History

The Green Globe Program traces its roots to the United Nations Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992, where 182 heads of state from around the world endorsed Agenda 21, a daring program of action calling for new strategies to invest in the future to achieve overall sustainable development in the 21st Century. The 1992 Earth Summit was the first time world leaders acknowledged, as a group, the impact of human socio-economic activities on the environment and the urgent need to address environmental degradation.

Shortly after the Summit, the Green Globe brand was developed within the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) to provide a way forward for tourism organizations who were interested in measuring their environmental impact and then developing and implementing strategies to reduce those impacts.

In 1998, a strategic alliance was formed with Australia’s Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Sustainable Tourism, which included partnerships with 15 leading universities, a variety of major travel and tourism industry associations, all state and territory tourism departments. and many private industry partners. Under the alliance, CRC acted as Green Globe’s research facility on sustainable tourism and actively promoted the Green Globe program to its partners, affiliates, and stakeholders. In 2000, Green Globe Limited entered into a joint venture with the CRC, Green Globe Asia Pacific (GGAP), at the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Conference in Hong Kong.

During this period, Green Globe became separate and autonomous from the World Travel & Tourism Council and organized as Green Globe Limited, a UK company and, from 2000 to 2008, the Brand was primarily known for Benchmarking and Certification programs for hotels, resorts and other travel & tourism businesses.

In 2009, Green Globe Limited partnered with the City of Los Angeles, the LA Dept. of Water and Power, the LA Chamber of Commerce, the LA Tourism & Convention Board, the LA Community College District, and Green Seal to deliver the Los Angeles Green Business Certification Program to support area businesses’ transition to sustainable practices and policies. Green Globe Limited also partnered with the San Francisco’s BART, Bay Area Rapid Transit, to make travelers more aware of green certified hotels, tourist attractions and destinations.

In 2013, the Brand entered into a 20-year license agreement with a third party to use its name and logo for use for sustainability certification in the Travel & Tourism Industry.

Since, Green Globe Limited has been active in the sustainability universe including renewable energy, energy efficiency, water and waste management, transportation and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This effort has generated affiliates and project opportunities in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. As a result, Green Globe has created the Pathway to Sustainability program underpinned by the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Green Globe Guidelines for a sustainable lifestyle. Members will have access to all Green Globe projects with the opportunity to participate and updates of all Green Globe activities.

Since its inception, the Green Globe brand has represented the best in environmental responsibility. The brand and its associated programs hold even greater promise as the world further embraces the need for sustainability, diversity, equality, inclusion, and response to global climate change as essential core values.