Lost in the forest of circular economy certificates in tourism sector

Abstract

Circular economy represents a paradigm shift compared to the linear economy (producer, use and throw away). This offers the possibility of producing by reducing waste and even seeks mechanisms to reuse them. This concept allows companies to show more responsible behavior. Moreover, it is shown as a source of improvement and efficiency. Circular economy has been implemented for a long time in industrial sectors, but it is not so widespread so far in the tourism sector. However, it is known to be one of the sources of improvement available to tourism companies, and in the last few years, these types of companies are showing great interest in adopting it. One of the difficulties for them is finding the right way to adopt specific measures. One of the paths that help companies to make their efforts more effective and also more visible is going for an official certificate that may show their stakeholders that they are consistent with circular economy principles. For this reason, most of the companies implementing circular economy also seek the reward of the visibility that a certification gives. However, many tourism companies feel lost in the forest of the huge amount of certificates available nowadays in the market, which supposedly analyze and identify such behavior. This article tries to shed some light to help companies within this context.