Green Key offers a chance to secure environmental improvements and financial savings to smaller tourism establishments in Scotland.
Scotland’s smaller tourism and hospitality establishments are encouraged to find out how a leading international sustainability programme, Green Key, can help them to secure year-on-year environmental improvements, financial savings and attract customers who are increasingly seeking out sustainable options.
Environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful is working with VisitScotland to give smaller and medium tourism establishments the chance to join Green Key with a discount of £500 off the first year of membership. The funding is part of VisitScotland’s Sustainability Certification Scheme Fund for Tourism Recovery, and the Destination Net Zero Programme. The discount is available for ten micro, small and SME businesses until March 2023, on a first come first served basis.
Lyn Donnelly, Senior Responsible Tourism Manager at VisitScotland, comments on the special discount offered to smaller tourism establishments:
“Visitors are becoming increasingly aware of their impact on the world around them. We want to support their desire to be environmentally conscious by equipping those within the tourism industry with the knowledge and understanding of how their business can meet these needs, reduce their own operational costs, and preserve and enhance Scotland’s natural surroundings, all at the same time.”
Through Green Key, Keep Scotland Beautiful, the national operator for the certification programme in Scotland, offers a comprehensive in-person audit of premises and additional support to help tourism establishments achieve year-on-year environmental improvements and reduce climate-change-causing greenhouse gas emissions.
The Green Key audit also provides an ideal opportunity to access advice on how to make financial savings, such as through more efficient use of energy and resources - vital with the current rise of operating costs.
With the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow last year has put a spotlight on sustainability in Scotland’s tourism sector, Green Key provides a way to help businesses showcase their green credentials to a large pool of environmentally conscious consumers.
Moreover, Barry Fisher, Chief Executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful, says:
“We’ve been delighted to receive interest in Green Key from a variety of large hotels and attractions, with Radisson Red becoming the first we’ve supported to receive accreditation. Now we are delighted to work with Visit Scotland and offer smaller businesses the chance to access the multiple benefits of Green Key for a reduced price.”
Finn Bolding Thomsen, International Green Key Director at Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) also adds:
“Internationally recognised, the Green Key programme is open to a variety of tourism establishments - from small accommodations to large hotel facilities. We are very appreciative of VisitScotland for supporting Keep Scotland Beautiful in offering a discount for SME establishments in Scotland wishing to join the Green Key programme.”
To help prospective Green Key applicants find out more about the initiative and the discount Keep Scotland Beautiful will be running a Green Key webinar on 10 January 2023.
Find out more and register for Green Key information webinars here.