3.2 Voluntary codes

The UN Commission on Sustainable Development has, at its 6th Session in 1998, set up a process with industry (ICC, WBCSD), trade unions (ICFTU) and NGOs (CSD NGO Steering Committee) to look at the terms of reference by which voluntary codes could be reviewed. Also at the ? meeting in Toronto in March there will be further debate about how voluntary codes will be reviewed in the future. The UN and CSD secretariat will also feed into this process and code assessment and review. In the tourism industry the Green Globe initiative and the International Hotels Environmental Initiative are two examples of voluntary codes that should be reviewed by the process. If they are to become more widely adopted there needs to be clear evidence that these voluntary codes are making a real difference on the ground and that they are sending the right message to the tourist.