria, they can also contact our team at [email protected] to find out more information.