Beyond the Ballot: Green Globe & S Certification

The difference between a claim and a certification is an auditor

Anyone can say they are sustainable. The question is who checked.

Every Nayara property holds an independent sustainability certification. The four resorts in Costa Rica and Panama are certified by Green Globe. The two in Chile, Alto Atacama and Hangaroa, hold Chile's national Sello S certification. Both are recognized by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, which means both meet the same international baseline, and both require documented evidence, on-site inspection, and annual re-certification. These are not self-reported badges. They can be lost.

What follows is what each standard demands, and what we actually do to hold it, in the rainforest, on a Caribbean island, in the high desert, and on Rapa Nui.

Green Globe: the standard across four resorts

Green Globe is the world's leading certification program for sustainable tourism. It is recognized by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and operates in more than 80 countries. To be certified, a resort is audited against 380 specific indicators across four pillars: sustainable management, social and economic performance, cultural heritage preservation, and environmental stewardship. It is not a one-time assessment. It requires annual audits and continuous improvement.

Four Nayara properties hold it: Nayara Tented Camp, Nayara Springs, Nayara Gardens, and Nayara Bocas del Toro.

What the 380 indicators cover

Sustainable management. Carbon-neutral operations, certified by Eco Qualis, with zero single-use plastics, water systems that cut consumption by 40 percent, waste programs that divert 85 percent from landfill, and renewable energy across the facilities.

Social and economic performance. In Arenal, 85 percent of the staff comes from La Fortuna, with free transport, health insurance, and training. Through a partnership with a local bank, staff can buy homes with no down payment, building equity regardless of their role.

Cultural heritage. Work with local and Indigenous communities, local guides who carry the region's knowledge, and crafts sourced from local artisans, so tourism enriches culture rather than erasing it.

Environmental stewardship. Nayara Tented Camp sits within 30,000 acres of rainforest that shelters half of Costa Rica's bird, mammal, and reptile species. More than 50,000 native trees planted, and wildlife corridors that let sloths, wild cats, and other species move freely. Not just protecting the forest, healing it.

Sello S: Chile's standard, in the desert and on Rapa Nui

Chile's S Certification, the Sello S, is administered by SERNATUR, the national tourism service, and has been recognized by the GSTC since 2014. It is not a marketing label. Properties are audited by an independent third party, ICOMCER, across socio-cultural, economic, and environmental criteria, with annual re-certification. Nayara Alto Atacama and Nayara Hangaroa are the only luxury hotels in their respective destinations to carry it.

Nayara Alto Atacama. A solar project mitigates more than a ton of CO2 emissions a year, its panels blending into one of the highest-radiation environments on Earth. The adobe rooms are oriented to capture solar warmth and natural ventilation, with thermal insulation drawn from the ancestral building techniques of the Atacameño people. Well water is treated by reverse osmosis for drinking, then reused for irrigation in one of the driest landscapes on the planet.

Nayara Hangaroa. On Rapa Nui, its design follows the Kainga philosophy, with green roofs that cool the buildings and blend into the volcanic landscape, and architecture that echoes the Orongo ceremonial village. A solar plant reduces dependence on the island's fragile grid, and a wastewater plant recycles graywater for irrigation, protecting Easter Island's delicate ecosystem.

Certified beyond the environment

Both standards measure more than energy and water. They validate the full spectrum of responsible operations, from how a hotel sources its food to how it respects the culture of the place it inhabits. In Arenal, that is local hiring and the staff housing program. In Chile, it is education programs, scholarships, local sourcing, and cultural preservation. In Panama, it is partnerships with local fishing cooperatives and 25 community organizations across the archipelago.

As the Sello S framework puts it, the certification is not just an environmental badge. It validates the full spectrum of responsible operations.

The desert and the island are not amenities. They are the reason any of this exists.

Why certification matters in luxury travel

The difference between a sustainability claim and a sustainability certification is an auditor. What these standards require is documented, measurable, independently verified performance, reviewed every year, with the real possibility of losing the certification if standards slip.

For Nayara, the certifications are not the goal. They are the proof. The goal is to show that luxury hospitality and environmental responsibility are not in tension. To see how this sits alongside the awards Nayara has earned, read the three standards behind every Nayara.