Businesses — Frequently Asked Questions

Pursuant to a license agreement with STI, all applicants who fulfill the essential criteria for sustainability through the STEP process are required to use and display the appropriate STEP logo, including expiration date, in their printed and on-line marketing materials. Logos displayed on-line must be hyper-linked to the STEP Ratings web description which provides information to consumers on what the logos mean.

If a business is found to be in non-compliance, they must cease to market their products and / or services as Eco-certified, remove any STEP logos from all marketing materials including those promoted by third parties, notify all relevant government agencies and other key stakeholders, and comply with all post-removal obligations.

Step 1 – Access Sustainability Management:  Annual licenses are valid for 12 months, which does not apply to Eco-certification logo licenses.  At the end of the 12-month license, you can opt-out and not renew your license, renew your license and continue with your self-assessment only, or proceed to Step 2 or 3 detailed below. For Eco-certified businesses, annual license renewal fees are submitted along with annual monitoring reports (at month 12 and month 24 from date of logo issuance). 

Steps 2 and 3 – Apply for STEP and Assess Your Operations:  Once you successfully complete a desk or on-site assessment, you will be awarded a 1 to 5 Star Eco-certification logo license that is valid for 3 years from the date of issuance with annual monitoring required. 

Before the expiration of your Eco-certification logo license (month 3 years from date of issuance), you must submit an updated Application, the appropriate Application fee, and schedule an on-site assessment. During this process, applicants must introduce any significant changes to the scale and / or nature of their operations that may affect compliance with STEP criteria.

Eco-certified businesses that do not renew within the specified time periods outlined are considered in non-compliance and STI has the right to terminate their certification and the client must remove all references to STEP..

Eco-certified businesses that are interested in upgrading their Eco-certification rating are required to submit an updated Application introducing any significant changes to the scale and / or nature of their operations that may improve or affect their rating. This Application will be reviewed and evaluated by STI and will require an on-site assessment.  Assessors will spot check criteria that were verified during the first assessment and focus their efforts on new criteria, thereby minimizing the amount of time necessary for follow-up assessments.

Being Eco-certified at a 1 to 5 Star level requires both internal and external monitoring undertaken by STI to help ensure continued compliance with STEP criteria. Businesses Eco-certified at a 1 Star level are required to submit Required Benchmark Tables to STI for annual review.  These tables are compared with Year One baseline measurements to monitor if there has been improvement over time. Businesses Eco-certified at a 2 to 5 Star level are required to submit Required Benchmark Tables, updated Sustainability Reports, and updates on improvements to best practices regarding environmental, social and economic impacts. 

The utilization of professional references and direct feedback from clients, resource area managers, local communities, and service providers comprises an additional monitoring component. STI will review, evaluate and score this feedback to ensure compliance with STEP.

To help facilitate this process, Eco-certified businesses are required to incorporate the STEP client / employee feedback questionnaire into their existing evaluation systems and use this questionnaire to self-monitor their sustainable travel practices and policies.

If a STEP Eco-certified business appears to be in non-compliance with STEP, at STI's sole discretion, through the monitoring and assessment processes, or if it fails to assist STI in such processes, a written warning will be issued. The business shall then be required to supply proof of compliance with the STEP criteria in question or assist STI in the monitoring and assessment process, as applicable, within seven (7) days of receiving STI's written warning.

If the business fails to do so, at STI's sole discretion, their Eco-certified status will be immediately withdrawn. STI will inform the business that it is no longer certified. Upon the withdrawal of their status, the business found to be in non-compliance must cease to market their products and / or services as Eco-certified, remove any STEP logos from all marketing materials including those promoted by third parties, notify all relevant government agencies and other key stakeholders, and comply with all post-removal obligations. STI will adjust its records and publicly available information to reflect the termination of STEP eco-certification.

If a business' application for Eco-Certification is denied or if its Eco-certified status is withdrawn, then they may appeal this decision to STI within seven (7) days. STI will communicate to the client when they have received the appeal. STI's Evaluation Committee will then evaluate the appeal and gather any necessary information. The decision on the appeal will be approved by an individual not involved with the original certification decision and then communicated to the client.

If STI's Evaluation Committee finds that the business in question is still in non-compliance with STEP criteria, then they do not have the right to appeal the final decision. However, if they submit a new application(s) within 60 days of withdrawal or denial of their Eco-certified status, only one-half of the applicable Application fees will be due. If the new application is submitted after 60 days, the full fee is due.

STEP is designed to assist travel and tourism-related businesses in continuously improving their operating standards. For businesses Eco-certified at a 1 Star level, this is achieved through annual monitoring and reporting. Once the initial 3 year Eco-certification period has expired, businesses are encouraged to improve their rating and schedule an on-site assessment. For businesses Eco-certified at a 2 to 5 Star level, this is achieved through annual monitoring and reporting. Once the initial 3 year Eco-certification period has expired, businesses are expected to schedule a follow-up on-site assessment, and achieve a higher rating.

The criteria contained in STEP are reviewed on an on-going basis to reflect improved industry performance and standards. New and evolving criteria will be put into place as standards are improved and technological advances are made in the travel industry. All suggestions and comments for improving STEP are taken into consideration.

The STEP program is administered through an online database powered by Intuit’s Quickbase program. The online program includes the full STEP standard and sector specific standards for accommodations, tour operators, attractions, and transportation service providers. The program incorporates project management and a self-assessment tool for you to score your business’ best practices, assign task, set deadlines, upload documentation, and apply for eco-certification.

Your account login is the business email address submitted during the STEP registration process. The password is created once you receive the Quickbase invitation and accesses the online program. Please write this information down, and keep it in a safe place.

When you sign up for the Online Sustainability Management Framework license, you receive access to a Self-assessment Tool. Using this tool, you can score your current best practices against a set standard to determine how your business compares and where improvements can be made.

1st Party Certified means a company has performed a self-assessment or 1st Party certification of its sustainable Tourism practices thus taking the first steps toward understanding its impact on one or more of the following: environment, community, cultural-heritage, the local economy. The company's claims have not been independently verified by a 2nd or 3rd party.

2nd Party Certified means a company measures and or manages its impact on one or more of the following: environment, community, cultural-heritage, the local economy. An assessment of the company's sustainable tourism practices has been performed by an assessor or auditor that is not independent of the 2nd party certification program. This is equivalent to being Eco-certified at a 1 Star level (Step 2).

3rd Party Certified: means a company participates in a 3rd party certification program that has been independently certified. Third-party certification measures the company's impact on one or more of the following: environment, community, cultural-heritage, the local economy. An objective assessment of a company's sustainable tourism practices has been performed by an assessor or auditor who is independent of the 3rd party certification program. This is equivalent to being Eco-certified at a 2 to 5 Star level (Step 3).

An on-site assessment is a procedure in which an independent assessor visits a business to obtain documentation and evidence from the client on their policies, activities and performance as they relate to the different components of the STEP standard. This visit involves interviews with key personnel, obtaining additional documentary evidence as required, verification of the documentary evidence supplied, and relevant observation of the premises where the tourism service is delivered.

Corrective Action Requests or CARs are a procedure during a desk or on-site assessment where an assessor gives an applicant an opportunity to provide additional evidence and/or documentation, and/or develop a system that can objectively demonstrate that it meets a specified criteria and the evaluation guidelines of the STEP standard.

The time period to address CARs from a desk assessment is 30 days and is mandatory if they are in reference to Required criteria. The time period to address CARs from an on-site assessment is 90 days and optional if not Required criteria.

The organization responsible for a certification scheme and its implementation. STI is the certification body for STEP.

STI has nominated an Evaluation Committee made up of board members, staff, contractors, and volunteers to evaluate the final findings from all assessments and determine the appropriate rating of Eco-certification for any tourism enterprise which applies for Eco-certification. This process is handled in a transparent manner to ensure there is no conflict of interest and that the enterprise has conformed to all necessary criteria.

The online database provides a maximum of 50MB of encrypted and secure data storage for you to upload required documentation related to both desk and on-site assessments. This includes sustainability policies, measurement data, supporting evidence, and other documentation.

All documentation that is uploaded the STEP program is considered private and will only be available to STI, the STEP Evaluation Committee, and to STEP-Accredited Assessors.

Since your storage is limited to 50MB, we encourage you to adhere to the following guidelines. Failing to do so, may result in a penalty surcharge of US$150 per additional MB per month.

When preparing your Required Policies & Documentation:

• Submit the three STEP Registration Forms entitled “company name_Affidavit, company name_Logo License Agreement, company name_Confidentiality Agreement”.

• These should be uploaded into Criteria Reference # 1.1.1a, Documentation 1, Documentation 2, and Documentation 3.

• Submit one report titled “company name_Sustainability Report and P&D Application” which contains all documented policies (and associated procedures if applicable).

• This should be uploaded into Criteria Reference # 1.2.1a, Documentation 1.
• Applicant’s Sustainability Report may remain on the site if under 10MB.

• Submit ONE workbook titled “company name_Required Benchmark Tables” or similar data collection system used to collect and summarize baseline measurements.

• This should be uploaded into Criteria Reference # 1.2.1a, Documentation 2.
• Applicant’s Benchmark Tables may remain on the site if under 10MB.

• Supporting evidence (meeting minutes, utility bills, etc.) used to meet the evaluation guidelines must be summarized and compiled in an easy to upload manner and should be compressed to the smallest size possible.

• Each Supporting Evidence must be clearly marked/titled and uploaded to the associated Criteria Reference #.
• Applicant’s Supporting Evidence may remain on the site if under 10MB total.
• Supporting Evidence and/or sensitive data can be removed AFTER the desk or on-site assessment has been completed and the applicant has been approved at the 1 to 5 Star level.
• Photos should be sent to STI separately via email.

When preparing for an on-site assessment:

• For all other Policies, Measurement Data, and Supporting Evidence necessary to illustrate adherence to any and/or all STEP criteria and evaluation guidelines:

• Documentation MUST be summarized and compiled in an easy to upload manner and should be compressed to the smallest size possible.
• Each Policy, Measurement Table, and Supporting Evidence MUST be clearly marked/titled and uploaded to the associated Criteria Reference #.
• Supporting Evidence and/or sensitive data can be removed AFTER the desk or on-site assessment has been completed and the applicant has been approved at the 1 to 5 Star level.
• Applicant’s Supporting Evidence may remain on the site if under 30MB total.

Contact us for more information.

STI has developed Required Benchmark Tables for those who Apply for STEP (Step 2). These tables help you to track, document, and report data related to the Required criteria, and they are a basis for the annual monitoring process.

Complaints can be addressed to STI. STI will communicate when they have received the complaint and confirm whether the complaint relates to the certification scheme. STI's Evaluation Committee will then evaluate the complaint, gather any necessary information and drawing the complaint to the attention of any client involved. The decision on the complaint will be approved by an individual not involved with certification activities related to the complaint and then communicated to the complainant and client. Necessary action will be taken by STI.

The responsibilities of the client include:

• Consistent demonstrated adherence to the Eco-certification requirements
• Avoid misleading claims and withdraw any reference to Eco-certification following termination
• Record and handle complaints relating to compliance with Eco-certification
• Timely communication of any changes that may affect adherence with Eco-certification requirements
• Provision of all necessary information and arrangements for the assessment process

The responsibilities of STI as the certification body include:

• Maintain and update the standard for sustainable tourism against which it certifies clients, in line with international standards
• Interpret the standard to clients and other interested parties
• Carry out an effective, impartial and fair certification procedure
• Communicate any changes in the standard and requirements to clients and other interested parties
• Provide clear information on its Eco-certification procedures and effectively communicate any changes in them

Prior to, and during, the certification process STI’s STEP-Accredited Assessors shall not give prescriptive advice to a client in a form and to a level of detail that could compromise its ability to undertake objective conformity assessment. However, assessors will provide clients with a detailed description and explanation of what is necessary to meet the standard and certification requirements and may provide additional clarification on this if requested to do so.

1. Upon receipt of an approach for certification, STI will:

• Ensure that the enterprise is fully aware of the process and costs
• Clarify any differences in understanding between STI and the enterprise
• Clarify the certification required and the scope of activities to be covered
• Obtain initial information about these activities, relevant to planning the evaluation
• Reach agreement to proceed and plan the evaluation process

2. STI will select an assessor (or assessors) to carry out the on-site assessment and evaluation. The assessor shall not be selected by the client. However, the client will be given the opportunity to raise any objections about the assessor selected, for example on grounds of conflict of interest.

3. The assessor will obtain documentary evidence from the client on its policies, activities and performance concerning the different components of the standard. Based on scrutiny of the documentary evidence, the assessor should draw significant concerns about non-conformities to the attention of the client and may request further information. The business is given 90 days to address non-conformities and report back to STI. The Eco-certification may be terminated, by agreement, at this stage.

4. The assessor will conduct a site visit to the premises of the client. This visit will involve: interviews with key personnel; obtaining additional documentary evidence as required; verification of the documentary evidence supplied; and relevant observation of the premises where the tourism service is delivered.

5. The assessor may undertake consultation with knowledgeable stakeholders within or external to the client body in order to clarify aspects of the client’s activity and performance. The assessor should undertake such consultation where there is significant doubt about the sufficiency, quality or veracity of
information supplied by a client. The client will be informed about any stakeholder consultation undertaken.

6. At the end of the visit, the assessor shall conduct an exit interview with the client to ensure that the audit process has covered all relevant matters accurately. The assessor should at this stage point out any initially apparent issues of non-conformity with the standard or more minor deficiencies and seek clarification and comment from the client. This is only an informal exchange of information which does not predetermine the outcome of the decision.

7. The assessor will prepare a written report of audit which:

• Sets out the process of the audit, including dates, documents scrutinized and interviews held
• Identifies areas of major and minor non-conformity with the standard
• May include comments and recommendations relevant to the decision on whether to grant certification
• Provides sufficient detail to enable a well informed certification decision to be taken
• Is submitted to STI
• Is made available to the client, in full or in summary form

8. STI gives the business a 90 days period to correct any areas of nonconformity, and the client must inform the STEP-Accredited Assessor that’s been assigned when this rectification has been completed. The assessor will verify conformity in the corrected areas.

9. The STEP Evaluation Committee will review all information and results from the evaluation and make a decision on whether or not to grant Eco-certification and at what level. This decision will be documented. Individuals involved in taking this decision will not include those involved in undertaking the assessments.

10. STI will communicate the results of the decision to the client. This communication will provide justification for the decision and will clearly specify all non-conformities and deficiencies identified. Irrespective of the decision, the communication will include helpful observations and feedback to the client on the sustainability of its tourism services. No matter what decision is made, STEP fees are non-refundable.

11. When renewal of the Eco-certification is necessary after a 3 year period, this renewal procedure will comply with the procedures set forth above.

STI shall ensure that the impartiality of its Eco-certification process shall not be threatened by providing consultancy to existing or potential clients. There needs to be a clear separation of functions. Where STI has provided consultancy to a tourism enterprise, the personnel involved shall not be used to audit or asses that enterprise for certification within two years of the completion of the consultancy. In undertaking auditing and assessment, the performance of the enterprise shall be fully investigated and any prior knowledge shall not be taken into account, nor shall any previous relationship with the client affect the certification decision.

Eco-certification shall not be offered to clients that have received consultancy from other organizations if the relationship between the consultancy organization and STI poses an unacceptable threat to the impartiality of the decision. Personnel who have provided consultancy to a client or have been employed by them, within two years prior to the certification, shall not be used by STI to undertake evaluations or partake in certification decisions pertaining to that client. STI shall not imply that certification would be easier, faster or less expensive if a specific consultancy is used.

Voluntary, third-party assessment to ensure the conformity of a certification scheme to specified set of criteria found within a globally agreed upon Accreditation Standard so enterprises and their clients are confident of the rigorousness of the certification label.