Sustainability certification for South African tourism

Sustainability you can prove.

One standard for every kind of tourism business, certified by independent auditors. The criteria are open for comment now. See how close you already are.

Check your readiness 8 min or get your criteria
Every kind of tourism businessTap to see what's covered

Prove what you already do.

You may already save water, manage energy, buy local and look after your people. Proven Places turns that into evidence: checked against published criteria, shown on one mark, and kept up to date.

See how certification works

Organise your evidence once

Tour operators and corporate buyers ask suppliers for proof. Keep one checked set and reuse it for every buyer request.

PP-0001Your guesthouse · Your townCertified Standard · valid to Nov 2027

A listing in the directory

Only checked businesses are listed. Each listing shows what was checked, for which parts of the business, and until when, so anyone can look you up.

Proven PlacesEnergy18.4 kWh / guest nightWater210 L / guest nightCarbon17.8 kg CO₂e / night

A data card with your figures

Energy, water, waste and carbon per guest night, cover, visitor or round, with the period and what was checked, so buyers can compare like with like.

A mark that says what was verified

Each solid tile is a theme whose criteria are met and verified. The scope line names the parts of the business it covers. Use it on your own website and materials.

What do you run?

Everyone works to one standard. Your criteria, and the questions in the readiness check, depend on what you run and what you have on site.

1Your main business

Supply tourism businesses rather than run one? Laundries, food, cleaning products, surplus food platforms.Supply tourism businesses?

Supplier verification
2Also run something else?

Tick anything else at the same place, such as a guesthouse with a restaurant, or a reserve with a lodge.

3What do you have on site?

These bring in extra criteria. Dashed ones are added because of what you run.

4About your business

A few answers that change which requirements apply.

Your mark would read

Certified Standard: Energy, Water, Waste and Sourcing, plus the core. The other four tiles turn solid at Certified Advanced.

Start with one theme, verified remotely Requirements to verify each theme:
    Plus – core basics, checked once with your first theme.
    Certified StandardAll four themes and the core, checked on site: – requirements in – criteria.
    Certified AdvancedEvery theme that applies: – requirements in – criteria.

    See which themes are ready to be verified: – questions, about 10 minutes. One set of criteria and one mark for everything you run.

    Check your readiness 8 minSee my criteria

    Your answers carry into both. The readiness check is an indicative self-check; only an audit confirms what meets the criteria.

    How certification works

    Verified themes are checked remotely by Proven Places. Certified Standard and Certified Advanced are audited on site by an independent auditor. Each level is checked against the published criteria and includes the one before. Your mark shows what was verified, for which parts of the business, and until when.

    How to read the mark

    Solid tiles are verified themes. Outlined tiles are not yet verified.

    The scope line says what's covered, such as a lodge and its game drives. Anything not named is not covered.

    Every mark is dated and links to the business's listing in the Proven Places directory.

    What is required?

    Most of it comes from records you already keep: utility bills, invoices and staff files.

    1. 8 minutesCheck your readiness

      Answer the questions we ask first, and see which themes are ready to be verified.

    2. Hours to daysBuild your evidence folder

      Add 12 months of bills and records to your Proven Places folder online. How long depends on the records you keep.

    3. A few weeksVerified, theme by theme

      Our team reviews your folder remotely, one theme at a time.

    4. Half a day to a daySite visit for Certified Standard

      An independent auditor visits. Small gaps get a fix-it list and time to close them. Final timings are set with the certification body.

    5. Every yearKeep it current

      Update your figures. Your mark and data card stay dated, and your directory listing stays current.

    What does it cost? The readiness check is free, and verifying a theme starts at R750. See what it costs

    Worked example: a guesthouse starts with Energy →See the criteria for what you run

    What it costs

    VerifiedR750 per themeor R2,500 for Energy, Water, Waste and Sourcing together
    • Any theme, whenever you are ready: just Energy for carbon, or Energy and Water
    • Checked remotely by the Proven Places team
    • Its tile turns solid on your mark for 12 months
    No yearly fee and no site visit. The readiness check is free.
    Certified StandardR5,000 a yearfor a small business, or about R417 a month. R4,000 to R12,000 by size.
    • Energy, Water, Waste and Sourcing, checked by the independent auditor in the on-site audit, with no verification fees
    • The core criteria every business meets
    • Your mark, data card and directory listing
    • Add another theme to your mark, such as Nature, at R750
    Plus the on-site audit, paid directly to the independent auditor: about R5,000, every 2 years
    Certified AdvancedR10,000 a yearto R15,000 a year by size, or R833 to R1,250 a month
    • Every theme that applies, including Chemicals, Nature, Fair work and Community
    • Targets and results shared openly
    • Everything in Certified Standard
    Plus the on-site audit, paid directly to the independent auditor

    Indicative prices, excluding VAT, while prices are finalised with our pilot businesses. Certification fees go by size: micro R4,000, small R5,000, medium R8,000 and large R12,000 a year, by rooms for accommodation and by staff for everyone else. On-site audit fees are paid directly to the independent auditor that checks your business, never to Proven Places. Verification fees apply only to themes verified on their own, before or outside certification, and are paid to Proven Places. At certification, every theme is checked by the independent auditor as part of the audit. Pilot businesses keep the launch price for 2 years, and nothing is charged until you agree.

    Pilot programme · open now

    Join the pilot.

    Start now with help at every step. Pilot businesses get guidance on their evidence folder and a say in the criteria for their sector. Start with the readiness check and tick "call me".

    1. NowCheck your readiness and comment on the criteria for what you run.
    2. With our helpBuild your evidence folder, theme by theme, from records you already keep.
    3. When you're readyWe book your checks and audit, and your mark, data card and directory listing follow.
    Start here · 8 minutesCheck your readinessYour result on screen, and your plan and criteria by email.Check your readiness 8 min Open for commentRead the criteriaSee every requirement for what you run, comment on what doesn't fit, and download it as a PDF.Get my criteria

    Rather talk first? Get in touch.

    For businesses that supply tourism

    Supply hotels, lodges or restaurants? Have your claim verified.

    Laundries, food suppliers, cleaning products, surplus food platforms. Tourism businesses are asked for proof about what they buy. We verify one specific claim you make, so your customers can use your figures in their own reporting.

    You get the Verified mark with a scope line naming what was checked, a verification statement and a listing in the directory. Valid for 12 months.

    How supplier verification worksTell us what you supply
    Example Which suppliers do you verify?We write criteria for each kind of supplier as suppliers ask for them, and publish them for comment. Tell us what you supply →

    Help shape the standard for your sector.

    The criteria are open for comment. Tell us, requirement by requirement, what fits, what's missing and what would be hard to do. We read every comment and publish what changed in each version.

    Read and comment
    EN4.1Needed for Standard and Advanced
    At least 80% of lamps are LED or equivalent, failed lamps are replaced with LED, and outdoor, sports and floodlighting runs on timers or sensors. Evidence: lamp count sheet · purchase invoices · timer or sensor photos
    This fitsSomething's missingHard to do· comment on any requirement

    Work with us

    Proven Places is being built with the people around tourism businesses, as well as the businesses themselves.

    • Associations and tourism bodiesShape the criteria for your members and co-host sector sessions.
    • Tour operators and buyersTell us what you ask suppliers for, so one set of evidence covers it.
    • Funders and governmentHelp small businesses through verification and certification.
    • Auditors and certification bodiesTrain and audit to the standard.
    Tell us how you'd like to work with us

    We'll use your details only to reply to this message. Privacy notice

    Questions

    What does it cost?

    The readiness check is free. Verifying a theme costs R750, or R2,500 for Energy, Water, Waste and Sourcing together, paid to Proven Places and valid for 12 months. Certified Standard is a yearly fee that goes by size, R5,000 for a small business. At certification, the four themes are checked by the independent auditor in the on-site audit, so there are no separate verification fees. You can pay it monthly. The on-site audit is paid directly to the independent auditor. Prices are indicative while we finalise them with our pilot businesses, and nothing is charged until you agree. See what it costs

    How long does it take?

    You can start your evidence folder as soon as you join. Most of the evidence comes from records you already keep. An on-site audit for a small business takes half a day to a day.

    We're a very small business

    The standard is built to work for owner-run places. We're designing a lighter route for micro businesses, with templates and simpler evidence.

    We're a seasonal business

    Your figures are measured over a full year and shown per guest night, cover or visitor, so a quiet season doesn't count against you. Audits are booked when you're open.

    Do I have to do everything at once?

    No. Start with one theme verified, then add the others. Once certified, you can work towards Certified Advanced at your own pace. See a worked example

    We already hold another certification

    Tell us which one. Where its checks match a line, its records can count as evidence, so you don't do the same work twice.

    We run more than one business or site

    One business gets one set of criteria and one mark for everything it runs at a site. Groups with several sites can certify together, with each site listed.

    Is this a real certification?

    Proven Places is a new South African sustainability certification, being set up now. The criteria are published and open for comment. Every certification decision will be made by an independent certification body, which is being appointed now. Until it is accredited for the scheme, pilot results are marked "pilot" in the directory.

    We supply tourism businesses. Can we be verified?

    Yes. We verify one specific claim a supplier makes, such as kilograms of linen washed per litre of water. We write criteria for each kind of supplier as suppliers ask for them, and publish them for comment. How supplier verification works

    Who does the checking?

    Proven Places checks themes verified on their own remotely against the published criteria. For Certified Standard and Certified Advanced, an independent auditor checks every theme on site, and the certification decision is made by an independent certification body. Proven Places writes the standard, verifies themes, runs the platform and keeps the directory. It never certifies.

    Is the readiness check an assessment?

    No. It is an indicative self-check based on your answers. Only an audit confirms what meets the criteria.

    What happens to my details?

    We use them to send what you asked for and, if you ask, to call you about certification. We don't sell them, and we only share them with the services that help us run Proven Places, and you can ask us to delete them at any time. Read our privacy notice