European regulation on tourism sustainability is redefining the future of the sector. Directives such as the CSRD, the Green Claims Directive, and anti-greenwashing regulations require verifiable ESG data, sustainability certification, and greater transparency in companies and destinations. We analyze what is changing and how to prepare for this new regulatory scenario.
Tourism sustainability has entered a new phase in Europe. It is no longer enough to claim that a company or destination is sustainable. Today, it is essential to demonstrate it with data, verifiable evidence, and robust certification systems.
At the same time, European regulation is evolving toward higher levels of requirements to increase credibility and curb greenwashing. However, the tourism sector, due to its operational diversity and the importance of SMEs and destinations, requires specific metrics and regulatory frameworks adapted to its reality.
In this context, the Tourism Sustainability Certifications Alliance (TSCA), an international alliance of leading sustainability certification bodies of which Biosphere is a founding partner, has asked the European Union to ensure that new climate and ESG reporting rules are translated into specific sectoral frameworks for tourism and hospitality.
Tourism sustainability is no longer just a strategic trend. It is directly linked to European regulation, to how companies report their ESG performance, and to how they communicate their environmental commitments without engaging in greenwashing practices.
Tourism is not a homogeneous sector. It includes accommodation, transportation, intermediation, food service, activities, destination management, and infrastructure. In addition, it is mainly composed of microenterprises and SMEs alongside large corporate groups.
The TSCA warns that “applying generic regulatory frameworks, designed for industrial sectors of different scale and complexity, may shift the focus from effective environmental improvement to mere bureaucratic compliance management.”
Therefore, the alliance proposes:
If Europe aims to accelerate the sustainable transition, tourism cannot be addressed with rules designed for other productive realities. Having standards that are adapted, demanding yet applicable, will allow regulation to drive concrete improvements (energy, water, mobility, and destination management) and ensure that environmental communication is transparent and verifiable. Only in this way will sustainability move from being a compliance exercise to becoming a competitive advantage and a credible commitment.
In recent years, the European Union has promoted a set of directives aimed at accelerating corporate sustainability and strengthening transparency.
The TSCA emphasizes that “the margin for vague environmental claims is progressively shrinking, increasing the need for comparable data, documented evidence, and independent verification.”
Within this framework, the TSCA also calls on European authorities to establish early sectoral consultation dynamics that allow them to understand firsthand the operational reality of tourism and its main concerns before legislating. Specifically, it proposes that “the EU incorporate deeper and more permanent consultation mechanisms in legislative processes related to sustainability, such as standing committees or forums dedicated to key sectors such as travel, tourism, and hospitality.”
The objective is twofold. On the one hand, to ensure that the design of new policies better reflects the needs of the sector; and on the other, to avoid fragmented implementation among Member States, which is especially problematic for an inherently cross-border industry.
At the same time, the combination of higher requirements with regulatory uncertainties may generate planning risks for companies already investing in environmental improvements. In tourism, the impact is twofold, affecting both operations and reputation, as traveler trust depends on clear and demonstrable messages.
The European regulatory framework is evolving rapidly. Three directives account for much of the current debate due to their impact on sustainable tourism, ESG reporting, and sustainability certification.
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the main EU regulation on sustainability reporting, significantly expands reporting obligations in environmental, social, and governance matters.
It requires large companies—and progressively more actors in the value chain (and later, many non-EU companies with operations in the EU)—to publish detailed, standardized, and audited ESG information in accordance with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). It significantly expands the previous Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD).
For the tourism sector, this implies:
Although many SMEs will not initially be required to report directly, they will be affected as part of supply chains subject to this directive.
The Directive on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition (ECGTD) introduces relevant changes in the regulation of commercial communications related to sustainability.
Also known as “ECGT” or “EmpCo,” it is a 2024 EU directive aimed at strengthening consumer protection against greenwashing. It does so by amending the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and the Consumer Rights Directive, requiring that any environmental claim or sustainability label be specific, verifiable, and supported by evidence.
Recital 7 literally states:
“Sustainability labels may refer to many characteristics of a product, process, or company, and it is essential to ensure their transparency and credibility. Therefore, the display of sustainability labels that are not based on a certification system or that have not been established by public authorities should be prohibited by including such practices in the list of Annex I to Directive 2005/29/EC. Before displaying a sustainability label, the trader must ensure that, in accordance with the publicly available conditions of the certification system, the label meets minimum conditions of transparency and credibility, including the existence of objective monitoring of compliance with the system’s requirements. Such monitoring must be carried out by a third party whose competence and independence from both the system owner and the trader are guaranteed through international, Union, or national technical standards and procedures, for example, by demonstrating compliance with relevant international technical standards, such as ISO 17065 Conformity assessment — Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes, and services, or through the mechanisms provided for in Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council.”
In practice, this directive requires that any label or certification linked to sustainability be specific, verifiable, and supported by evidence. In addition, these labels must meet minimum conditions of transparency and credibility, including the existence of objective monitoring of compliance with the system’s requirements (for example, through a competent and independent third party).
As a result, the rules to prevent greenwashing in consumer communication are strengthened, as labels or certifications must be subject to greater control and rigor, providing greater “guarantee” and trust for consumers.
The Green Claims Directive (GCD) proposes that explicit environmental claims be based on scientific methodologies and subject to independent verification before being communicated.
This EU legislative proposal is intended to establish strict, science-based rules for substantiating environmental claims (“green claims”) and to require independent and accredited verification before such claims can be made. In this way, it aims to establish a common European standard on how to justify and validate environmental claims before communicating them.
Although the proposal has been paused or partially withdrawn, with negotiations suspended in mid-2025 due to political concerns about the burden on SMEs and disagreements among Member States, the regulatory direction is clear.
Environmental claims must be supported by measurable and comparable data, reinforcing the importance of robust methodologies and independent verification.
While the ECGTD mainly regulates how environmental claims are communicated, the GCD focuses on how they are technically substantiated before dissemination.
For sustainable tourism, this implies aligning management, measurement, and communication under rigorous criteria.
In a scenario where the EU requires more rigorous and comparable communications, and where the risk of greenwashing increases when promises without a basis are brought to market, sustainability certification evolves from a communicative “label” to a structured management system.
In this sense, credible third-party certification schemes provide verified environmental data, support substantiated claims, and enable continuous improvement and transparency processes, reducing legal and reputational risks associated with unverified environmental communications.
This is how the TSCA understands it, stating that “sustainability certification has evolved and increasingly represents a mechanism of governance and compliance, not just a marketing tool.”
From a responsible communication perspective, this approach helps reduce the risk of greenwashing because it establishes a framework of requirements and evidence and, where applicable, incorporates third-party verification; consequently, it enables more precise messaging, avoids generic claims, and allows improvements to be documented with indicators before being communicated to the market.
In practice, a solid certification provides a management and governance system that enables:
For many SMEs operating directly or indirectly in tourism, certification acts as a “roadmap” that translates complex concepts into concrete and verifiable steps.
And for organizations working with large clients or supply chains, having structured data facilitates responding to ESG information requests and preparing internal reports more consistently. In short, certification helps move from statements to evidence-based management; the same applies to tourism destinations.
At Biosphere, we share the need for sector-specific frameworks applicable to tourism.
As a founding partner of the TSCA, we contribute to promoting a certification system based on evidence, technical expertise, and operational reality, aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and using the language currently used by the market to measure performance, namely ESG criteria (Environmental, Social, and Governance).
This approach is part of the DNA of Biosphere and the Responsible Tourism Institute (RTI), which for more than twenty-five years have supported companies and destinations in integrating sustainability as a measurable management system. A vision of responsible tourism that helps organizations and destinations move from intention to action, with clear criteria, continuous improvement, and credibility with clients, authorities, and investors.
When frameworks (SDGs and ESG) are translated into verifiable metrics, the result is twofold: improved environmental performance and reduced reputational risk associated with imprecise communications.
The central message is clear. To accelerate sustainable tourism in Europe, regulatory stability, early sectoral dialogue, and consistent rules across Member States are needed, along with frameworks that recognize the sector’s diversity.
For a tourism company, especially an SME, uncertainty translates into doubts about where to invest and how to communicate. Predictable rules, on the other hand, allow planning, prioritizing investments, and allocating resources to what matters most: reducing impacts, improving efficiency, and generating value.
In this regard, the TSCA states that “this association advocates for earlier and deeper sectoral consultation mechanisms to help design realistic standards for tourism and hospitality,” and at the same time, that these mechanisms should “avoid a recurring problem in cross-border industries, namely fragmented implementation of these rules among different Member States.”
In other words, a common standard based on measurement and independent verification facilitates comparability, reduces legal risks, and improves consumer trust. This will enable:
For all these reasons, at Biosphere, we support the requests made by the TSCA to European authorities, while continuing to strengthen our commitment to supporting companies and destinations in adapting to European tourism sustainability regulations, providing practical tools, verifiable certification, and alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ESG criteria.
And we do so with the firm conviction that sustainability is not driven solely by regulatory ambition. It is consolidated when regulatory objectives are translated into data, structured management, and continuous improvement with real impact on companies and destinations.