Сервис в России и за рубежом, 2021, том 15, № 4 (96)

2021, Vol. 15. Iss. 4 (96)

СЕРВИС

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SERVICES
IN RUSSIA AND ABROAD

 

В РОССИИ
И ЗА РУБЕЖОМ

ISSN 1995-042X
Сетевой научный журнал

Т. 15, No 4 (96)

2021

https://spst-journal.ru/ruservices 

 

РЕДАКЦИЯ ЖУРНАЛА

 
Главный редактор: 
Афанасьев О.Е. – Российский гос. ун-т туризма и 
сервиса (РФ, Москва), лауреат Государственной премии 
Украины в области образования, д.геогр.н., проф. 
 
Редакционный совет: 
Новикова Н.Г. – Российский гос. ун-т туризма и сервиса 
(РФ, 
Москва), 
первый 
проректор, 
д.э.н., 
проф.;  

Председатель Редакционного совета 
Ананьева Т.Н. – Российский гос. ун-т туризма и сервиса 
(РФ, Москва), д.соц.н., проф. 
Гладкий А.В. – Киевский нац. торгово-экономический 
ун-т (Украина, Киев), д.геогр.н., проф. 
Неделиа А.-М. – Сучавский ун-т им. Штефана чел Маре 
(Румыния, Сучава), д-р философии (PhD), доц. 
Пиментель Т.Д. – Федеральный университет Жуис-де-
Фора (Бразилия, Жуис-де-Фора), к.соц.н. (PhD), доц. 
Погребова Е.С. – Российский гос. ун-т туризма и сервиса 
(РФ, Москва), к.э.н., доц. 
Пулидо-Фернандес Х.И. – Ун-т Хаэна (Испания, Хаэн),  
д-р философии (PhD), доц. 
Фу Я.-И. – Индианский ун-т – Ун-т Пердью в Индиана-
полисе (США, Индианаполис), д-р философии (PhD), доц. 
 
Редакционная коллегия:  
Бушуева И.В. – Российский гос. ун-т туризма и сервиса 
(РФ, Москва), д.э.н., проф.  
Василенко В.А. – Крымский федеральный университет 
имени В.И. Вернадского (РФ, Симферополь), д.э.н., проф. 
Дышловой И.Н. – Крымский федеральный университет 
имени В.И. Вернадского (РФ, Симферополь), д.э.н., проф. 
Климова Т.Б. – Белгородский государственный нац. 
исследовательский ун-т (РФ, Белгород), к.э.н., доцент 
Коновалова Е.Е. – Российский гос. ун-т туризма и 
сервиса (РФ, Москва), к.э.н., доц. 
Михеева Н.А. – Санкт-Петербургский гос. экономический 
ун-т (РФ, Санкт-Петербург), д.соц.н., доц., проф. 
Морозов М.А. – Российский экономический ун-т им. 
Г.В. Плеханова (РФ, Москва), д.э.н., проф. 
Морозова Н.С. – Российский новый университет 
(РФ, Москва), д.э.н., доц. 
Оборин М.С. – Российский экономический ун-т им. Г.В. 
Плеханова, Пермский филиал (РФ, Пермь), д.э.н., проф. 
Петрик Л.С. – Поволжская гос. академия физической 
культуры, спорта и туризма (РФ, Казань), к.э.н., доц. 
Трухачев А.В. – Ставропольский гос. аграрный ун-т 
(РФ, Ставрополь), д.э.н., проф. 
Харитонова Т.В. – Финансовый ун-т при Правительстве 
Российской Федерации (РФ, Москва), к.э.н., доц. 
Якименко М.В. – Южный федеральный ун-т (РФ, 
Ростов-на-Дону), к.э.н. доц. 
 
Ответственный секретарь: 
Афанасьева А.В. – Российский гос. ун-т туризма и 
сервиса (РФ, Москва), к.геогр.н., доц. 

EDITORS

 
Editor-in-Chief:
Oleg E. Afanasiev – Russian State University of Tourism 
and Service (RF, Moscow), PhD (Dr.Sc.) in Geography, 
Professor, Laureate of the Education State Prize of Ukraine 

Editorial Council:
Natalia G. Novikova – Russian State University of Tourism 
and Service (RF, Moscow), First Vice Rector, PhD (Dr.Sc.) 
in Economics, Prof.; Chairman of Ed. Council 
Tatiana N. Ananyeva – Russian State University of Tourism 
and Service (RF, Moscow), PhD (Dr.Sc.) in Sociology, Prof. 
Alexander V. Gladkey – Kyiv National University of Trade and 
Economics (Ukraine, Kyiv), PhD (Dr.Sc.) in Geography, Prof. 
Alexandru-M. Nedelea – Stefan cel Mare University of 
Suceava (Romania, Suceava), PhD in Marketing, Assoc. Prof. 
Thiago D. Pimentel – Federal University of Juiz de Fora 
(Brazil, Juiz de For a), PhD in Social Sciences, Assoc. Prof. 
Elena S. Pogrebova – Russian State University of Tourism 
and Service (RF, Moscow), PhD in Economics, Assoc. Prof. 
Juan I. Pulido-Fernandez – University of Jaen (Spain, Jaen), 
PhD in Economics, Assoc. Prof. 
Yao-Yi Fu – Indiana University – Purdue University Indiana-
polis (USA, Indianapolis), PhD in HRIM, Assoc. Prof. 
 
Editorial Board: 
Irina V. Bushueva – Russian State University of Tourism 
and Service (RF, Moscow), PhD (Dr.Sc.) in Economics, Prof. 
Valentin A. Vasilenko – V. I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal 
University (RF, Simferopol), PhD (Dr. Sc.) in Economics, Prof.
Igor N. Dyshlovoj – V. I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal 
University (RF, Simferopol), PhD (Dr. Sc.) in Economics, Prof. 
Tatiana B. Klimova – Belgorod State National Research 
University (RF, Belgorod), PhD in Economics, Assoc. Prof. 
Elena E. Konovalova – Russian State University of Tourism 
and Service (RF, Moscow), PhD in Economics, Assoc. Prof. 
Natella A. Mikheeva – Saint Petersburg State University of 
Economics (RF, St. Petersburg), PhD (Dr.Sc.) in Sociology, Prof. 
Mikhail A. Morozov – Plekhanov University of Economics 
(RF, Moscow), PhD (Dr.Sc.) in Economics, Prof. 
Natalia S. Morozova – Russian New University (RF, Moscow), 
PhD (Dr.Sc.) in Economics, Prof. 
Matvey S. Oborin – Perm Institute of Plekhanov University of 
Economics (RF, Perm), PhD (Dr.Sc.) in Economics, Prof. 
Lyudmila S. Petrik – Volga Region State Academy of Physical 
Culture, Sport and Tourism (RF, Kazan), PhD, Assoc. Prof. 
Aleksandr V. Trukhachev – Stavropol State Agrarian 
University (RF, Stavropol), PhD (Dr.Sc.) in Economics, Prof. 
Tatiana V. Kharitonova – Financial University (RF, Moscow), 
PhD in Economics, Assoc. Prof. 
Marianna V. Yakimenko – Southern Federal University (RF, 
Rostov-on-Don), PhD in Economics, Assoc. Prof. 
 
Executive Secretary:
Alexandra V. Afanasieva – Russian State University of Tourism 
and Service (RF, Moscow), PhD in Geography, Assoc. Prof. 
 
 

 
 
СОДЕРЖАНИЕ

 
 
 
ТЕОРЕТИЧЕСКИЕ АСПЕКТЫ ЭКОНОМИКИ И ТУРИСТСКОГО СЕРВИСА                                  . 
 
Мишулина С.И. Проблемы «зеленой» сертификации сектора размещения 
 
АКТУАЛЬНЫЕ ВОПРОСЫ МЕЖДУНАРОДНОГО СОТРУДНИЧЕСТВА В СФЕРЕ УСЛУГ         . 
 
Сазыкин А.М., Широкова А.В. Тенденции развития китайского выездного туризма 
Силва Ж.Ф., Гомеш Б.М.А., Пессали У.Ф. Роль Советов по туризму как 
государственных учреждений в Бразилии 
Борхес В.П.С., Виейра В.Б., Перинотто А.Р.К. Информация и научные данные в 
исследовании проблем управления и развития туризма (на примере туристской 
территории штата Пиауи, Бразилия) 
Корбари С.Д. Туризм, антропоцен и капиталоцен: состояние изученности проблемы 
 
АКТУАЛЬНЫЕ ВОПРОСЫ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОГО, МУНИЦИПАЛЬНОГО  
И КОРПОРАТИВНОГО УПРАВЛЕНИЯ В СФЕРЕ УСЛУГ                                                                . 
 
Волков С.К. Изучение возможностей развития туризма в России в условиях 
пандемии СOVID-19 на основе социологических исследований 
Гурина М.А., Сокольская Т.И., Гончарова О.В., Дехтярь Г.М., Спатарь-Козаченко Т.И. 
К вопросу о государственном регулировании сферы туризма на региональном 
уровне: теоретические аспекты и результаты практической деятельности 
Оборин М.С., Сарян А.А. Организационно-экономические основы  
адаптации туризма к кризисным условиям 
Пугачев И.Н., Клиценко М.В., Куликов Ю.И. Особенности реализации нацпроекта 
«Туризм и индустрия гостеприимства» в условиях Дальнего Востока 
 
МАРКЕТИНГ УСЛУГ И ТЕРРИТОРИЙ                                                                                               . 
 
Лежнин В.В., Полухина А.Н. Развитие локальных систем в сфере туризма  
и рекреации (на примере Приволжского федерального округа):  
анализ и перспективы 
 
СОЦИАЛЬНО-ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИЕ АСПЕКТЫ РАЗВИТИЯ ОТРАСЛЕЙ, КОМПЛЕКСОВ,  
ПРЕДПРИЯТИЙ И ОРГАНИЗАЦИЙ СФЕРЫ УСЛУГ                                                                        .
 
Никольская Е.Ю., Афанасьев О.Е., Галкин Д.В., Солнцева О.Г. Оценка доступности 
музейной среды для посетителей с ограниченными возможностями здоровья 
Волк Е.Н., Овчинникова И.Г. Региональные особенности развития  
гостиничного бизнеса в кризисных условиях 
Донскова Л.И., Солодуха П.В., Крюкова Е.М., Хетагурова В.Ш. Анализ 
социокультурного обслуживания населения: количественные  
и качественные характеристики 
Оборин М.С. Особенности эффективного управления гостиничной индустрией 
как элемента туристско-рекреационной системы 
Полищук Е.А. Цифровая грамотность специалистов современных средств 
размещения и организаций общественного питания Республики Крым 
Митрофанов С.В. Экономические аспекты сервиса безопасности  
в гражданской авиации 
 

 
 
 
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В РОССИИ
И ЗА РУБЕЖОМ
СЕРВИС

Т. 15, No 4 (96)

2021

CONTENT

 
 
 
THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF ECONOMICS AND TOURIST SERVICE                                                .
 
Mishulina S. I. Green certification issues in the accommodation sector 
 
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN SERVICES SECTOR: CURRENT ISSUES                              . 
 
Sazykin A. M., Shirokova A. V. Chinese outbound tourism development trends 
Silva J. F., Gomes B. M. A., Pessali H. F. Tourism Councils as a voice institution in Brazil 
Borges V. P. C., Vieira V. B., Perinotto A. R. C. Information and Scientific Data, 
Stumbles of Tourism Management and Development (The case on tourist region  
of the State of Piauí in Brazil) 
Corbari S. D. Tourism, Anthropocene and Capitalocene: the state of the art  
of scientific production  
 
STATE, MUNICIPAL AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE  
IN SERVICES SECTOR: CURRENT ISSUES                                                                                           . 
 
Volkov S. K. Studying the possibilities for tourism development in Russia  
in COVID-19 pandemic: A sociological research 
Gurina M. A., Sokolskaya T. I., Goncharova O. V., Dekhtyar G. M., Spatar-Kozachenko T. I.  
On public administration in tourism at regional level: the theoretical aspects  
and results of practical activities 
Oborin M. S., Saryan A. A. Organizational and economic bases of tourism  
adaptation to crisis conditions 
Pugachev I. N., Klitsenko M. V., Kulikov Yu. I. The features of national project  
realization «Tourism and Hospitality Industry» in Russian Far East 
 
MARKETING OF SERVICES AND TERRITORIES                                                                                 . 
 
Lezhnin V. V., Poluhina A. N. Development of local systems in tourism and recreation 
(the case of Volga Federal District): The analysis and prospects 
 
SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF DEVELOPING INDUSTRIES, COMPLEXES,  
BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS OF SERVICES SECTOR                                                           . 
 
Nikolskaya E. Yu., Afanasiev O. E., Galkin D. V., Solntseva O. G.  
Assessing the museum environment accessibility for disable people 
Volk E. N., Ovchinnikova I. G. Regional peculiarities of hotel business  
development in crisis conditions 
Donskova L. I., Solodukha P. V., Kryukova E. M., Khetagurova V. Sh. Analysis of socio-
cultural service for the population: quantitative and qualitative characteristics 
Oborin M. S. Hotel industry as an element of the tourist and recreational system: 
Features of effective management 
Polishchuk E. A. Digital literacy of professionals working at modern lodging  
and catering companies of the Republic of Crimea 
Mitrofanov S. V. Economic aspects of the security service in civil aviation 
 

 
 
 
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126 
 
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211 

 

 
INTERPRETER: Alexandra V. Afanasieva, PhD in Geography, Assoc. Prof. 
The author of the cover photo: Daida Ellaby, unsplash.com 

IN  RUSSIA
AND ABROAD
SERVICES

Vol. 15. Iss. 4 (96)

2021

НАУЧНЫЙ
ЖУРНАЛ

СЕТЕВОЙ

Mishulina S. I. 
Green certification issues in the accommodation sector 

 

 
 
 

UDC 338.504 

DOI: 10.24412/1995-042X-2021-4-5-17 

 
 
Svetlana I. MISHULINA 

Federal Research Centre the Subtropical Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences 

(Sochi, Krasnodar Kray, Russia) 

PhD in Economics; e-mail: MISHulSV@yandex.ru 

 
 

GREEN CERTIFICATION ISSUES IN THE ACCOMMODATION SECTOR 

 
Abstract. The article covers the possibility of accommodation establishments green certification 
as a tool for greening the tourist industry. The analysis is provided for available statistics of cer-
tified hotels in Russia and abroad and the conclusion is made on the low level of accommodation 
sector green certification. The major barriers hindering the widespread of green certification 
practice in the Russian accommodation sector were researched. It is concluded that the feasibi-
lity of green certification as a tool for tourism greening on the one hand is determined by the 
level of environmental culture and development of the knowledge-based system on the certifi-
cation goals and procedures among consumers and by the position of certification in the compa-
ny's external communications system. On the other hand, by the availability of this greening tool 
for the majority of tourist market participants. The need for more thorough research on the con-
tent and factors determining environmentally responsible behavior of Russian tourists is substan-
tiated. 
This research is held within issue No 0261-2019-0009 The strategic management of territory’s 
social and economic development based on sustainable development principles of Federal Re-
search Center the Subtropical Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences state assign-
ment. 
 
Keywords: green economy, tourism industry, accommodation sector, ecologization, green certi-
fication. 
 
 
Citation: Mishulina, S. I. (2021). Green certification issues in the accommodation sector. Servis v Rossii i 
za rubezhom [Services in Russia and Abroad], 15(4), 5–17. doi: 10.24412/1995-042X-2021-4-5-17.  

 
 
 
Article History 
Received 1 September 2021 
Accepted 13 October 2021 

Disclosure statement 
No potential conflict of interest was reported 
by the author(s). 

 
 
 

 

© 2021 the Author(s)  
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0).  
To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ 

 

ТЕОРЕТИЧЕСКИЕ  АСПЕКТЫ 
ЭКОНОМИКИ  И  ТУРИСТСКОГО  СЕРВИСА
THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF ECONOMICS AND TOURIST SERVICE

В РОССИИ

И ЗА РУБЕЖОМ
СЕРВИС

Т. 15, No. 4 (96)

2021

 
 
 
 

УДК 338.504 

DOI: 10.24412/1995-042X-2021-4-5-17 

 
 

МИШУЛИНА Светлана Ивановна 

Федеральный исследовательский центр «Субтропический научный центр  

Российской академии наук» (Сочи, Краснодарский край, РФ) 
кандидат экономических наук; e-mail: MISHulSV@yandex.ru 

 
 

ПРОБЛЕМЫ «ЗЕЛЕНОЙ» СЕРТИФИКАЦИИ СЕКТОРА РАЗМЕЩЕНИЯ 

 

 
В статье рассматривается возможность использования «зеленой» сертификации 
средств размещения как инструмента экологизации индустрии туризма. Анализиру-
ется доступная статистика сертифицированных отелей в России и за рубежом. Дела-
ется вывод о низком уровне «зеленой» сертификации сектора размещения. Исследу-
ются основные барьеры, препятствующие широкому распространению практики «зе-
леной» сертификации российского сектора размещения. Делается вывод о том, что 
целесообразность использования «зеленой» сертификации в качестве инструмента 
экологизации туризма определяется, с одной стороны, уровнем экологической куль-
туры и сформированности у потребителей системы знаний о целях и процедурах сер-
тификации, местом сертификации в системе внешних коммуникаций компании. С дру-
гой, – доступностью данного инструмента экологизации для основной массы субъек-
тов туристического рынка. Обосновывается необходимость углубления исследований 
содержания и факторов формирования экологически ответственного поведения рос-
сийских туристов. 
Работа выполнена в рамках темы №0261-2019-0009 «Стратегическое управление соци-
ально-экономическим развитием территории на основе принципов устойчивого разви-
тия» государственного задания ФИЦ «Субтропический научный центр Российской ака-
демии наук». 
 
Ключевые слова: «зеленая» экономика; индустрия туризма; сектор размещения; эколо-
гизация; «зеленая» сертификация 
 
 
 
Для цитирования: Мишулина С.И. Проблемы «зеленой» сертификации сектора размещения // Сер-
вис в России и за рубежом. 2021. Т.15. №4. С. 5–17. DOI: 10.24412/1995-042X-2021-4-5-17. 
 
Дата поступления в редакцию: 1 сентября 2021 г. 
Дата утверждения в печать: 13 октября 2021 г. 

 
 

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Mishulina S. I. 
Green certification issues in the accommodation sector 

Introduction 

Proven by theory and practice positive in-

fluence of tourist companies’ efforts in the
sphere of sustainable development on their fi-
nancial, as well as social, and environmental per-
formance [12, 14, 20] leads to an increase in the
number of companies interested in effective tools
for greening their own business. One of such tools
is the sustainability (green) certification of goods
and services, which implies environmentally
friendly activities of the company and indepen-
dent expert evaluation of its performance by a
third party. The main goals of green certification
– to reduce the negative impact of businesses on
the natural environment and to gain a competi-
tive advantage in the growing green markets [12]. 

Despite the high level of green certification

institutional environment development, expan-
sion of global and national certification systems
network designed to not only assess the tourist
businesses environmental performance but also
to provide methodological and methodical assis-
tance to companies in the development of their
effective systems for environmental manage-
ment, obvious public benefits obtained, the scale
of green certification is not satisfactory. 

Low activity of tourist business in this area

is explained by the peculiarities of the tourist in-
dustry, 90% of which are small and medium-sized
businesses that face financial, human, infor-
mation, time, and other resources constraints. 

Many foreign authors analyzed motivation,

incentives, and barriers for green certification, in-
cluding large-scale cases on specific tourist desti-
nations and countries [11; 14–17]. There is a limi-
ted number of articles covering this topic in Rus-
sia [3; 9]. Meanwhile, the tourist business green-
ing converted from a trend into a mandatory re-
quirement for successful operation in highly com-
petitive tourist markets. 

The article analyzes the processes of green

certification in the Russian accommodation sec-
tor. The conclusion is made about the low level of
this greening tool application. Incentives and bar-
riers to certification are identified. 

Environmentally sound
accommodation concept 

The ideas of greening the hotel business

first appeared in the 80s of the last century with
no further development both due to the tradi-
tional perception of the hospitality industry as an
environmentally friendly type of activity and the
unwillingness of the tourist industry entities to
change the development paradigm and to the
lack of developed theory and institutional condi-
tions for tourism greening, lack of available green
technologies. Low green consumer demand from
travelers also played an important role. 

However, the idea is still alive, gradually at-

tracting followers all over the world as environ-
mental issues get worse. In 1995, the American
company Green Suits International proposed the
EcoRooms concept, which implies the arrange-
ment of a market niche for environmentally
friendly hotels, promoting services aimed at con-
sumers consciously choosing environmentally
friendly
products
and
technologies.
Further

broadening of sustainable development concept,
reassessment of tourism role in global economy
greening by international institutions together
with technological innovations, mainly in energy,
construction, materials manufacture, waste dis-
posal, etc. led to an expansion of green technolo-
gies, their adjustment to the tourist industry
needs and the emergence of environmentally
friendly hotels. 

Currently, the science literature and tourist

industry marketing activities apply a variety of
terms to define environmentally friendly accom-
modation establishments: 

sustainable hotel – the term is used mainly

in documents of international tourist and envi-
ronmental institutions, as well as foreign science
literature, and means accommodation establish-
ments aiming to achieve sustainable develop-
ment goals, i.e. corresponding to the concept of
the Triple Bottom Line or triple P: planet – people
– profit; 

green hotel – the term is used in official

documents of international, governmental, and

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non-governmental institutions, science articles,
and accommodation sector marketing activities
and means environmentally friendly properties
whose managers are eager to institute programs
that save energy, water, and other resources, re-
duce all types of waste to help protect our Earth
while saving money (definition of the Green Ho-
tels Association). These are accommodation es-
tablishments operating in compliance with the
UN principle – profitable business is environmen-
tally friendly business. Major focus is on environ-
mental and economic aspects of the activity with
less attention paid to social and cultural ones
(ASEAN Tourism Standard 2007). Nevertheless,
some authors, as well as many certification sys-
tems for green hotels, are more often included in
the list of criteria for assessing the relationship
with staff and local population; 

eco-hotel or environmentally friendly ho-

tel is a term often used as a synonym for a green
hotel [2; 8] to define an environmentally sustain-
able accommodation establishment that made
important environmental improvements to its
operations to minimize its negative impact on the
environment. In the most successful, in our opi-
nion, definition, an eco-hotel is understood as an
accommodation establishment functioning under
the principle of environmental responsibility and
application of environmentally friendly technolo-
gies. This definition allows using the term eco-ho-
tel as a synonym for a green hotel. Still, it requires
a description of the environmental responsibility
concept. 

In science literature and marketing often,

and in our opinion for no good reason, eco-hotels
are associated with eco-tourism only [2; 8]. Eco-
hotels are understood as wooden houses or other
light structures located in unique natural com-
plexes. However, they may not have any other
environmental or sustainability characteristics
(resource-saving, waste management, etc.). The
location of accommodation establishments in
protected areas in our opinion does not automa-
tically make them environmentally safe and does
not provide sufficient reason to consider them as
such. Moreover, analysis of certified eco-hotels

registers reveals that many of them are located in
historic centers of large cities, i.e. are not related
to nature tourism. In our opinion, the location
doesn't matter. It is important how they interact
with the environment. It should be also consi-
dered that the construction of hotels in protected
areas or unique natural complexes is usually pro-
hibited or limited by strict rules, therefore the ho-
tel location in a protected area may indicate its
noncompliance with eco-hotel criteria. 

To ensure the reliability of accommodation

establishments
environmental
characteristics,

some authors consider it necessary to include in
the definition the availability of environmental
certification by an independent third party or the
state of their location. In this case, the number of
green hotels will be greatly reduced and limited
only to certified hotels, and the definition will
look as follows: “green accommodation establish-
ments – accommodation establishments certified
for compliance with the hotel business green
standards and possessing relevant supporting
documents”, since obtaining a certificate as-
sumes that the accommodation establishment
complies with strict environmental criteria. At the
same time, the availability of numerous interna-
tional and national systems for voluntary certifi-
cation (according to some estimates – more than
800), differing both in the set of assessment cri-
teria and strictness of data verification proce-
dures, immediately raises the question – which of
the certificates allow considering accommodation
establishments as green and which do not. 

There is another aspect of this issue. Stu-

dies of guest satisfaction dependence on the ho-
tel's environmentally responsible behavior indi-
cate that there is no positive connection between
the availability of the hotel's green certification
and the level of guest satisfaction [23]. As a rule,
guests are not aware enough of certification sys-
tems and differences thereof, they do not under-
stand the variety of hotel eco-labels. At the same
time, there is a variety of relatively inexpensive
green practices, which become obvious to guests
upon proper communication thus ensuring the in-
crease of guests' satisfaction and loyalty [20]. 

НАУЧНЫЙ
ЖУРНАЛ

СЕТЕВОЙ

Mishulina S. I. 
Green certification issues in the accommodation sector 

Certification feasibility is questioned not

only by representatives of small businesses in the
hospitality industry (as evidenced by the low
share of certified small hotels and other types of
accommodation establishments) but also by
some professional associations of hoteliers. For
example, the Green Hotels Association operating
since 1993 (USA, Canada), without denying the
need for greening the hotel sector as well as the
entire tourist industry, considers certification op-
tional, since it is expensive, takes a lot of time and
effort, requires regular confirmation and a certain
level of hotel guests’ awareness. Booking.com
polls of 2019 showed that 72% of travelers
around the world are unaware of special eco-la-
bels for accommodation establishments1. There-
fore, it is considered more reasonable to spend
money not on certification but real greening of
the tourist product, although the benefits of free
certification, offered for example by a destination
or some certification systems, are not denied. If
the greening goal is to reduce the negative impact
on the natural environment by increasing effec-
tive resource use and competitiveness, no certifi-
cation is needed to achieve it, since its function is
to ensure the acknowledgment of stakeholders
(primarily the tourists), which can be obtained in
other more effective ways. 

Under certain conditions, green certifica-

tion can be used as a competition tool or protec-
tionist practice to place barriers to enter the hotel
market in a particular region. 

Green certification systems

for accommodation establishments 
The methodological framework for almost

all existing certification systems is the interna-
tional environmental management standard ISO
14001 adopted by the International Certification
Organization in 1991. Some countries developed
and adopted their standards, for example, BS
7750 in the UK, CAN-CSA Z 750-94 in Canada,
EMAS in the European Union, other countries

1 Refer to Booking.com Sustainable Report 2019. URL: https://global.news.booking.com/bookingcom-reveals-key-findings-

from-its-2019-sustainable-travel-report (Accessed on 27.12.2020) 

2 GOST R ISO 14001-2016 “Environmental management systems. Requirements and application guide”. URL: 

docs.cntd.ru›document/1200134681 (Accessed on 28.10.2019) 

adjusted international standards to national con-
ditions. In Russia, there is a Russian version of the
standard – the national standard GOST R ISO
14001-2016 Environmental Management Sys-
tems. Requirements and Application Guide. 

The purpose of the standard is to provide a

systematic approach for business management to
target a decrease of negative impact on the
natural environment and response to changing
environmental conditions for operation with ac-
count to social aspects2. The standard applies to
any field of business. 

Adoption of this standard enabled industry

certification systems development, including the
tourist industry. In the accommodation sector,
which assumes the presence of buildings, inter-
national green standards of eco-development are
widely used at the design and construction stage:
English BREEAM, American LEED, German DGNB,
etc. In our country, about a dozen hotels are cer-
tified for compliance with these standards.
Thereby, a simplified version of the certification
adjusted to specific Russian conditions was usu-
ally applied. The procedure included compliance
assessment not to all the standard criteria but
only to a part of them, for example, ensuring ac-
cessibility for people with limited mobility. Such
practice was applied to the Olympics 2014 facili-
ties. The reason is in the standards not adjusted
to Russian legislation and business conditions, as
well as the high certification cost. 

In Russia, there are currently three national

certification systems for real estate assets ad-
justed to the Russian regulatory framework. The
first one, the Russian system for voluntary certifi-
cation of real estate assets Green Standards has
been implemented since 2011. It emerged and
developed mainly due to the implementation of
major investment projects for sports and other
facilities construction related to the 2014 Winter
Olympics, the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and other
similar international events held in Russia. The

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second is STO NOSTROY Green construction. Re-
sidential and public buildings. The rating system
for the environment sustainability assessment.
The third is the GREEN ZOOM system, established
in 2014 with account to foreign experience
(BREEAM and LEED) and assessment criteria rele-
vant to Russia and Russian design and construc-
tion practice, and regulatory documents. 

The most famous international systems for

accommodation establishments green certifica-
tion are Green Leaders, Green Key Global, Green
Global International, Energy Star (for any busi-
ness, but there is a department dealing with ho-
tels, and since certification is free and special at-
tention is paid to small business, it is popular with
accommodation providers); Green Seal, Audubon
Green Lodging Program, Green Tourism, Travelife
(Sustainability in Tourism), Earth Check, Sustain-
able Tourism Eco - Certification Program, etc. 

In addition to global environmental certifi-

cation systems and programs, there are nume-
rous national systems. The only internationally
recognized system for green certification in Rus-
sia is the Life Leaf established by Ecological Union
non-profit organization with headquarters in St.
Petersburg. The Life Leaf standards are based on
the assessment of the product life cycle and com-
ply with ISO 14024. The system is registered with
the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and
Metrology (number ROSS RU.U1082.04ЧГО1).
They developed the standard STO-56171713-007-
2015 Accommodation Services. Environmental
Safety Requirements and Assessment Methods.
At the end of 2019, one Russian hotel located in
the center of St. Petersburg – Garden Street
(OOO Sadovaya 8) – was certified for compliance
with the standard. 

Some private consulting companies in Rus-

sia provide services for real estate greening, in-
cluding accommodation establishments, such as
OOO Green Office with BREEAM and LEED-certi-
fied staff specialists (certification of the Russian
Seasons Hotel in Sochi). There appear non-profit

3 Green Key official web-site information. URL: greenkey.global (Accessed on 28.10.2019) 
4 Traveleife official website data. URL: https://travelifesustainability.com/ 
5 Green Tourism official website data. URL: https://www.green-tourism.com 

public organizations offering certification services
for accommodation establishments as well. 

In general, it should be noted that there are

very few certified green hotels in our country, and
these are usually hotels operating under the
brands of international hotel chains, such as So-
kos, Cronwell, Radisson (including the Park Inn
brand). Figure 1 represents the map showing the
current location (as of April 2021) of green hotels
certified for compliance with the Green Key
standard. The system recorded only certified 25
hotels in Russia (in November 2019 there were
9)3. Of these, two are independent. 

Barriers to Accommodation Establishments

Green Certification 

It should be noted that, despite the great

interest in the issues of the hospitality industry
greening, efforts made by international and na-
tional industry and environmental organizations,
the share of certified green accommodation es-
tablishments remains low. Due to the abundance
of certification systems, restrictions on access to
up-to-date statistics, and dynamic data changes,
it is difficult to estimate the total number of cer-
tified hotels, but it is possible to get a certain idea
of their share by comparing the data of the most
famous green certification systems with the
UNWTO statistics on the number of accommoda-
tion establishments. Thus, the Green Key system
official website, which operates mainly in Europe,
gives the following figures: the total number of
registered system participants is 3,200 (growth
since 2019 – 3.2%) representing 65 countries
(growth since 2019 – 14%), 3,447 establishments
certified (growth since 2019 – 79.3%)3. Travelife:
17,000
registered
accommodation
establish-

ments in 50 countries; 1,500 certified4. Green
Tourism – 2,000 registered members5. The Euro-
pean Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)
developed by the European Commission for com-
panies and organizations to assess, report, and im-
prove their environmental performance certified
3,838 organizations as of September 2020. At the