A way to ensure we are supporting legal and ethical tourism

Hi, we are planning to visit Sri Lanka and we visit fairly regularly (esp South coast) and we would really appreciate a list of properties that are owned and run by locals and legally employed foreign staff. Is there some kind of verification or certification process that vendors acquire when their business is fully compliant? If there is no such badge, I think it would be a really good thing to have. Tourists don't really know who to support unless it's easy to find out. Some wildlife businesses in other countries do this. In my research I have seen a few beautiful properties but when you dig a little deeper, you can see Israelis and Russians etc working at these places (hosting yoga and surf retreats, Pilates etc) and I find it very hard to believe they have all gone through the gruelling process of getting a work permit? What's a good way to sus out who we should support? :) thanks.