Sustainability certification for hotels and venues
What the Events Industry Council's Sustainable Event Standards ask of a hotel or venue, how often it is audited, and how to budget and record the cost.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Hospitality businesses in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya
A conference organiser sends your sales team a request for proposal, and near the top is a question you have not been asked before: is the venue certified against a recognised sustainability standard? For hotels and venues that live on events, questions like that are starting to decide shortlists.
Answering honestly means knowing what certification involves, what it will cost over several years, and how the spending should show in your books. This piece looks at the Events Industry Council's Sustainable Event Standards from the side of a hotel, lodge or conference venue in South Africa, Nigeria or Kenya.
The standards written for properties
The Events Industry Council (EIC) describes its Sustainable Event Standards as eight standards: Accommodation, Audio Visual & Production, Destination, Event Organiser, Exhibition Services, Food & Beverage, Integrated Property and Venue. Compliance is verified by a third party, and the standards replaced the former APEX/ASTM Environmentally Sustainable Meeting Standards.
Four of the eight concern a property directly:
- Accommodation, for the rooms side of the business;
- Venue, for meeting rooms, halls and function spaces;
- Food & Beverage, for the kitchen and catering operation;
- Integrated Property, which the EIC added in its update for properties offering accommodation, venue and food and beverage together.
A country hotel with its own conference centre and restaurant is the case Integrated Property was written for. A stand-alone venue that brings in outside caterers is more likely to look at Venue on its own. The update also drew a clearer line between the responsibilities of event organisers and those of their suppliers, so read which commitments fall to you and which to the organiser who books you.
What the auditors look at
The EIC says every standard has criteria in the same areas:
- organisational management;
- marketing, communications and engagement;
- climate action;
- water management;
- materials and circularity;
- supply chain management;
- diversity, equity and inclusion;
- accessibility and social impact.
That is broader than many general managers expect. Water-saving fittings and recycling stations are part of it, but so is the way you choose and brief suppliers, the way you communicate with guests and organisers, and how accessible the property is.
Certification comes at four levels, awarded on the percentage of criteria achieved against the maximum points for each sector, and the update added a Foundations Level as a starting point. A property does not have to meet every criterion to be certified. It does have to know where it stands and which level it is aiming for.
Third-party audits, the cycle and the fees
Under the updated standards, the EIC says suppliers face a comprehensive audit in the first and fourth years, with surveillance audits on fewer criteria in the second and third years. Certification fees depend on the complexity of the audit and the size of the organisation or event.
That gives a four-year rhythm to plan around:
| Year | Audit | What to plan for |
|---|---|---|
| First | Comprehensive | Preparation, most of the upgrade spending, the full audit |
| Second | Surveillance, fewer criteria | Follow-up actions from the first audit |
| Third | Surveillance, fewer criteria | Closing gaps before the next full audit |
| Fourth | Comprehensive | A full audit across the criteria again |
Because fees depend on your audit and your size, there is no list price to work from. Ask for a written quote covering the whole cycle before committing.
Budgeting the programme by account and month
In Achekam a business can set a budget per account and period and compare it with actual figures from its ledger. Use that to keep certification visible rather than buried in general maintenance:
- an expense account for certification and audit fees, budgeted in the months the audits fall;
- separate lines for running costs that change with the programme, such as waste removal or staff training;
- a capital budget for upgrades that will become assets rather than expenses.
A monthly look at budget against actual shows whether the programme is costing what you expected, and whether the upgrades will be finished before the next comprehensive audit.
Recording the bills and the new equipment
The certifying body's invoice is a supplier bill. In Achekam, supplier bills are entered line by line, each line with its VAT. If no purchase order stands behind a bill, it waits for someone to approve it before posting, and once posted it can be settled in one payment or several, from whichever bank account you choose. Line-by-line entry lets you separate the audit fee from travel or other charges on the same invoice.
Upgrades bought to meet the criteria, such as new kitchen equipment or water-saving systems, usually belong on the fixed-asset register rather than in expenses. Achekam's register lets a business add assets at cost, depreciate them monthly by straight line or reducing balance with a journal each month, and dispose of them with the profit or loss posted. It does not work out tax wear-and-tear, and it is not part of Business Essentials, so check that your plan includes it. Where the line between an upgrade and a repair is unclear, refurbishment: asset or repair works through the decision.
Deciding whether to go ahead
Three questions settle most cases: do the organisers you sell to ask for certification, how much of the criteria do you already meet, and what will the whole cycle cost? Organisers have a standard of their own, explained in the EIC standards for event organisers, and knowing what they must ask of you helps you price the effort. The EIC's page on the Sustainable Event Standards lists the eight standards, the criteria areas, the certification levels and the updated audit cycle.
Begin by reading the Integrated Property or Venue criteria against your own property and marking what you already do. The gaps become your upgrade budget, and the budget becomes the case for or against certifying.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
