The University of Georgia Costa Rica 2014-2015 Sustainability Report UGA Costa Rica 2014 - 2015 Sustainability Report | Page 34

External Certification

34

GOAL: Renew CST
certification with a goal of
achieving 4 leaves by 2011.

a difference every day for our
students, guests, employees, and
neighbors.

Tourism, which has the potential
to be an environmentally harmful
activity, represents the main
source of income in Costa Rica,
a world leader in conservation
and responsible use of natural
resources. If sustainable
measures are incorporated in the
development and operation of
tourism activities and projects,
tourism can be a powerful tool to
achieve economic development
in balance with people and the
environment. In order to achieve
this goal within the tourism
industry, Costa Rica developed
the Certification for Sustainable
Tourism (CST) program. The
organizations that participate
in this program work hard in
order to minimize the negative
impacts tourism can have on
the environment and in society.
UGACR is proud to be one of
these organizations making

The CST program is administered
through the Ministry of Tourism.
This program is designed to
differentiate businesses in the

University of Georgia Costa Rica

tourism sector based on the
degree to which they comply with
a sustainable model of natural,
cultural, and social resource
management. As described on the
CST website, CST evaluates four
core management aspects related
to sustainability:

Certificate for Sustainable Tourism
100%

EEEEE
EEEE
EEE
EE

90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%

E

20%
10%
0%

Biophysical
Environment

Facilities
Infrastructure

2008 (L3)

External
Clients

2010 (L2)

Socioeconomic
Environment
2014 (L4)