1 June 2012: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has announced that the Green Passport Campaign, aimed at altering the behavior of travellers and tourists, has been introduced in Brazil. The Green Passport is a physical passport-style document containing advice on making a holiday more sustainable. The initiative has already been introduced in Ecuador, Costa Rica, South Africa, and France’s Overseas Territories.

The campaign is an initiative of UNEP’s International Task Force on Sustainable Tourism Development, one of the Marrakech Task Forces. UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner noted that thousands of people will be visiting Brazil for the upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), followed by the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the summer Olympics in 2016. The Green Passport, therefore, can influence the choices and behavior of a large number of visitors.

The campaign includes a website where tourists can search for sustainably managed hotels, compare the environmental friendliness of various forms of travel, and identify restaurants that source sustainably-produced agricultural products and foods. [UNEP Press Release] [Green Passport Website] [Factsheet on the International Task Force]