In the leadership of
Sustainable Tourism

The Azores are the first archipelago in the world certified as a sustainable tourist destination by the international certifying entity EarthCheck, under the criteria of the Global Council for Sustainable Tourism.

Sustainability Policy

We believe in the commitment between people and nature

It is the way to follow in the region, in order to increase, every day, the quality of life of all the azoreans. 

For more than two decades, initiatives that lead to the protection and preservation of the Azores have been privileged. This path led the destination to the continuous development of sustainability policies, such as:

A transparent commitment

with the sustainable development of the Azores

Although we are an internationally certified tourist destination, we know that this is a process of continuous improvement, where it is necessary to measure, analyze the impacts and identify the inherent risks, in order to adjust the processes and the way we operate. Only, through visionary, ambitious and collaborative work – integrating all the stakeholders of the destination – will be possible to achieve our ambitious goals: to become the most sustainable archipelago in the world!

Measure to manage

in the direction of sustainability!

We constantly monitor all actions and initiatives. This way can we progress, innovate and raise our sustainability standards, always seeking to do more and better.

Key performance areas:

Energy efficiency

Air quality and light and noise pollution

Society and

culture

Ecosystem and biodiversity

Water

Greenhouse gases

Spatial planning

Waste

Wastewater and  sewage

Transports

Economy

Substances harmful  to theenvironment

Sustainability Working Groups

9 islands - 9 Green Teams

Meet the process

Get to know the Earthcheck Certification phases

01
Registo

Start the process;

02
Commitment

Take on a mission

  • Establishing a team;
  • Involve stakeholders;
  • Develop, adopt, and promote an environmental and social sustainability policy.
03
Evaluation

Analyzing the destination's sustainability performance

  • Collect quantitative and qualitative data;
  • Access to real-time information;
  • Identifying critical points.
04
Planning, consultation and reporting

Getting involved to evolve

  • Prioritization of challenges;
  • Co-creation of the Azores sustainability action plan;
  • Performance report;
  • Measuring the success of implementing measures.
05
Communication

Raising awareness of the process

06
Auditing

Verifying commitments

  • Independent, experienced, and credible evaluation to verify the commitments made.
07
Success

Fulfilling the journey

Celebration of the results achieved

  • 1-4 years I Silver Certification
  • 5-9 years I Gold Certification
  • 10-14 years I Platinum Certification
  • + 15 years I Master Certification
  •  
08
Renewal

Update the process

  • Process renewal every 12 months

Meet local certified tourism companies