A Franschhoek guesthouse starts with Energy
Eight rooms, breakfast for guests, four staff. Electricity from the municipality, a small rooftop solar system, and gas for the kitchen and geysers. Here is what getting one theme verified looks like for a place like this.
- Time
- 2 to 4 days of work, spread over a few weeks
- Check
- Remote: documents, photos and a short video call
- Cost
- Part of the yearly fee, from R5,000
- Result
- Energy tile solid on their mark, for 12 months
1 · What they do
Almost all of it is gathering records they already have. The templates are in their Proven Places folder.
- 8 minutesCheck their readiness
The readiness check shows Energy as their closest theme: they have the bills, and the solar installer left the paperwork.
- About a dayAdd 12 months of energy records
Municipal electricity bills, the solar inverter's app export, and gas invoices, entered month by month with guest nights alongside. Photos of each meter and the gas installation.
- Half a dayFind the certificates
The electrician's certificate of compliance and municipal approval for the solar, the gas installation certificate, and the aircon and fridge technician's job cards.
- Half a dayCount lamps, set a target
A walk round with the lamp count sheet, photos of the outdoor light timers, a base year and a yearly target on the template, and a closing-up routine so lights and aircon go off in empty rooms.
- An hour or twoThe basics every business does once
Confirm the business profile and what it covers, sign the yearly compliance declaration, and check the website and booking listings for claims that can't be backed up.
2 · What the auditor checks
An independent auditor reviews the folder against the Energy criteria and the core basics, then confirms a few things on a short video call.
- Red lines. No convictions for serious offences, no child labour, no wildlife petting or banned animal activities, no protected wildlife products, no banned pesticides, no burning or dumping of waste. Mostly a signed declaration and a look at the website.
- Your profile and records. What the business runs and what the mark covers, shared meters split fairly, and a source document behind every monthly figure.
- Honest claims. No sustainability claim on the website or listings that can't be backed up, photos that match the place, and the mark used only for what was verified.
These are core criteria C1, C2, C5 and C7, part of every verified theme. They are part of the criteria, which are open for comment.
Small gaps? The auditor sends a fix-it list. Here, two lamps in the laundry were still halogen and the target statement was missing a date. Both were fixed within a week.
3 · What it costs
Nothing is charged until you agree.
4 · What they get
The mark, the data card and the directory listing all show the same thing: Energy, verified, for the rooms and breakfast, until a date.
One solid tile, for their own website and materials. The other themes stay outlined until they are verified.
Figures for 12 months, per guest night, with the period shown and checked by an independent certification body.
Anyone can look them up from the link on their mark.
5 · What they can say
Claims have to match what was verified. That's what makes them worth something.
- "Our energy use is independently verified against the Proven Places Standard."
- "18.4 kWh per guest night, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026."
- "22% of our electricity comes from our own solar."
- "A certified sustainable guesthouse." One verified theme is not certification; Certified Standard needs all four required themes.
- "Eco-friendly" or "green", with nothing to back it up.
- "Carbon neutral", unless the figures and the rules for offsets support it.
Then Water and Waste, the same way
The water bills and waste collector's slips go into the same folder. Each theme verified turns another tile solid. Once Energy, Water, Waste and Sourcing are in place, an on-site audit by the certification body can award Certified Standard. A business can also go straight to that audit without verifying themes first.
A worked example to show how it works, not a real business. Times and figures are typical for a small guesthouse and will differ for yours.
A year on, the same guesthouse goes for Certified Standard
Energy, Water and Waste are verified, and Sourcing is nearly there. Now they book the on-site audit for Certified Standard: all four required themes and the rest of the core, checked at the guesthouse.
- Time
- 4 to 6 days of work over two or three months, plus a half-day visit
- Check
- The folder first, then about half a day on site
- Cost
- The yearly fee, plus the auditor's fee for the visit
- Result
- Certified Standard for 3 years, with a yearly check
1 · What they do
Most of the folder is already done. What is new is the paperwork every well-run business should have, and getting it in one place.
- Already doneEnergy, Water and Waste
Their verified themes carry over: 12 months of figures, the certificates, the plans and the photos are already in the folder.
- About a dayFinish Sourcing
A purchase list from the accounts with where each supplier is based, a one-page buying policy with a local-spend target, recycled toilet paper, and a labelled vegetarian dish at breakfast.
- About a dayLicences and insurance in one place
Business and tax registration, UIF and COIDA for the staff, public liability cover, the kitchen's certificate of acceptability, and the yearly compliance declaration, signed.
- Half a daySafety
One person does a short recognised health and safety course and writes the risk assessment. An emergency plan with a yearly drill, fire equipment serviced, first aid kits checked and a trained first aider.
- Half a dayThe team
Signed terms for everyone, casual staff included, payslips at or above minimum wage, a safe way to raise a grievance, and a note of where staff live.
- A few hoursCommitment, conduct and complaints
The owner signs a sustainability commitment and names a responsible person. A code of conduct for guest-facing staff, a complaints log, a list of cleaning products, a target for each theme, and one community contribution a year.
2 · What the auditor checks
73 requirements for this guesthouse. The auditor reviews the folder first, then spends about half a day on site: rooms, kitchen, back of house, plant room and grounds, a look at the meters, lamps, taps, bins and chemical store, and a chat with two staff members.
- 35Energy, Water, Waste and Sourcing: every Standard requirement in the four themes. The auditor checks a sample on site.
- 16The core basics: red lines, the business profile, records and honest claims.
- 13The rest of the core: licences and insurance, commitment and a responsible person, targets, health and safety, a code of conduct, and complaints.
- 5Fair work basics: written terms, minimum wage, a labour declaration, a grievance route and one action on inequality.
- 3Community: a yearly contribution, where staff live, and consent where land is shared.
- 1Chemicals: a list of cleaning products, with the main ones ecolabelled.
How it is judged. Legal, safety and labour requirements must all be met. In each theme, and in the core, up to a fifth of the rest can be missed, each with a dated fix. Here the complaints log had no response dates and the cleaning products list was missing two products. Both were fixed within a month.
3 · What it costs
Nothing is charged until you agree.
4 · What they get
The mark, the data card and the directory listing all show the same thing: Certified Standard, for the rooms and breakfast, until a date.
Four solid tiles. The other four turn solid at Certified Advanced.
Updated every year at the yearly check, with the period shown.
Anyone can look them up from the link on their mark.
5 · What they can say
Claims have to match what was certified.
- "Proven Places Certified: Energy, Water, Waste, Sourcing."
- "Certified by an independent certification body against the Proven Places Standard."
- "320 litres of water per guest night, Oct 2026 to Sep 2027."
- "Certified Advanced", or "certified" for themes such as Nature or Community that come in at Advanced.
- "Eco-friendly", "green" or "sustainable" on their own, with nothing to back them up.
- "Carbon neutral", unless the figures and the rules for offsets support it.
Then, when they are ready, Certified Advanced
Every theme that applies, including Chemicals, Nature, Fair work and Community, with targets and results shared openly. In the meantime a yearly check keeps Certified Standard current: updated figures, and a look at progress on the targets.
A worked example to show how it works, not a real business. Times and figures are typical for a small guesthouse and will differ for yours.