Why does sustainability credibility now seem to hinge more on what you have signed up for rather than what you have actually delivered? Net zero commitments, global initiatives, members of some alliance, the louder and more ambitious the commitment is the more sustainable your company appears. How did we get here? When did announcing a promise to start something overshadow what is being achieved?
There has been a surge in sustainability commitments that can require membership fees, extensive reporting and internal resources to maintain. For many companies these frameworks provide useful direction and create momentum. But for some, the pressure to join simply to keep up with peers can be overwhelming. The unfiltered truth is that joining a high-profile initiative or commitment is quick, visible and a PR delight. Delivering authentic impact, however, is slow, messy and requires sustained effort. In travel, this dynamic has created a culture where signing up is celebrated far more enthusiastically than showing progress.
Certifications and badges have also multiplied rapidly, complete with fees and compliance demands. They do provide consistency and help buyers and suppliers speak the same language, but they are also contributing to sustainability fatigue – the sense that credibility is something that you can purchase through logos and pledges. When badges and commitments become shorthand for sustainability, we risk undermining the whole effort.
This isn’t to dismiss their value. Commitments and certifications provide guidance, they set frameworks, signal ambition and can help align industry. The problem is that they have become the destination and not the foundation. A travel programme may have only one commitment and no shiny certification. Yet, it may be making year-on-year reductions, engaging travellers, improving the granularity of reporting and engaging with suppliers on the topic. Meanwhile another company may showcase a plethora of badges and pledges but show very little genuine action.
Credibility comes from progress, not promises. You don’t need a long list of commitments or every certification out there to be taken seriously. What should matter is transparency, measurable improvement and a willingness to persist with genuine effort. Commitments can support the journey, but they are not proof of impact unless backed up by substantial work.
Sustainability isn’t a competition to announce the boldest goal. It is a continuous, often imperfect approach to improving. And that is where the true sustainability credibility lies.
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