Green Path Alliance is building practical ways for tourism organisations to assess what they do, explain what the evidence shows and identify where to improve. Two recent steps move that work forward: the launch of Sustainability in Tourism and Green Path Alliance’s membership of the European Tourism Association (ETOA). At the same time, new EU consumer-protection rules make precision in environmental communication more important.
Sustainability in Tourism: assessing the experience, not the whole company
Launched in September, Sustainability in Tourism is a curated platform for individual tours and travel experiences. It gives providers a place to present an itinerary and helps travellers understand what has—and has not—been reviewed.
The current pilot invites eligible operators to submit existing multi-day tours for assessment. The first ten eligible participants may receive a review of up to two experiences at no cost. Participation does not require a booking or purchase. A tour review is limited to the experience assessed: it does not certify the operator, the wider company or every product it sells, and it does not guarantee a particular rating.
The pilot is in an early evidence-gathering stage. We are speaking with interested operators and refining how methodology, evidence, scope and limitations are explained before any public result is presented. Any public listing or use of a provider’s name and materials is subject to the agreed review and consent process.
This distinction matters. A useful assessment should say what was examined, what information supported the findings and what remains outside scope. It should help providers improve without suggesting that one reviewed itinerary proves an entire business is sustainable.
ETOA membership: a new industry connection
Green Path Alliance is now a member of the European Tourism Association (ETOA). ETOA has confirmed that Green Path has a profile in its Business Services Hub under Climate Action & Sustainability. ETOA has also scheduled an introduction through its new-member email and LinkedIn activity for 10 December 2026.
The ETOA Climate Action & Sustainability directory gives travel businesses another way to discover providers working on sustainability, climate action, measurement and implementation. Green Path’s profile creates a route for interested organisations to learn more about our work and visit Green Path Alliance.
Membership is an industry connection, not an endorsement or certification of Green Path, GRAIL or Sustainability in Tourism. We will describe it as membership and keep the scope of our own assessments clear.
What the EU’s green-transition rules mean for tourism claims
Directive (EU) 2024/825—the Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive—applies from 27 September 2026. It strengthens existing EU consumer-protection rules against unfair business-to-consumer (B2C) practices, including misleading environmental claims and sustainability labels. The European Commission’s September 2026 Q&A explains that the rules focus on how products and services are presented to consumers; the harmonised Unfair Commercial Practices Directive is not a general B2B claims regime.
For tourism providers communicating with travellers, the practical direction is clear: make claims specific, evidence-based and proportionate to their scope. Broad environmental wording can be prohibited when it lacks clear, prominent qualification or the recognised performance required by the Directive. Claims about future environmental performance need publicly available, measurable commitments and a realistic, resourced plan, with regular independent expert verification. Claims that a service is climate-neutral or has a reduced or positive climate impact cannot be based on carbon offsets outside the service’s value chain.
The Directive also restricts sustainability labels that are not established by public authorities or based on a qualifying certification scheme. The Commission describes such a scheme as requiring independent third-party verification, publicly available requirements, competent independent monitoring and transparent, fair and non-discriminatory access. A mark or rating does not become compliant simply because its criteria are published or its assessment is evidence-based.
Our position: evidence-led, with scope made explicit
Green Path’s work already centres on documented evidence, defined assessment criteria and practical improvement. GRAIL assesses an organisation across governance, social responsibility, adaptation and risk, operations, and long-term sustainability. Sustainability in Tourism is designed to review an individual tour rather than imply a company-wide certification. Our Climate Action Plan also states its present limits: the complete organisational emissions baseline is still to be established, and Green Path is not claiming quantified reductions before it has that evidence.
These practices support clearer and more responsible communication. They do not, by themselves, establish formal compliance with the ECGT Directive. We will assess claims in context, with particular attention to their wording, audience, scope and supporting evidence. Green Path assessments are not legal opinions and do not determine whether a tourism business complies with legislation.
For Sustainability in Tourism, Green Path is exploring an independent verification partnership for the Green Leaf Rating. We intend to discuss the arrangement under a mutual non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to protect confidential methods and evidence. We are also open to reciprocal assessor cooperation: Green Path could assess a partner’s scheme, while the partner independently reviews ours. Each engagement would need to preserve the competence, impartiality and separation required for independent verification; an NDA or reciprocal arrangement alone does not establish independence.
We will continue to distinguish verified results from estimates and plans, state the scope and date of each assessment, and avoid implying that a membership, a single tour review or a trademark proves environmental performance. Because Green Path works in an environmental context, we also need to review the overall impression created by our name, colours, imagery and nearby copy. A registered trademark is not evidence of sustainability performance.
Building trust through clear evidence
The Sustainability in Tourism pilot gives operators a focused way to examine real experiences. ETOA membership connects Green Path with a wider European tourism network. The new EU rules reinforce a principle that sits at the centre of both: the claim should never be broader than the evidence behind it.
We welcome tourism organisations interested in testing a tour through the SIT pilot or discussing an evidence-based GRAIL assessment. The next step is a transparent conversation about scope, criteria, documentation and what the findings can—and cannot—say.