Depending on the type of accommodation you are looking for, take a look at our
Camp sites,
Hotels,
Chambres d’hôtes,
Gîtes and holiday lets and also
Holiday villages and centres.
Then all you have to do is to tailor your search criteria by including your selection from the
'Sustainable tourism' list. To help you choose, below we provide a brief guide to the brands, labels and certifications on offer in Midi-Pyrénées.
Chouette Nature
This label was introduced in 2004 by Cap France, a major player in community and socially responsible tourism. Today there are around fifty 'Chouette Nature' destinations committed to implementing concrete initiatives promoting responsible tourism that is both environmentally friendly and socially responsible and delivered through their day-to-day practices.
They are committed to managing waste, saving energy, managing water use, limiting sound pollution, reducing the use of transport, blending into the landscape, a procurement policy that favours local suppliers, fair trade and eco-friendly practices, promoting local heritage and educating their guests in ecological issues, etc.
Citoyenneté Environnement Développement (CED)
The 'Citoyenneté – Environnement - Développement durable' (CED) label applies to establishments hosting school groups and providing educational tourism facilities and to holiday and activities centres.
It concerns both the educational activities delivered and how the establishments operate.
This label was introduced by the Ligue de l’Enseignement, a national non-religious movement promoting education for all. It also runs a programme of initiatives promoting environmental education and a network of around forty centres that host more than 1,200 school groups and 40,000 schoolchildren every year.
Clévacances Environnement
This qualification applies only to Clévacances holiday lets that reduce their impact on the environment. Qualifying lets are granted this qualification only once they have fulfilled a number of criteria regarding water use, waste management and use of materials.
The Environmental Charter they sign is based on five requirements: controlling energy use, providing water-saving features, using healthy and recyclable products and materials, improving waste management and preserving the environment.
Eco-gestes
This is an endorsement to a qualification. An Ecogeste® holiday let is a let qualifying for the Gîtes de France label that has signed up to an eco-responsible tourism scheme. This is a way of giving recognition to small day-to-day actions carried out by the gîte owners that guests can adopt in their home lives for the benefit of everyone.
This new qualification was first introduced in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département. It became a national qualification in February 2012.
Eco-gîtes
An Ecogîte® is a holiday let qualifying for the Gîtes de France label that has been designed or refurbished using techniques or materials recognised as having a low environmental impact (from construction through to dismantling).
The main purpose of this is environmental protection but it also includes creating local benefits (integration and use of local skills etc.) that are commensurate with the principles of Gîtes de France: preserving and enhancing rural areas.
This scheme can be adopted progressively and applies to rural gîtes, chambres d’hôtes, stopover gîtes and holiday gîtes.
Eco-label Européen
Introduced in 1992, the EU Ecolabel is the only official ecological label recognised in all the member states of the European Union. In France the label is awarded by the independent certifying body AFNOR Certification. It is a voluntary brand used to certify products and services based on the 'global approach' principle.
What this means is that the Ecolabel takes into account the entire life cycle of the product, from extraction of the raw materials to manufacture, distribution and use through to recycling or disposal after use. The product's quality and use are also taken into account.
The reference standard was introduced in 2003 for tourist accommodation and for camp sites in 2005. Incorporating more than 90 criteria and regularly revised, these two reference standards are used to certify establishments demonstrating their commitment to environmental excellence.
EarthCheck
The EarthCheck programme was created in 1997 following a decision by the Australian government to establish an organisation for scientific and strategic research in tourism. In France, EarthCheck has tasked AFNOR with issuing its certifications.
EarthCheck is the most widely used environmental benchmarking and certification system in the travel and tourism industry worldwide. This certification provides a means of imposing sustainable development criteria, making it possible to work in stages to achieve certification in the following areas: consumption of water, paper, energy, waste, pesticides, and cleaning and hygiene products, and involving local communities.
La Clef Verte
Introduced for camp sites in 1998 on the initiative of the Office Français de la Fondation pour l’Education à l’Environnement, the 'La Clef Verte' label is now applicable to other types of tourism establishments: hotels, chambres d’hôtes, youth hostels, holiday residences and restaurants.
The purpose of La Clef Verte is to raise awareness among both consumers and accommodation providers about the environmental quality of their local region: managing the environment, preserving natural resources, quality of life, etc.
Planet 21
For more than 15 years, the Accor Group has been slowly assembling a 'sustainable development' management team at national level in liaison with around a hundred correspondents around the world and acquiring a number of tools designed to implement its sustainable development policy: the 'Planet 21' Charter (introduced in 2005 and updated in 2011), the in-house environmental management tool OPEN, the Environmental Reporting Protocol (which provides information about Accor's environmental indicators), etc.
The entire scheme is built around 7 key components: health, nature, carbon, innovation, local, jobs and dialogue.
Qualité Outdoor Ariège Pyrénées
The
Qualité Outdoor Ariège Pyrénées is an innovative scheme designed to guarantee high-quality outdoor services that has been introduced in the Ariège département. The scheme is based on a number of principles that professionals are committed to and required to maintain through more than 140 criteria, which are checked in ‘mystery visitor’ audits. The purpose of the label is to provide services that actively work to preserve the environment,
promote exchange and encourage visitors to get out and about in Ariège.
Terra Gers®
Terra Gers is a
trademark registered in 2010 by the Gers Departmental Tourism and Leisure Board in Gascony. This scheme covers different areas of the département's tourism offering, including not only events but also restaurants, accommodation and local produce. A service provider wishing to become a member of the 'Terra Gers®' club must have signed up to a quality scheme (classification, label, certification, etc.).
This is a voluntary scheme accompanied by a members’ charter that commits the service provider to introducing initiatives relevant to the
local economy (short supply chains, local and/or organic products), the
environment (the built environment, energy use, waste management, etc.),
social responsibility and raising awareness.
Tourisme & Handicap
The 'Tourisme & Handicap' label is a state-owned brand. Created in 2001 by the French Tourism Ministry as part of its policy designed to ensure access to holidays for all and the social integration of disabled people, the label identifies tourist facilities and attractions that are accessible to visitors with motor, visual and hearing impairments and with learning difficulties.
The label provides a guarantee of efficient services and facilities tailored to the essential needs of disabled visitors