The Management of Biosphere Responsible Tourism, S.L. (BRT), aware that the value of certification lies in the confidence it provides, and that this confidence can only be achieved through an impartial, competent assessment based on objective evidence, declares and undertakes to comply with the principles set out in this policy, in accordance with the ISO/IEC 17065 standard.
BRT's Management takes responsibility for the impartiality of its certification activities and for the application of this policy throughout the organisation. BRT will not allow commercial, financial or any other pressures to compromise its impartiality.
All of BRT's certification activities are governed by the principles of impartiality, independence, objectivity, integrity and confidentiality. Certification decisions are based exclusively on objective evidence of conformity with the applicable requirements of the certification scheme, and are not influenced by other interests or parties.
Fees for certification services do not depend on the outcome of the assessment, and the remuneration of personnel involved in certification processes is not linked to the number of certificates granted or to the outcome of assessments.
In order to safeguard its impartiality, BRT and any part of the same legal entity:
BRT will not certify an entity that has received consultancy or internal auditing from an organisation whose relationship with BRT poses an unacceptable threat to its impartiality. Nor will BRT market its certification services in conjunction with consultancy activities, or suggest that certification would be simpler, quicker or less expensive if a particular consultancy organisation were used.
In the case of certification services under the Biosphere Scheme, the Responsible Tourism Institute (RTI) is the owner of the Biosphere Scheme and is responsible for its development, maintenance and updating. BRT is the certification body authorised by the RTI to operate the Scheme. The RTI does not take part in the evaluation, review or certification decision of entities, which are the sole responsibility of BRT.
Should BRT market certification services for other Schemes, this same impartiality policy will apply, and the identity and independence of the corresponding Scheme owner will be set out, with BRT being in all cases the certification body that operates the schemes, applying independent and impartial assessment processes.
The courses offered by BRT are openly available and provide general information on sustainability, sustainable development, the SDGs and other international frameworks. They are not tailored to the needs of any specific entity and do not include specific solutions for its certification process; they therefore do not constitute consultancy. Whether or not an entity has taken a BRT course has no bearing whatsoever on the outcome of the assessment or on the certification decision.
BRT identifies risks to its impartiality on an ongoing basis, including those arising from its own activities, from related organisations and from the relationships of its personnel. Such relationships include, for example, those based on ownership, governance, management, personnel, shared resources, finances, contracts, marketing or the payment of commissions for referring clients.
Where a risk is identified, BRT analyses its extent, takes the necessary measures to eliminate or minimise it, and documents this analysis. If a relationship poses an unacceptable threat to impartiality, BRT will not provide the certification service.
Before starting any new activity, BRT will analyse any potential conflicts of interest it may give rise to and their impact on compliance with this policy.
Where a certification service is funded in full or in part by a third party (for example, a destination, an administration or an association, through support programmes or the assignment of codes), such funding does not give that third party any ability to intervene in the assessment or in the certification decision, nor any right to access the documentation submitted by the entity being assessed, unless expressly authorised by that entity.
All BRT personnel, whether internal or external, including auditors, committee members and anyone acting on its behalf, undertake in writing to act impartially and to maintain the confidentiality of any information to which they have access.
Such personnel must inform BRT, before each assignment and as soon as they become aware of it, of any situation that may give rise to a conflict of interest for themselves or for BRT. BRT will assess this information and, if it poses a threat to impartiality, will not assign that person any evaluation, review or certification decision activities relating to the entity concerned.
BRT will not use personnel who have provided consultancy services to, or been employed by, an entity within the previous two (2) years to evaluate, review or decide on the certification of that entity.
Certification review and decisions are carried out by persons other than those who carried out the evaluation.
No person working for or on behalf of BRT may accept, from any source, gifts, incentives or any other benefit that could influence, or appear to influence, their professional judgement, nor favour, delay or cancel any transaction between BRT and its clients. Personnel will not allow themselves to be influenced by intimidation or coercion (for example, the threat of being replaced or reported to a superior) and must report any such situation to BRT's Management, which will take appropriate action, such as replacing the personnel involved.
Examples of situations that may give rise to a conflict of interest include:
BRT cannot anticipate every situation that may give rise to a conflict of interest. Its personnel and anyone providing services on its behalf must therefore act at all times in a way that does not compromise the independence or objectivity of their work, and report any doubtful situation.
BRT has personnel and structures in the form of “Committees”, with balanced participation of interested parties, which are involved in developing the policies relating to impartiality, periodically review the risk analysis and may take action where BRT shows any tendency to allow commercial or other considerations to prevent the consistent and objective provision of certification activities.
BRT treats as confidential all information obtained or created during its certification activities, except information that the client makes publicly available or information that has been agreed in advance with the client may be made public. Further details can be found in our Confidentiality Policy.
BRT informs each client in advance, through the contractual documentation for the certification service, of the information it will make publicly available. By accepting it, the client authorises BRT to publish the following information in its public web repository under the biospheresustainable.com domain:
BRT will not provide any other client information to the public or to third parties, except information that the client has expressly authorised or that is required by the competent authorities. In the latter case, BRT will inform the client in advance of the information provided, unless prohibited by law.
Complaints, claims and appeals are not made public, although they may be provided to the accreditation body where it so requires in the performance of its duties in assessing BRT.
Any person or organisation aware of a situation that could compromise BRT's impartiality may report it to info@biospheresustainable.com. BRT will analyse the information received and, where appropriate, take the necessary action.
Biosphere Responsible Tourism, S.L. (BRT)
Tax ID (CIF): B76584770
Registered address: C/ La Rosa, 1, 1.º, CP 38002, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
Email: info@biospheresustainable.com
Telephone: (+34) 902 929 928
Last updated: 28 September 2026