EarthCheck – one of the world's largest certifiers of sustainable travel and tourism operators has opened an office in Paris, France.

The Paris opening comes on the back of phenomenal company growth in Europe, driven by the financial benefits that sustainable operations deliver.

EarthCheck already has more than 1,100 clients in over 65 countries and recently extended its global agreement with Accor so that all their Novotel properties worldwide will be certified by 2012.

The Paris office will be headed by Mme. Helen Feustel (right), who comes with more than 30 years of international marketing and business development experience in Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, the United States and Australia.  During 10 of these years, Helen facilitated investment in tourism. 

Mme. Feustel also has a long history in publishing and media.  She will be responsible for helping EarthCheck further extend its reach into Europe, Scandinavia and the UK.

"We're delighted to have Helen heading our Paris office" explained Stewart Moore, CEO of EarthCheck. "She's highly respected by the industry and will be an excellent local contact for our European Members as we further extend the company's reach."

Used by companies such as ACCOR, InterContinental Hotels Group, Sandals Hotels & Resorts, Langham Hotels International, Banyan Tree and Carlson Asia Pacific, EarthCheck's web-based solutions are currently available in English French, Spanish and German with further languages to follow, making the Program even more appealing to the European and Latin American markets.

"Optimal performance is the dream of every business manager, regardless of which country they operate in," said Mme. Feustel. "EarthCheck brings about triple bottom line gains and helps reduce carbon emissions. Twenty to 30 percent savings are common-place in the first year of application, so it's little wonder the market leaders have been quick to the uptake."

As one of the very few international environmental benchmarking and certification programs for tourism, EarthCheck is widely recognised for its comprehensive coverage and rigor of its science.

By opening an office in Paris, EarthCheck aims to further extend its reach in Europe and to foster increased understanding of the importance and advantages of adopting sustainable tourism practices that deliver triple bottom line outcomes.