Green Destinations & QualityCoast Awards for Destinations

GD Awards indicate (independent auditor-evaluated) compliance levels with the Green Destinations Standard, recognised by the GSTC. Audits are required every 2 years and result in a Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum designation. QualityCoast Awards are especially designed for destinations focusing on waterfront sustainability, seaside, and beach quality. We celebrate our certified destinations at our annual Global Green Destinations Conference and our yearly ITB Berlin event. 

Destinations enrolled in the Awards Program participate in a sustainability management cycle aimed at continuous improvement through regular assessments and independent verifications.

Our Awards Program is structured by the sustainability management guidelines of our Green Destinations Standard, which is recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) to cover globally agreed sustainability requirements. Progress is monitored through indicators, which makes the program concrete and measurable. You can easily implement our guidelines and indicators in your management system.

Destinations signing up for the Awards Program engage in a sustainability management cycle aimed at continuous improvement with periodic assessment and independent verification.

The main steps include:

1. Registration 

Register your interest in the awards by filling out this online registration form. We will send you an offer based on the submitted details, such as destination size and location.

2. Engagement and reporting

Induction training on destination sustainability and applying the GD Standard, and report your compliance with the GD Standard on our online assessment platform. Coaching by GD secretariat or local representative.

3. Evaluation

Technical check and independent audit of reported sustainability compliance.

4. Certification

A Certification Committee evaluates auditor conclusions and (upon a sufficient score), issues the award, which remains valid for 2 years.

5. Action planning for continuous improvement

The online assessment platform provides an Action Planning tool and good practice examples for easy planning and implementing your sustainability improvements following the independent evaluation recommendations. 

The Green Destinations Standard is the backbone of our Awards Program. It is a GSTC-recognised set of criteria to measure, monitor and improve destinations and regions’ sustainability policy and management. It makes sustainable development concrete, objective and demonstrable. In 2020, the 1st GD Standard (developed in 2016) was updated based on consultation with the GD Partnership and re-aligned with the GSTC Destination Criteria V2 – prolonging its ‘GSTC Recognised Status’ in 2021.