TripAdvisor’s GreenLeaders coming to Europe
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TripAdvisor is planning to bring a scheme that measures hotel sustainability to Europe after a successful trial in the US.
Speaking at the Travel Foundation’s AGM earlier this week, Jenny Rushmore, director of sustainable travel at TripAdvisor said the website is aiming to “take the barrier down” and show more transparency in hotel practices, by setting standards in its GreenLeaders programme.
Hotels that reach the website’s eco-criteria will receive the GreenLeaders label on their TripAdvisor page detailing what initiatives they have in place.
After launching in the US six months ago, Rushmore said the scheme will now be rolled out into Europe. She also explained why the website had seen a surge of enquiries to join the programme.
“Being sustainable is shifting from a choice to a view that the company looks bad if they don’t do it,” she explained. “After a while it becomes ubiquitous, like fair-trade items in supermarkets in the UK. It has become so normal that people would ask why a company wouldn’t do it [act sustainably] if they don’t already, and it makes them look bad”.
The GreenLeaders programme requires hotels to apply for a badge and hope to receive a bronze, silver, gold or platinum level for its efforts. Minimal requirements include a towel and linen re-use programme; energy-efficient lightbulbs; tracking energy usage; recycling and educating staff on green practices.
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