November 16, 2016 – The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is pleased to announce that Control Union has achieved ‘GSTC-Accredited’ status. The awarded status affirms Control Union as a certification body that commits to certify sustainable tourism products and services at a high level of quality.
Businesses certified by Control Union, as an Accredited CB, can use the GSTC logo in accordance with GSTC licensing requirements. GSTC Accredited status is the most reliable and cost effective way to ensure confidence and credibility of sustainable tourism certification, and worldwide acceptance.
“The GSTC framework was created to provide opportunity for best-in-class certifying bodies to be identified as such. That creates opportunity for their certificate holders and their end-user clients to appreciate the sincere efforts to operate in a highly sustainable manner”, says GSTC CEO Randy Durband. “Control Union has stepped forward to develop a sustainable certification scheme and provided extensive evidence of the high quality of their process of certification.”
Control Union Certifications becomes the first Certifying Body (CB) to achieve GSTC Accredited status, which provides the highest level in terms of credibility within the GSTC Integrity Program framework.
“We are very excited to start this new certification programme.” says Control Union Managing Director Jan-Frans Bastiaanse. “Our core business as a certification body is sustainability and the challenges that hotels and tour operators face regarding sustainability are similar to those of our other clients. Also, we have vast experience in providing services to large scale multinational business which can be interesting for hotel chains. Finally, we can offer many other certification programmes that hotels and tour operators might be interested in.”
Control Union Certifications offers a global one-stop-shop for a wide range of certification programmes. Control Union Certifications presents a wide range of programmes in agriculture, food, feed, forest products, textiles and bio energy.
GSTC Accreditation is managed by Accreditation Services International (ASI). “We are very pleased to confirm CU’s accreditation for GSTC H&TOs.” says Phil Crocombe, GSTC program manager at ASI. “Over the last ten years CU has demonstrated its competence and integrity as an independent certifier for other schemes; we are pleased to see that CU has added a new standard to its portfolio of services.”
The completion of these step-wise programs rewards standard owners for their commitment to sustainability while offering the market benefit of proof that these national standards adhere to international norms.
The GSTC will continue to work with organizations around the world to provide GSTC Recognition, Approval & Accreditation of standards for sustainability in travel and tourism. GSTC-Recognized standard owners are encouraged to complete the Approved or Accreditation process in order to showcase excellence in their certification processes. Learn more about GSTC Accreditation.
About the GSTC
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is a global initiative dedicated to promoting sustainable tourism efforts around the world. The GSTC is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit that works to expand understanding of and access to sustainable tourism practices; helps identify and generate markets for sustainable tourism; and educates about and advocates for a set of universal principles, as defined by the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria. The Criteria, a set of voluntary principles that provide a framework for the sustainability of tourism businesses across the globe, is the cornerstone of our initiative. For more information, visit www.gstcouncil.org.
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About Control Union
Control Union Certifications offers a global one-stop-shop for a wide range of certification programmes. We understand the importance of impartiality and objectivity, and how to professionally manage conflicts of interest. From the beginning, sustainability has been the main focus of our certification services. Control Union Certifications presents a wide range of programmes in agriculture, food, feed, forest products, textiles and bio energy. From 2016, Control Union Certifications became the first Accredited CB for the GSTC Criteria for Hotels and Tour Operators. www.controlunion.com
