The Green Globe program traces its roots back to the United Nations Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992, where 182 heads of state from around the world endorsed the Agenda 21 principles of sustainable development. The Earth Summit was unprecedented for a U.N. conference, as it was the first time world leaders acknowledged, as a group, that consumption of non-renewable resources was leading to environmental degradation. In the early 1990′s, the term sustainable tourism was in its infancy. Pioneering tourism operators concerned about the effect their operations had on the environment and how best to measure that impact, were often categorized into special interest tourism. Green Globe was developed to provide a way forward for tourism organizations who were interested in measuring their environmental impact and then developing and implementing strategies to reduce those impacts. Following the Summit and after 2 years of additional development, a Green Globe membership program was established. By the end of 1994, 19 travel industry associations had endorsed the program and through joint marketing strategies, promoted Green Globe to their members. By 1995, Green Globe membership had risen to 350 in 74 countries. Green Globe’s environmental program played an important role at World Travel Market and helped World Travel Market organize the exhibition’s first Environmental Awareness Day.
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