Green Tourism Business Scheme

1. Take the GreenCheck™ Quiz: Visit green-tourism.com and complete the free 10-minute readiness quiz to see how your business aligns with the People, Places, and Planet goals before committing to the full process.

1. Register and access the GreenCheck™ portal: Sign up as a member to gain access to the online portal, where you can review all 145 criteria across 15 sustainability goals at your own pace.

1. Review criteria and identify gaps: Work through each goal area — energy, water, waste, biodiversity, purchasing, travel, and social impact — to understand which actions you already have in place and where improvements are needed.

1. Implement sustainability actions: Put new practices in place to address gaps identified in step 3. Green Tourism's qualified sustainability advisors are available to provide expert guidance throughout this stage.

1. Record actions and upload evidence: Use the GreenCheck™ portal to document your sustainability actions and upload supporting evidence (photos, invoices, policies, meter readings, etc.) for each criterion.

1. Undergo assessment: A qualified Green Tourism assessor reviews your evidence, verifies conformity, scores each action, and calculates your overall percentage of achievement.

1. Receive your award: Businesses scoring 40%+ earn Bronze, 65%+ earn Silver, and 80%+ earn Gold. Your award and associated marketing materials are issued, and your business is listed in the Green Tourism member directory.

1. Maintain certification and improve: Use the portal to continue recording improvements between cycles. Reassessment is required at least every three years, and Green Tourism will contact you in advance to initiate the process.

The Green Tourism Business Scheme evaluates businesses across 15 Sustainability Goals organised under three overarching themes: People, Places, and Planet. Under each goal, specific criteria and actions are identified that are relevant to tourism and hospitality operations, with a total of approximately 145 criteria assessed.

Planet goals cover environmental performance areas including energy efficiency (renewable energy use, consumption monitoring, LED lighting), water management (metering, reduction measures, leak detection), waste management (reduction, recycling, composting), purchasing and supply chain (local and sustainable sourcing, single-use plastic reduction), biodiversity and land management (habitat creation, wildlife-friendly practices), and carbon footprint reduction (transport, offsetting, carbon literacy).

Places goals assess how businesses engage with and benefit their local community and environment, including support for local suppliers and producers, promotion of local culture and heritage, engagement with the surrounding natural environment, and contributions to the local economy.

People goals examine social responsibility practices, including staff wellbeing and training, accessibility and inclusion, community engagement, customer communication about sustainability, and health and safety practices.

Each action is individually scored by a qualified assessor, and the scores are aggregated into an overall percentage. Businesses must achieve 40% or more for Bronze, 65%+ for Silver, and 80%+ for Gold. The framework is designed to be proportionate — criteria and actions are tailored to be relevant and appropriate for the specific type and size of the business being assessed.

The Green Tourism Business Scheme is the longest-established and most widely recognised sustainability certification for the tourism and hospitality sector in the UK and Ireland, having operated for over 25 years since its founding in 1997. With more than 2,800 certified members across 30 countries, it holds a dominant position in the UK market and is endorsed by major national tourism bodies including VisitBritain, VisitScotland, Visit Wales, Tourism Ireland, and Fáilte Ireland. This institutional backing gives it a level of credibility and market recognition that newer or more generic certifications struggle to match in this region.

Globally, the sustainable tourism certification landscape is competitive, with programmes such as EarthCheck, Travelife, and the Rainforest Alliance's sustainable tourism certification also vying for market share — particularly in international and outbound tour operator markets. However, GTBS's deep integration with UK and Irish national tourism infrastructure, its sector-specific criteria, and its accessible tiered structure give it a strong competitive moat domestically. The scheme has also expanded internationally, with members in over 30 countries, though its brand recognition outside the UK and Ireland is more limited.

Demand for sustainability certification in tourism is growing, driven by increasing consumer preference for eco-conscious travel, the rise of ESG reporting requirements for corporate travel programmes, and growing pressure from online travel agencies (OTAs) like Booking.com and Expedia to surface certified sustainable properties. The UK government's net zero commitments and the tourism sector's own sustainability targets further reinforce the relevance of programmes like GTBS. For UK and Irish hospitality businesses, GTBS certification is increasingly seen as a baseline expectation rather than a differentiator at the premium end of the market.

The Green Tourism Business Scheme was established in 1997 in Scotland, making it one of the world's earliest national sustainability certification programmes for the tourism and hospitality sector. It was developed in response to growing awareness of the environmental impact of tourism and the need for a practical, accessible framework that small and medium-sized hospitality businesses could realistically adopt. The scheme was initially developed with support from VisitScotland and quickly gained endorsement from national tourism agencies across the UK and Ireland, establishing it as the de facto standard for sustainable tourism certification in the region.

Over its 25+ year history, GTBS has evolved significantly — expanding from its Scottish origins to cover the whole of the UK and Ireland, and subsequently growing to members in over 30 countries. The programme has updated its criteria multiple times to reflect advances in sustainability practice, incorporating emerging areas such as carbon footprint reduction, biodiversity, and ESG reporting. The introduction of the GreenCheck™ online portal modernised the evidence collection and assessment process, making it more accessible for businesses of all sizes. The scheme is now operated by Green Business UK Ltd and has received recognition from UN Tourism (formerly UNWTO) as a quality-assured sustainable tourism certification programme.