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Need Help with Your Green Fins Membership?

The team is here to assist you! Here are several ways to get the support you need:

For general inquiries and external eco recognition, email info@greenfins.net

Sometimes, it’s best to discuss things directly with our voices. Since the Reef-World Foundation is a small (but mighty!) team, we’ve streamlined live member support into group sessions held twice a month. To know whether you need to book a call, it is recommended that you scan through this page first. If you still can’t find the answers you need, feel free to email in your questions or book a slot for one of the upcoming sessions.

  • Time: 3 PM – 4 PM (UTC +8)
  • Every 2nd Monday of the month
  • Every 3rd Thursday of the month
How to book a Live Support Group Call

Please email info@greenfins.net to schedule your slot a minimum of 3 days in advance.

For sensitive matters, it is recommended to reach out to the team at info@greenfins.net to discuss your inquiry and/or to arrange a private call.

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External Eco Recognition

The Reef-World Foundation’s external eco recognition highlights businesses that demonstrate exemplary commitment to sustainability and conservation. Dive centres can earn the recognition by adhering to the Green Fins Code of Conduct, along with other requirements.

To deliver this program, Reef-World works with external partners such as dive training agencies, booking platforms and other key organisations in the marine tourism industry, to incorporate Green Fins membership into their in-house programmes. Reef-World partners recognise the Green Fins initiative as the world’s leading authority on environmental standards and best practice for marine tourism operators. Green Fins provides legitimacy to these programmes, allowing partners to highlight their most sustainable operators with confidence.

External eco recognition provides incredible incentives for a large portion of the diving industry to adopt better environmental practices through Green Fins and opens the doors to additional benefits for those Green Fins Members. Reef-World’s report, “Sustainability in a Recovering Travel World,” revealed that 95% of divers and tourists seek out sustainable operators, but often struggle to book with confidence. Through this recognition programme, we elevate and spotlight sustainable businesses in the industry, encouraging others to follow their lead. We call on additional agencies and organisations to adopt and promote these standards to grow the network of marine tourism operators working together to ensure the future of our coral reefs, and the marine life they depend on for the future of their businesses too.

Which organisations currently offer external eco recognition?

Reef-World is very proud to have been part of the development of PADI’s training agency environmental designation for dive centres: PADI Eco Center. Exemplary environmental performance will be proven through Green Fins membership to unlock this designation, alongside participation in PADI AWARE’s Adopt the Blue program. 

Understanding that eco labels must have external validation to ensure legitimacy and trust, all PADI Eco Centers participate in Green Fins digital or certified membership to meet globally consistent standards as defined by Reef-World. PADI does not manage environmental performance data for its members; this responsibility is handled exclusively by Reef-World’s Green Fins initiative to maintain the highest level of integrity.

This designation provides incredible incentives for a large portion of the diving industry to adopt better environmental practices through Green Fins, and opens doors to additional benefits for dive or snorkel businesses that have been working hard for some time to adhere to the Green Fins Code of Conduct. Learn more on how to become a PADI Eco Center.

Reef-World is open to creating meaningful partnerships with training agencies, booking platforms and other organisations, and often the best way to make this happen is from increased demand from Members like youself. Get in touch with the organisation you have in mind to request external eco recognition if you want your Green Fins membership to lead to bigger and better things!

How can I be eligible for external eco recognition?

To qualify for the external eco recognition, you must be an active Green Fins Member and meet both the Green Fins criteria and the requirements set by the organisation or training agency.

Green Fins Certified Members are marine tourism businesses that reside in countries where the Government and/or NGOs have partnered with The Reef-World Foundation to deliver Green Fins as a national programme. In-country trained assessor teams then deliver Green Fins assessments to measure compliance against the Green Fins Code of Conduct. 

Certified Members receive a score out of 330 (the lower the score, the lower the negative environmental impact) and a membership level:

  • Certified Gold Member: 0-50
  • Certified Silver Member: 51-150
  • Certified Bronze Member: 151-200
  • Restricted Member: 201-330 

Find out more about certified membership. 

Green Fins Certified Members must achieve Gold or Silver level to meet the threshold for external eco recognition.

Green Fins Digital Members are not externally verified through on-site assessments, but they can still demonstrate their environmental performance to qualify for external eco recognition. To achieve this recognition, Digital Members must complete the following three components:

  1. Achieve a minimum self-evaluation score
    The self-evaluation score is based on the environmental impact of your business in compliance with the Green Fins Code of Conduct. To qualify, you must meet the minimum threshold, demonstrating that your operations align with sustainable practices.
  2. Commit to continuous improvement
    Show your dedication to improving your business’s environmental performance by implementing your Action Plan throughout the year and tracking it in the Action Plan Tracker on the Green Fins Hub. Working together with your teammates will help you to improve your overall impact score. It is recommended that you complete at least one action point per quarter to stay on track.
  3. Engage in the Community Forum
    Actively participate in the Green Fins Community Forum to share experiences, learn from others, and contribute to the global diving industry’s sustainability. Every action you and your team take on the forum earns “waves”, which contribute to your overall impact score and increase your eligibility for external eco recognition.

Read more…

What do the statements on my Green Fins Hub dashboard mean?

Your recent assessment score didn’t meet the performance threshold for external eco recognition this year. Stay engaged by focusing on implementing and logging your action points, and actively participating in the Community Forum to improve your performance for next year. Check out these additional tips on what to do if you have not met the threshold to be eligible for external eco recognition.

There are two reasons you may be seeing “Not Eligible for External Eco Recognition”:

Self-Evaluation Score: Your recent self-evaluation impact score did not meet the threshold for external eco recognition for this membership year.

Community and Action Plan Score: Your community engagement and action plan score has not yet met the threshold for external eco recognition. You can improve this by taking further action in these areas.

See below for further details to help you determine which factors apply to you.

Your recent self-evaluation impact score didn’t meet the performance threshold for external eco recognition this year. Stay engaged by focusing on implementing and logging your action points, and actively participating in the Community Forum to improve your performance for next year. Check out these additional tips on what to do if you have not met the threshold to be eligible for external eco recognition.

This indicates that you haven’t started implementing this criterion yet. Head to the Action Plan section to start implementing your action points or engage in the Community Forum for support and ideas.

This means you need to increase your engagement in the Community Forum. Learn how to earn more waves on the Community Forum.

Great job on getting started! To boost your overall impact score, you’ll need to implement and log more actions with the support of your teammates. It is recommended that you complete at least one action point per quarter to stay on track and continue making progress.

Well done! You will see “Meets the criteria” across the board, which means you have met the assessment or self-evaluation impact score, action plan and community score requirement for external eco recognition. Be sure to check the Action Plan and Community Forum for any remaining tasks. You are encouraged to keep engaging with the community and explore the Solutions Library for additional ways to further improve your sustainability efforts. If you haven’t yet been recognised by your training agency or organisation, please contact them directly for clarification.

First, check your operation dashboard in the Green Fins Hub to see if you’ve met the threshold for the self-evaluation or assessment score (it will state whether the operation is ‘eligible for external eco recognition’ or not) and follow the steps highlighted above to track your progress. 

It is understandable that not being eligible this year may feel discouraging, but every step towards sustainability is significant, and your progress is truly valuable. Remember, progress isn’t always linear — this could be the start of something great!

Here are a few tips to help you stay motivated and continue your sustainability journey as you prepare for next year:

  • Implement your action plan with the help of your teammates (it is recommended to complete and log one action point per quarter).
  • Engage in the Community Forum to connect with fellow Green Fins Members and learn how other operators in the network are implementing environmental policies at their businesses.
  • Utilise the Green Fins Solutions Library to learn how to progress further beyond your action plan. The library houses over 120 environmental solutions, with practical tips on how to implement new ideas at a low cost to your business.
  • Have your staff take the FREE Green Fins Dive Guide e-course. Head over to the Solutions Library in the Hub to browse other areas you can work on.
  • Complete your renewal on time. Digital Members can retake the self-evaluation one month prior to membership expiry, and Certified Members should contact their National Team well in advance to secure their reassessment date. 

By staying committed and following through with these efforts, your dedication will shine through and your progress will reflect the hard work you put in when your next year of membership comes.

If you have questions about your external eco recognition eligibility, email info@greenfins.net.

What does a 6-month grace period for renewed Members mean?

The Reef-World Foundation has introduced a 6-month grace period for both memberships for external eco recognition programmes (including but not limited to PADI Eco Center) when you renew your membership.

The team knows that organising an assessment with the National Team can often take time, so Certified Members will stay eligible for external eco recognition 6 months after their certified membership expires to allow time to book a convenient slot for the reassessment. 

The goal of Green Fins membership is to support operators in gradually reducing their environmental impact and creating lasting change. Reef-World aims to foster meaningful engagement in Green Fins Hub while ensuring that Members are not incentivised to rush through the process or game the system.

When you renew, your operation’s overall impact score, which includes last year’s self-evaluation, Action Plan, and Community score, will reset. The 6-month grace period has been established to allow members to maintain their external eco recognition if they met the eligibility criteria last year for another 6 months. This period provides time for you to make progress and implement a new set of action plans for the year. Members will lose their recognition if they have not made progress within the grace period.

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