- What minimums do I have to demonstrate to achieve my certification?
Only by demonstrating that your organisation contributes to the fulfilment of all SDGs, in a holistic way and balancing efforts across all sustainability areas, will you be able to see your progress and reach the optimal level for the platform to allow you to apply for your first audit.
Through the platform itself, you will be able to see and monitor your progress in real time. Once you have completed 100% of the minimum efforts required by the certification in the progress bar of your central panel, the platform will show you the option to request your first audit. Once requested, this process can take up to 20 working days, so please be patient.
While your entity is being audited, your management profile will be frozen. Once successfully passed, the platform will unlock and allow you to continue working on your plan to further demonstrate new and improved sustainable efforts. You will then see if you have achieved your certification and if so, all your downloadable materials and your web profile will be updated.
- Is the payment always the same?
Yes. The current price of the Biosphere annual subscription is 359€/year, regardless of the type and size of your company. No additional charge will be applied, having all services and functionalities available activated for 365 days within the annual subscription.
- Is the audit fee included?
Yes, the annual fee includes online audits which are carried out of all the answers and documentation sent by the entity. If you are interested, you can also request the on-site audit service, which will be charged additionally as a personalised service.
- How is payment made?
For both the first annual subscription and annual renewals, you will be able to make the secure payment by virtual TVP, through the platform's own secure payment gateway. It is necessary to be up to date with the payment of the fee to enjoy the benefits of certification.
- How does the process start?
To get started, you will need to register your username by entering your email address and password on the registration page. Once registration is complete, you will receive an activation email in your inbox. You will need to activate your email address in order to log in. Once activated, log in to register your company by entering the required details. In order to register more than one company, you will need to complete the subscription process by paying the fee. Only by completing the process and successfully subscribing your first company, you will unlock the button to continue registering a new entity.
- What does the audit consist of?
The exernal third party audit body will have a period of 20 working days to complete the audit, from the moment of its request. In this process, the auditor will check and validate the evidence provided by the company through the platform, generating a final audit report indicating the various issues to be improved or resolved, as well as the strengths of the good practices presented. Once the audit report has been completed and positively validated by the Technical Committee, the certificate is issued. From this moment on you will be able to enjoy the benefits of being part of the Biosphere Community as a certified entity.
- What does the renewal process consist of?
Once you have passed the first audit process and obtained the certification, the diploma will be renewed annually with the quality system and continuous verification of the Responsible Tourism Institute (RTI). By keeping your subscription up to date, your organisation will be part of the system and you must keep your evidence and efforts up to date in this process of continuous improvement, so that in the verification processes no non-conformities are detected and no expiry date is reached in the evidence previously provided.
In order to keep the seal and certificate active, subscriptions must be kept up to date and work must continue on the Biosphere plan to constantly demonstrate the good practices carried out by the organisation at all times. In this way, the year after obtaining the certification, the entity enters a quality and verification system in which, on a random date, it will undergo an annual check. In the case of not having the subscription in force, it would not be part of this system and, therefore, we cannot guarantee with our seal that the information is kept verified, so the QR code of the diplomas and the plugin would be inactivated.
- How can I ask for the Destination Certification process?
Destination certification is a broad and complex area that cannot be contracted through the web. The technical-economic proposals are customised, and many and varied services can be added to improve sustainability in the destination (sustainable alignment of the business fabric, training, awareness-raising actions, etc.). However, if you play a technical or authority role with tourism and/or territorial competences in the destination, you can contact our team directly can contact our team directly to request information customised to your destination, to your needs and interests for its sustainable development.
