A big flaw in the designation process, argues fellow author and environmental proponent, Beatrice Blake, is that the survey favors large businesses and fails to credit smaller, more environmentally conscious hotels and lodges with lower consumption per guest. This is also a common complaint by small hotels against the tourism board, known as ICT. Also, the survey does not give special consideration for those with private nature reserves. Many of the more rustic and ecologically friendly lodges don’t even make the list.

However, CST’s green leaf approval does help travelers choose hotels that are at least attempting to follow ecological practices, especially those located in urban areas. Let’s hope that, as the process is fine-tuned, the certification process will get better and even more hotels will respond to the demand for environmentally responsible practices.

Note from the Author: We note in our reviews the tours, lodges and hotels we think have a positive environmental awareness and leave out those we suspect of “green washing.”