Booking.com is ending its sustainability program after the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) labeled it as misleading. ACM announced this on Monday. After discussions with ACM, Booking.com has decided to take its so-called Travel Sustainable program (formerly: Sustainable Travel) offline with immediate effect. Through this program, affiliated accommodations receive a score (‘level’) with one or more green leaves on the Booking website. The scores range from 1 to 3+, depending on sustainability efforts of accommodations. ACM assessed the presentation of this programme as misleading. The Travel Sustainable claim may falsely give the impression that travel is sustainable, says the consumer watchdog. ‘It was also not sufficiently clear which aspects the claim covers, which can create a distorted picture of the actual sustainability efforts of accommodations.’ Booking.com is removing the incorrect sustainability claims from the Travel Sustainable program worldwide and has informed ACM that it is working on an improved system. ACM says it encourages initiatives that enable consumers to make sustainable choices. ‘It is important that companies use clear, correct, and relevant sustainability claims,’ says Edwin van Houten, Director of ACM’s Consumer Department. ‘Consumers are increasingly aware of the impact they themselves have on the climate, even when they travel. When choosing an accommodation, consumers must therefore also be able to understand and trust the sustainability claims used.’ According to ACM, Booking.com’s Travel Sustainable program did not meet the requirements set by law and were elaborated in ACM’s Guidelines on Sustainability Claims.
According to ACM, the system, which is now offline, did not meet the following requirements: -The name of the Travel Sustainable program was a potentially misleading sustainability claim. It implies that travel and the stay in the accommodations affiliated with the program is sustainable, while this is incorrect. The use of the green leaf reinforces this. -The program gave a distorted picture of the accommodations that are not affiliated with the program. Because these accommodations were not labeled with leaflets and claims, it could appear that these accommodations were not making any sustainability efforts. -It was unclear to consumers what the scores are based on. This was not explained clearly enough by Booking.com on the general page about the program. -Not all measures mentioned in the accommodations can be qualified as measures that provide a significant sustainability benefit. For example, abolishing single-use plastic in a hotel. This is already prohibited in the European Union and is therefore not an additional sustainability effort on the initiative of the hotel. Booking.com has pledged to stop using the Travel Sustainable claim and its associated scores. It will also no longer use icons such as green leaves when displaying accommodations. ACM says it is pleased that Booking.com is taking action and is working on an improved program that makes use of external certification and is aimed at making the accommodations more sustainable. ‘This helps consumers make sustainable choices and encourages companies to invest in sustainability.’ In order to support the development towards a more sustainable society, ACM focuses on providing information and tackling incorrect sustainability information. The supervision of companies’ sustainability claims contributes to this, according to ACM. “Consumers must be able to make a sustainable choice with confidence. Companies that are committed to sustainability must be protected from companies that compete unfairly by using misleading claims.” ACM also wants to create the right conditions to promote the transition to a more sustainable economy. ACM says it will remove obstacles and give them leeway where possible. (Photo: Shutterstock).
