The Global Sustainable Tourism Council® (GSTC®) is pleased to announce that the ‘Weeva Sustainability Management Standard’ version 1, dated January 2024, has gained GSTC-Recognized Standard status, meaning it has been fully recognized as equivalent to the GSTC Industry Criteria.
Weeva is a SaaS platform that enables tourism businesses to adopt measurable and holistic sustainability practices to improve operational efficiency and build resilience, driving positive impact for people and the planet. Focused on 18 parameters across Conservation, Culture, Community, and Commerce, Weeva enables accommodation providers to monitor, manage, improve and report upon their sustainability using a comprehensive suite of digital tools, educational guides, analytics and reports.
The GSTC-Recognized status refers to the standard itself, indicating that a sustainable tourism standard has been reviewed by GSTC technical experts and the GSTC Assurance Panel and deemed the content of the standard equivalent to the GSTC Criteria for sustainable tourism. It shows that the set of standards is based on the four pillars of the GSTC Criteria: Sustainable Management, Socioeconomic, Cultural, and Environmental principles.
GSTC Recognition of Standards does not relate to the process of certification (which is a third-party assessment, through an audit, of a tourism enterprise for conformity to a standard). GSTC Recognition of Standards does not relate to accreditation (formal verification that a certification body operates in a competent and neutral manner according to international standards of how to properly certify, which is the highest level of assurance).
The stated scope of the standard is ‘Hotels and other accommodation providers’ with global geographical coverage. The GSTC Recognition is valid until either the standard or the GSTC Industry Criteria are changed.
“We’re so excited to have achieved this recognition from the GSTC. Our team of experts has worked tirelessly over many months to ensure that our sustainability management system, including all our supporting best-practice educational guides, tools and reporting for continuous improvement, meet the incredibly high standards and benchmarks set by the GSTC.” says Julie Cheetham, Managing Director and Co-founder of Weeva.
“We congratulate Weeva for embracing the Four Pillars of the GSTC Criteria, which entails adopting a holistic perspective on sustainability; going beyond just environmental factors, and including the deep impact on communities, a broad spectrum of social and cultural dimensions, and the development of effective management to ensure continual progress,” says Randy Durband, CEO of GSTC.
Currently, 15 destination standards, 20 tour operator standards, 44 hotel standards, and 5 systems have achieved GSTC-Recognized status. The status offers the market proof that these standards adhere to international norms. GSTC Recognition does not ensure that a certification process is reliable, only that the set of standards used to certify are equivalent to the GSTC Criteria. GSTC-Recognized standard owners are encouraged to follow and complete the accreditation process, which assures that the certification process used to apply the standard meets international best practices, transparency, and rigor. A list of GSTC-Accredited certification bodies is available here.
About the GSTC
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council® (GSTC®) establishes and manages global sustainable standards, known as the GSTC Criteria. There are two sets: Destination Criteria for public policy-makers and destination managers, and Industry Criteria for hotels and tour operators. These are the guiding principles and minimum requirements that any tourism business or destination should aspire to reach in order to protect and sustain the world’s natural and cultural resources, while ensuring tourism meets its potential as a tool for conservation and poverty alleviation.
The GSTC Criteria form the foundation for Accreditation of Certification Bodies that certify hotels/accommodations, tour operators, and destinations as having sustainable policies and practices in place. GSTC does not directly certify any products or services; but it accredits those that do. The GSTC is an independent and neutral USA-registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization that represents a diverse and global membership, including national and provincial governments, leading travel companies, hotels, tour operators, NGO’s, individuals and communities – all striving to achieve best practices in sustainable tourism.
Information for media and the press: https://staging.gstcouncil.org/about/for-the-press/
About Weeva
Weeva is a digital platform designed for tourism businesses to make managing sustainability simple. It enables tourism businesses to objectively and scientifically measure, track and improve their impact across 18 sustainability categories. The Weeva 360° Framework provides a balanced approach to assessing sustainability from all perspectives. The Framework is built on The 4Cs; Conservation, Commerce, Culture and Community. Within the 4Cs are Weeva’s parameters – 18 interconnected areas that need to be managed for a business to be sustainable and resilient.
More information here: https://weeva.earth/
