Seasons Greetings from Birte Pelayo, CEO Green Globe

As we leave 2023 and move into the New Year, my message as Green Globe CEO is one of collaboration and cooperation. For our industry and those of us at Green Globe, as well as our collaborators and competitors, we wish to explore and pursue what it is that unites us, and invest in those for everyone’s benefit. 

I personally, and on behalf of my Green Globe team, wish to thank all our members for their support in 2023. We are grateful for the trust you as leading travel and tourism businesses place in us - from the biggest hotels to the smallest of eco-lodges; congress centres to destination managers, and tourist attractions to cruise ships - we will continue to uphold the values that underpin your trust.

And a special thank you to all our Green Globe accredited auditors, stationed around the world, who deliver their impartial and professional services with integrity. As we move into 2024, it will become even more apparent, just how important their work is in providing independent validation of our members’ achievements for the benefit of all, and particularly the travelling public.

This year has seen the continued rebound of travel & tourism worldwide, as well as the ongoing interest in sustainability. Once a “nice-to-have”, sustainability is now truly part of mainstream business. Governments, the people they represent, and industry are all compelled to deliver a greater respect for the planet’s ecology, its people and its diversity of cultures and experiences.

Here at Green Globe, we have received unprecedented interest in our certification services throughout 2023. Across the regions we have many more new members, particularly in Southeast Asia, which is quickly becoming a hub for sustainable tourism. The exclusive certification services we have provided to Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts for more than a decade, have resulted in a new global contract being signed with Accor. Green Globe is now certifying Accor’s luxury and premium brands including Fairmont, Raffles, Sofitel, M Gallery, Pullman and many more.

With all this new interest and activity, it is now, more than ever, vitally important that we continue to manage the certification process with the greatest of care. The value of our certifications is measured by the excellence of our standard, and the professional manner in which our members’ activities are verified by independent auditors and their onsite inspections.  To this end we have begun to reach out to our members as well as other professionals in certification and auditing, to look at the emerging developments in sustainable tourism that will need to be considered in coming years.

Our future in 2024 and beyond will be based on a greater harmonisation of standards and a better understanding or what it means to travel sustainability. This will bring new partnerships for Green Globe as we expand and take on more responsibility for delivering the benefits of sustainability to both travellers and the people who host and work for our members’ businesses.

Season Greetings to All from the Green Globe Team,

Birte Pelayo
CEO Green Globe Certifications