The All You Need To Know: Certifications and Green Washing

Welcome to my two week travel itinerary through the beautiful country of Costa Rica, which has become a graduation present to myself. I will officially be done with my undergraduate degree in August of 2010. I am majoring in Global Studies at the University of Washington—Bothell, and have a passion for travel. I have currently traveled through the United States, Canada, and Mexico, as well as six European countries (Italy, England, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, and Czech Republic). In 2007I spent a quarter abroad living and studying in Florence, Italy. Since then I have developed a love for seeing the world and am excited to explore a country in Central America next!

Through my studies and travels, I have become convinced that our actions need, as far as is possible, to be compatible with fostering long-term sustainability, and conserving the diversity of this Earth. For this reason, my planning has been a bit unique. I have challenged myself to plan every aspect of the two weeks in Costa Rica around ecotourism. I have now spent considerable time and energy researching how to make my entire trip eco-friendly and fun -- from everywhere I stay, where I eat, how I get around, and which activities I choose. I not only thought this was an important goal to have, but I also thought that it would be a fun and new way to travel. Usually when I go on vacation I am only thinking about myself and how my experience will be, and have not thought about the impacts of my choices on the places I visit. But recently I became interested in ecotourism and the positive effects we can have on the world if we start thinking in these terms. I firmly believe it is important to travel, and now also believe it is important to travel and be conscious of the decision you make while abroad. My hope is that I will be able to influence other people to plan their trips whether domestic or international around ecotourism so we can begin preserving our Earth not only for ourselves, but for future generation to follow.

Ecotourism is a responsible and sustainable way to travel that seeks to preserve the area visited for future generations to enjoy. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, over 880 million people traveled internationally in 2009. With so many people crossing borders, it is important to remember the impact that we have not only on the environment, but also on the cultures and habitats of the places we visit. By participating in ecotourism, we are reducing negative impacts and promoting positive ones as we explore and discover other places around the world. If we are successful in planning an eco-friendly trip, we not only benefit from our travels, but also help others around us.

There are numerous ways to measure ecotourism, but not all of them are reliable. Unfortunately there is a large amount of “green washing” in the marketing of ecotourism. The sustainable dictionary defines Green washing as: the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service. In fact, there are seven sins of green washing which are identified as; the sin of hidden trade-off, the sin of no proof, the sin of vagueness, the sin of worshiping false labels, the sin of irrelevance, the sin of lesser of two evils, and lastly, the sin of fibbing. Basically companies try and find ways to be sneaky and spin their products and policies as environmentally friendly, even though they aren’t. Green washing happens more often than we would like in the industry, and thankfully certification programs help consumers decipher and detect which companies are truly eco-friendly, and which companies are making false claims.

To make sure the places I will stay and the ways I will travel are truly sustainable, I have researched many different certification processes within Costa Rica and the global tourism industry. Certification is a process where everyone involved can ensure that the activity and product a business is selling meets particular standards. Martha Honey and Abigail Rome co-authors of “Protecting Paradise: Certification Programs for Sustainable Tourism and Ecotourism” define certification as “a voluntary procedure that assesses, audits and gives written assurance that a facility, product, process or service meets specific standards. It awards a marketable logo to those that meet or exceed baseline standards.”

While certification processes for ecotourism can have a positive impact, they don’t necessarily include sociocultural issues, but may instead only focus on environmental and economic issues. However, my interest is to promote both environmental and social sustainability, thus I limited my selections for my trip to certification processes that include sociocultural and environmental criteria. For example, the CST rating includes how many local employees each business has as one of their ratings. This not only helps the local economy, but also the local people who live within the area to survive and flourish. As we can see there are many upsides to certification. While it is not a means to an end, certification is definitely an integral tool used to motivate business and others around them to improve their environmental, social, and economic performance, while also receiving the reward for doing so. There are many reasons why certification is important, which include; the benefits for the certified businesses, the benefits for the consumers, the benefits for the governments, and lastly the benefits for the environment and local communities. It is also important to keep in mind that all certification programs are voluntary, and no business is required to get certified.

Through my research I identified three certification processes as suited to my values. The first of these is the Certification of Sustainable Tourism – Costa Rica, also known as CST. The CST has been acknowledged by the World Tourism Organization as “One of the programs that is rethinking how tourism is done.” One of the main reasons I chose CST as my main certification source is because it is a certification program designated for the country of Costa Rica, and it has a relatively long history, having been launched in 1997. The National Accreditation Commission of the CST is composed of the academic sector, private business, the public sector, and two international organizations, which are all responsible for granting CST distinction and making sure the certified businesses that advertise the CST label comply with the established guidelines. This helps tourist as well as agents and business owners who work with CST-certified businesses know exactly who are adhering to the ideals and standards of the CST. The CST ranks businesses from 0to 5 depending on the percentage in which the company has met with sustainable practices. Below I have provided their rating system. For further information about the CST please visit their website.

Level % of practices that meet
CST Sustainability Standards.

0 < 20
1 20-39
2 40-59
3 60-79
4 80-94
5 > 95

Website: www.turismo-sostenible.co.cr/en

The second certification program that I have chosen for this exciting trip is through Sustainable Tourism International (STI). Their motto is, “Leave the World a Better Place: Promoting responsible travel and ecotourism, supporting sustainable development, and helping travelers and travel providers protect the cultures and environments they visit”. The STI has developed a program titled the Sustainable Tourism Eco-Certification Program (STEP) which is the world’s first globally recognized sustainable tourism eco-certification program offered by a nonprofit organization, which is aligned with the minimum baseline Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria and impending global accreditation. The other great aspect of STEP is that companies in all sectors of the travel and tourism industry can be eco-certified through their program. Lastly, the World Tourism Organization also highly recommends STI and their SETP program. While STEP is a certification program focused around the United States, Sustainable Tourism International does also recommend many companies and activities in Costa Rica that follow ecotourism. In fact, STI has six separate locations around the world that include my home state of Washington, as well as San Jose Costa Rica. For more information on this certification and program, please visit their website.

Website: www.sustainabletravelinternational.org

Lastly I have chosen to include the Rainforest Alliance which is an international nonprofit organization that is dedicated to the conservation of tropical forests. The Rainforest Alliance “Works to conserve biodiversity and endure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices, and consumer behavior.” Just like the CST and STI, the Rainforest Alliance also has a certification program for businesses that can be recognized internationally among travelers. I have chosen many activities throughout Costa Rica that are certified by the Rainforest Alliance. For more information please visit their website.

Website: www.rainforest-alliance.org

My original goal when I set out on this ecotourism adventure throughout Costa Rica was to have every aspect of my itinerary have some sort of certification process that was credible and recognizable. While I chose a country that markets itself as a destination for ecotourism, there were still places and activities that were lacking certification which forced me to improvise as best as I could. One major problem that arose while I was planning my ecotourism vacation was that being eco-friendly isn’t necessarily easy the budget traveler like myself. Many of the hotels and restaurants, and even some of the airfare between cities turned out to be rather costly. In fact, one of the most amazing ecolodges that I discovered can cost almost $500 a night per person. That means it would be nearly $1000 for my boyfriend and I to enjoy one night at their lodge. This may be possible for some travelers, but for my budget this would be impossible, or rather a lavish dream vacation. I realized that I had to do my best with the amount of money I had. While I would love to be able to indulge at the Lapa Rios Ecolodge, it isn’t practical. Instead, I will spend a lot of nights at hostels which are extremely affordable for anyone. While hostels have no formal rating or certification programs, they can be very eco-friendly. They are dorm style living that usually bunk more than a few travelers in each room. Usually they have only a couple of bathrooms that all of the guest use and share, and kind of run like a co-op. Everyone shares amenities, and resources are limited and conserved.

After all of the research and planning that I have put into my eco-friendly vacation to Costa Rica it is now time to begin my countdown to lift off on September 10th, 2010. Please check back after September 26th when I return home to the states, and have the opportunity to blog my experiences and recommendations of all of the places I visit and all of the activities I participated in while in Costa Rica.