"TourCert", the non-profit certification organisation in tourism, was founded to certify CSR/sustainability reports prepared by tour operators. Founders are the Centre for Ecology & Development (KATE-Stuttgart), the German Church Development Service (EED), Naturefriends International, Vienna, and the University of Applied Science Eberswalde. It is managed by KATE.
A CSR certification council has been set up to support the promotion of CSR certification in tourism. It evaluates the experiences and continues to further develop the CSR certification guidelines. It approves CSR experts, is in charge of the monitoring of external audits and serves as an arbitration body in case of disputes. The members of the certification council work on a volunteer basis. The council is independent. It decides on the certification. "TourCert" will then award the label "CSR-certified".
Contact: TourCert, c/o Kontaktstelle für Umwelt und Entwicklung (KATE), Blumenstraße 18, 70182 Stuttgart, Germany. E-mail: info@tourcert.org, http://www.tourcert.org/
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(June 2009, TW 55)