Some public administrations, tourism organizations, destination managers, and business associations promote programs to help businesses in their region advance in sustainability. Each program has its own scope and conditions, and may include training, consulting, promotional activities, or certification services.
When a program includes our certification services, the sponsoring organization (a city government, a regional tourism board, an association, etc.) contracts with us and pays for a specific number of services, which it then allocates to businesses in its area that meet the conditions it has established. The sponsor is free to set these conditions—for example, having a tax address in the destination, belonging to a local association, or being up to date on municipal taxes.
Likewise, there are programs whose promoters allocate a financial fund to subsidize our certification services. In this case, if you contract our certification services for your organization, you submit the invoice for our services to the program promoter, who then reimburses you for the amount. The conditions are determined at the promoter’s discretion.
Under no circumstances does our organization intervene in the allocation of or the conditions for accessing such financial assistance.
Under the program, the promoter either pays us directly for the certification services it assigns to companies in its territory, or reimburses the companies for the annual fee they have paid.
The program sponsor may publicize the participating entities through its own information or promotional channels, in accordance with its terms and conditions.
Some programs also include training, counseling, or other support services organized by the program sponsor. For request those services, please contact the program sponsor.
According to the program, funding for our certification services can come to you in two ways.
Service assigned by the program sponsor. The program sponsor contracts us and pays for a specific number of certification services for entities in its program. For each service assigned, the developer provides a code to the company once it has been verified that the company meets the conditions. This code is not a price discount: it is the way to verify on our platform that the sponsor has already paid for your entity’s service. When applied at the Biosphere Sustainable platform payment gateway, the annual fee of €359 per entity is covered by the portion funded by the sponsor.
Reimbursement Assistance. The program sponsor has a budget allocated to subsidize our certification services. In this case, you contract for and pay the annual fee of €359 per entity on our platform, submit the invoice for our services to the program sponsor, and the sponsor reimburses you for the amount, according to the terms and procedure they have established.
In either case, the fact that the service is funded by a third party does not change the certification process. The service relationship is established between your organization and our certification body; the evaluation and certification decision rest exclusively with our certification body; and, if you obtain the certificate, your organization is the certificate holder.
Check whether there is an active programme where your organisation is located and which type of funding applies. If there is, select the programme or the promoting body and contact the promoter directly to request the allocation of the service or the funding. You will usually be asked for your corporate email address, your organisation’s registered name and its website. Whether it is granted depends on the promoter confirming that you meet its conditions and on the programme having services or funds available.
It depends on each programme. If the promoter allocates you a service it has already paid for, it will usually cover the full annual fee and your organisation will not have to make any payment. If it covers only part of the fee, you will pay the difference at the payment gateway. If the programme works through reimbursement, you pay the annual fee yourself and then apply to the promoter for reimbursement, for the amount and under the conditions it determines.
Having funding does not mean obtaining certification: your organization must complete the conformity assessment process for the chosen certification scheme and demonstrate that it meets the requirements for the level it is applying for.
These programmes are not organised or managed by our certification body: they are initiatives by external organisms and associations that have decided to fund our certification services. Check whether there is a programme in your area, who is promoting it and which type of funding applies, and contact the promoter directly. If you meet its conditions, it will give you the code to apply on the platform or tell you how to apply for reimbursement.
This page lists the programmes we are aware of. There may be other programmes or sources of funding that include our certification services but do not appear on this list because their promoter has not informed us of them. We therefore recommend that you also check the calls for funding applications published by your local council, tourism board or regional government. For any questions about conditions, deadlines, amounts or availability, please contact the promoter. Our entity does not take part in allocating this funding or in setting the conditions of access to it: our role is limited to providing the contracted certification service.
You can always sign up directly for our certification services at an annual fee of €359 per organization, which covers 365 days under the Biosphere certification scheme for businesses.
The evaluation process and third-party audit for our services are exactly the same: funding from a sponsor only changes who pays for the service—it never changes how the evaluation is conducted or whether you can access and receive this service.
These programs are not permanent, and new ones may emerge, so we recommend checking this list again or asking your local city government, regional tourism board, or any association your organization may belong to. In the meantime, you can get started whenever you like: creating your profile on our Biosphere Sustainable platform is free, and the annual fee is only due when you request our assessment services.
Each certification service covers one organisation’s annual fee for 365 days. If your organisation meets the conditions of several programmes, please check with each promoter whether their funding can be combined.