France

Number of Green Key establishments increase by 20% in France

In 2022, there are 855 accommodations and restaurants with the Green Key certificate in France.

On 20 January 2022, the Green Key team in France has proudly announced an increase of 20% in the number of certified establishments in 2022. According to the French Green Key National Operator, Nathalie Bel Baussant, there are now 855 accommodations and restaurants certified in France (including overseas territories), representing 25 million guest nights and 20,000 employees.

The increase has been continuous in the past four years and has even accelerated during the COVID-19 crisis. It concerns all regions and all types of establishments: hotels, campsites, holiday parks, hostels, small accommodations and restaurants.

This trend can be explained by several reasons:

  • The national context encourages sustainable development: economy recovery plans after the COVID-19 crisis, ranking of hotels that including environmental actions, rising customer expectations;

  • The Green Key team in France has an active partnership approach: with chains and groups, but also territories, institutional actors and representatives of the tourism industry;

  • An increasing number of chains, territories and independent establishments consider sustainable development as a key success factor;

  • The Green Key team in France proposes an application process that includes advice and strong support tools to ease the implementation of criteria.

Green Key France awards for region

A star that shines twice as bright

The Castellaras Restaurant, situated in a magnificent Provençal edifice in southern France, is the first Green Key restaurant to have obtained a Michelin star!

The acknowledgement of the famous guide comes as the icing on the cake for Hermance Carro and Quentin Joplet who have been promoting seasonal cooking and use of fresh local ingredients for years.

But Hermance and Quentin go far beyond the search for the perfect culinary match. They are equally dedicated to the quest for sustainable solutions in the kitchen as well as in the global management of their restaurant. The Castellaras was awarded the Green Key ecolabel in 2013 thanks to its many green practices: local sourcing and use of short supply chains, use of organic produce whenever possible, 100 % eco-friendly cleaning products, rainwater recovery, use of solar panels for water heating, recycling and waste recovery, use of naturals methods in the garden, etc.

Recently, an old greenhouse was transformed into a henhouse which became home for 15 new coworkers hired to help out with the recycling of green waste. There’s probably not need to tell you that the eggs are used in the kitchen by Quentin and his team.

We think everyone will agree that the Michelin star shines twice as bright at the Castellaras - once for the gastronomy and once for the sustainability!

For more information, please visit: http://www.restaurant-castellaras.com/

The Westin Paris-Vendôme saves bees

To celebrate the partnership between Green Key and Starwood, Green Key International will publish a monthly feature of a Green Key awarded Starwood hotel. In June we showcase The Westin Paris-Vendôme in France, a hotel with an impressive global environmental action plan.

For several years now we’ve been hearing reports about the honeybees disappearing around the world. While the scientists try to better understand the causes behind this sad phenomenon, several Green Key awarded sites have already begun to act in order to help the honeybees overcome these difficulties.

Such is the example of The Westin Paris-Vendôme hotel that in 2012 placed a beehive on its roof. Thanks to this single beehive, 20kg of honey are harvested every year. Most of the honey is used in the hotel’s restaurant and spa while a smaller part is sold to the hotel’s clients. As taking care of honeybees demands knowledge and experience, the hotel decided to hand over the management and the monitoring of the beehive to a professional beekeeper.

The honeybees, gathering nectar in the famous Tuileries Gardens, are thriving in the city of Paris as the municipality decided years ago to reduce significantly the use of all chemicals in the maintenance of its green areas. 

The beehive project fits into the global environmental action plan of The Westin Paris-Vendôme, a Green Key awarded site since 2011.