A Holistic Approach To Sustainable Management
We recognize that sustainability means different things to different people. Environmental management, social responsibility, and economic viability are all at the forefront of sustainable business management.
Your challenge: Determine how the principles of sustainability fit the unique attributes of your organization.
Our approach: We provide you with the tools and expertise you need to assess your impacts, chart a course of action, and thoughtfully manage your business while protecting the natural, cultural, and economic assets you depend on.
Can your organization benefit from an educational framework designed to help you measure and manage your impacts?
Are you looking to validate your sustainability efforts, or receive recognition you can utilize to tell your Sustainability Story to customers?
Are you ready to take charge of your future and contribute to the long-term health of your business, your community, and the planet?
Our flagship program, the Sustainable Tourism Education Program (STEP) provides you with the tools you need to design and execute your own sustainability management plan, built on a foundation of globally-recognized best practices. Along the way, you’ll set goals that guide your long-term thinking, while identifying consistent opportunities for return on investment.
Program Objectives
- Offer the highest quality sustainability management and certification program with the lowest barriers to entry resulting tangible and verifiable triple bottom line impacts
- Offer sustainability standards that are appropriate for specific sectors in the travel and tourism industry, are flexible in adaptation and implementation, and scalable for businesses of all sizes
- Educate businesses on globally accepted AND regionally relevant sustainability best practices that help to improve business efficiencies, management systems, and overall quality as well as improve brand image, guest communications, and overall customer satisfaction
- Certify businesses that have that have met a specific set of criteria, had those criteria assessed by a second or third party, and an impartial, objective, independent evaluation committee sees fit to award a certification eco-label
The STEP program is a toolkit created with the travel and tourism industry in mind, including:
STEP Sustainability Management Framework
WHO: Hotels, Lodges, Resorts, B&Bs, Luxury Accommodations, Tour Operators, Shore Excursions, Dive Centers, Attractions, Concessions, Transportation Providers, and Destination Managers
WHAT: Assess your operations, monitor key performance indicators, plot a roadmap for improvement, report on progress over time, and have your efforts verified
Learn more about the STEP Sustainability Management Framework
STEP Sector-Specific Standards
WHO: Hotels, Lodges, Resorts, B&Bs, Luxury Accommodations, Tour Operators, Shore Excursions, Dive Centers, Attractions, Concessions, Transportation Providers, and Destination Managers
WHAT: An incremental and systematic approach to sustainable business management for the travel and tourism industry. The standards include criteria and indicators for planning, implementing, and monitoring triple bottom line impacts across multiple sectors. The STEP Eco-Certification Standard is one of only five international standards formally recognized by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC).
Learn more about the STEP Sector-Specific Standards
STEP Eco-Certification
WHO: Hotels, Lodges, Resorts, B&Bs, Luxury Accommodations, Tour Operators, Shore Excursions, Dive Centers, Attractions, Concessions, Transportation Providers, and Destination Managers
WHAT: An assessment and verification of sustainability management systems against the STEP Eco-Certification Standard. Multiple certification levels allow businesses start with a baseline a ramp up initiatives as time and resources allow.
Learn more about STEP Eco-certification.
STEP for Multi Site Operations and Destinations
WHO: Large tourism businesses with multiple sites, facilities, or operations and destination managers looking to harmonize, monitor, and report on sustainable business operations through a single online management system.
WHAT: Licensing model that gives large tourism business and destination managers full control of sustainability management of multiple operations including assessment, policy development, monitoring, and reporting across a number of indicators with individual and aggregated results. Standard enrollment includes basic management framework, sector-specific standards, eco-certification, and train the trainer program with extensive options to modify and customize to suit your unique needs.
Learn more about STEP for Multi Site Operations and Destinations
STEP Education and Training Programs
WHO: Travel and tourism professionals looking to gain in-depth knowledge of key areas of sustainable tourism and the STEP program.
WHAT: Specialized training for travel-related businesses and tourism professionals
Learn more about STEP Education and Training Programs
Why STEP?
- Incremental Approach: We provide you with the tools necessary to succeed at your own pace, achieving higher levels of certification over time
- Management Tools: The STEP Sustainability Toolkit gives you the management tools you need to assess your operations, identify industry best practices, and emphasize positive returns
- Participatory and Collaborative: At each level you’ll be asked to gather input from your staff, guests, and community
- Triple Bottom Line: STEP includes environmental, social and economic best practices to improve your bottom line and increase market strength
- Return on Investment: Businesses that integrate aspects of the standard into their management plans realize cost savings through resource efficiencies, lower operating costs, and supply chain optimization
- Adaptability: Perfect for newcomers and seasoned sustainability experts in all sectors of the travel and tourism industry. STEP helps you identify and prioritize the right areas for your business
- Flexibility: Submit your own criteria for approval if you do good work in areas not already covered by the program
- Accessibility: STEP is an international standard available in multiple languages, and works well for businesses of all sizes, across all sectors of the travel and tourism industry
- Advisory Services: Sustainable Travel International is staffed with global experts in the fields of sustainability planning and eco-certification
- Marketing Benefits: Work with the Sustainable Travel International team to develop your online Sustainability Profile and communicate your efforts to current and future visitors
Are you ready to tell your Sustainability Story?
Get started now, or read more about the program.
Call or email Sustainable Travel International to schedule a consultation: