What is the Standards & Certifications pillar?
Standards & Certifications is the pillar of the HOLITRA Hospitality Sustainability System — a sustainability certification framework built on recognised external standards such as GSTC, EU Ecolabel, Austrian Ecolabel, Green Key, EarthCheck, ISO 14001 and green building schemes including LEED, DGNB and BREEAM.
“Certification” is treated as one decision, when it’s really several: hotel certification, green building certification, corporate ratings and management-system standards each answer a different question, and getting the wrong one wastes a year of effort and budget.
HOLITRA’s certification expertise is grounded in personally held professional accreditations: team members are GSTC-Accredited Auditors, ISO 14001 Lead Auditors, and Accredited Professionals for BREEAM, LEED, WELL, DGNB/ÖGNI and GRI for ESG.
Many of the schemes relevant to hospitality, including Green Key, EarthCheck and GreenSign, are built on sustainability principles closely aligned with the GSTC Criteria — the sector’s globally recognised baseline.
That breadth of hands-on audit and assessment experience means HOLITRA can prepare clients across the full range: hotel and destination certification (GSTC, EU Ecolabel, Green Key, EarthCheck), green building certification (LEED, BREEAM, DGNB), management-system standards (ISO 14001, EMS) and GRI-aligned ESG reporting — not just the one scheme a given consultant happens to know best. See the full Hospitality Sustainability System →
What the sustainability certification framework covers
01
Hotel & destination certification
GSTC and GSTC-recognised schemes assessing how the organisation itself is managed.
02
Green building certification
LEED, DGNB and BREEAM, assessing the performance of the physical asset itself.
03
Corporate sustainability ratings
Schemes such as EcoVadis, used mainly for B2B and MICE supplier screening.
04
Management-system standards
ISO 14001 and comparable standards, certifying the process rather than the outcome.
05
Fit, not familiarity
Choosing the right combination for guest base, market and ownership structure.
01
Strategy
Certification requirements are set by the priorities Strategy defines.
02
Buildings
Green building schemes assess the asset alongside — not instead of — hotel operational certification.
03
Operations
Documented, consistent practice is what certification audits actually check.
04
Reporting
Certification evidence and ESG reporting data overlap substantially.
05
Continuous Improvement
Keeps recognition status and audit cycles current over time.
How Standards & Certifications connects to the system
Go deeper
Read the full explainer, or go straight to the service this pillar supports.
Hospitality Sustainability Certification: Overview
Certification Consulting (Service)
FAQs
FAQ – Standards & Certifications
What certification standards are relevant to hotels?
The most relevant categories are hotel and destination certification (GSTC and GSTC-recognised schemes such as the Austrian Ecolabel, EarthCheck or GreenSign), green building certification (LEED, DGNB, BREEAM), corporate sustainability ratings (EcoVadis), and management-system standards (ISO 14001).
Is GSTC recognition permanent once a scheme earns it?
No. Following a rules change effective 1 January 2025, GSTC-Recognized status for third-party standards is no longer automatic or permanent — several previously recognised schemes lost that status because their owners did not pursue the newly required formal accreditation.
What is the difference between hotel sustainability certification and green building certification?
Hotel sustainability certification verifies how an organisation is managed — strategy, governance and day-to-day operations. Green building certification verifies the performance of the building itself, independently of how it is operated.
Does HOLITRA focus only on GSTC certification?
GSTC is HOLITRA’s primary area of audit expertise — founder Katarina Jankova is a GSTC-Accredited Auditor, one of only three active in the DACH region — but the same preparation approach applies across other recognised schemes.
Next step: Certification Consulting
Choose the right certification scheme and prepare for audit with structured guidance.
Connect with us
Discuss which certifications actually fit your organisation, guests and building.