In order to qualify for SAPLING certification the company must: 1. Have completed and met 100% of the criteria in the SEED level during an audit . 2. Have met no less than 70% of the required SAPLING criteria in an audit. 3. Where any criteria that have not been met (no more than 30%) the company will address these shortfalls within a period 3 months of the audit date and show evidence that the shortfalls have been rectified. 4. Have no complaints made on the company by other certification bodies that are partners with RTTZ (these are: Travelife, any member of the SustainableTourism Certification Alliance Africa). 5. A company can only remain on SAPLING level for a maximum of 2 years after which the company must improve and apply for TREE level