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The initiative addresses the growing demand for environmentally-responsible accommodation and includes more than 4,700 hotels certified by globally-recognised certification schemes.

These hotels will be clearly distinguished in Sabre Travel Network’s global distribution system (GDS) and reflected in other Sabre Holdings’ products.

“With leadership comes responsibility,” said Harald Eisenaecher, senior vice president of Sabre Travel Network in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

“Sabre is focused on the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the travel industry and is committed to providing customers with products and services that help promote these same long-term values throughout their businesses.”

More than 180,000 Sabre Red Workspace users can shop and book eco-certified hotels using the current hotel-search tool, which now includes an easy-to-spot icon and a unique amenity code.

Nearly 2,000 corporate and agency customers are able to specify eco-certified hotels during the request for proposal (RFP) process by using Sabre Hotel RFP tool.

The Sabre Eco-Certified Hotel Programme builds upon Sabre-owned Travelocity’s Green Hotel Directory, launched in 2009, and extends the programme to recognise hotels certified as sustainable by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s guidelines.

Travelocity is still the only major online travel company that helps users find green hotels with an eco-friendly tag.

Travelocity Business designates eco-certified hotels to help agents and travellers shop and book participating hotels.

For suppliers, the Sabre Eco-Certified Hotel Programme provides hotels a new and innovative way to differentiate themselves, reinforce their brand and tap into the growing number of travellers and travel planners looking for sustainable hotel options.

Hotel guests list ‘certification’ as the top preference in sustainable offerings, and more than 40 per cent of respondents looked for third-party certification to verify that a supplier is truly environmentally friendly (Cornell Hospitality Institute Research 2011).

The Sabre Eco-Certified Hotel Program will continue to hold the line against ‘greenwashing’ by only accepting hotels that have undergone a third-party audit and are certified by a programme aligning with criteria set by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, a global coalition of United Nations bodies, research and academic institutions and social and environmental NGOs

Sabre works across the travel industry to establish and implement environmental standards that help drive sustainable travel into the mainstream and works diligently with partners and customers to advocate for pan-industry standards.

The company’s efforts with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and its use of the GSTC criteria are testament to the value of cross-sector and cross-industry collaboration in developing and promoting necessary global frameworks.

In addition, Sabre directed an industry-leading path for standards with the introduction of carbon calculation and reporting tools for airlines, hotels, and car rental companies.

These tools, which are now available as a web service customers and partners, were an important step in recognising the need for a single-industry standard for calculating and reporting travel emissions.

Sabre is collaborating with partners, associations and competitors to employ a single, globally-recognised methodology so the travel industry’s footprint, whether in business or leisure travel, can be reported with accuracy and consistency.

Sabre Holdings connects people with the world's greatest travel possibilities by retailing travel products and providing distribution and technology solutions for the travel industry. Sabre Holdings supports travelers, travel agents, corporations, government agencies and travel suppliers through its companies: Travelocity, Sabre Travel Network and Sabre Airline Solutions. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, the company has approximately 9,000 employees in 59 countries and is owned by private equity firms Silver Lake Partners and TPG.