Radisson Blu Riga makes honey beer from its very own beehives

Green Key awarded Radisson Blu Elizabete Hotel in Riga (Latvia) not only hosts beehives on its rooftop, but also brews its very own honey craft beer. 

Almost a year ago a down-to-earth Latvian country guy came into a typical corporate hotel, not expecting these guys to have a different outlook on life. Oh boy… was he wrong! When he approached the hotel staff about placing a couple of beehives on the hotel’s rooftop, it didn’t take much convincing. And why not? Bees as a species are under major threat – this year seven bee species were added to the endangered species list. Besides, Riga is known as an extremely green city due to all the parks, and Radisson Blu Elizabete is located in its very heart. So, Jānis Šnikvalds (The Bee Guy) and Gerhard Erasmus (The Hotel Guy) agreed to do give it a try last summer.

On 7 June 7, Jānis and his team placed 12 beehives on the hotel’s rooftop. They had the most amazing view from their homes – a green, peaceful park, filled with blooming linden trees, surrounded by bustling city life. The bees seemed to be 100% satisfied with the new environment, and, as of day one, were happily collecting the finest pollen from linden trees. After only six weeks Jānis reported that the hives were full, and the bees managed to collect no less than 30 liters of honey…per hive!

The honey is a perfect welcome gift for hotel guests. Besides, linden honey is one of the most valuable and best varieties of honey, an excellent product that will keep you healthy during rainy autumn evenings and windy winter days.

But there was still honey left! What to do with it? After a meeting with the brewers from Madonas Craft Beer it was decided: Radisson Blu Elizabete would get its very own honey beer! After many months of work it’s finally there: BEEER. The name brings together Blu – the hotel, Bee – our busy little friends, and Beer – the drink.The logo, created by designer Jolanta Jonikāne, is the result of a social media contest.

So, stop by at Radisson Blu Elizabete for a drink and try the refreshing, homemade honey BEEER!

Source: Blog.radissonblu.com

Sokos Hotel Ilves’ new year’s resolution – 100% recycling of waste!

The Green Key awarded hotel Sokos Hotel Ilves in Tampere, Finland has a high goal for 2017: To recyclye 100% of the waste that is produced in the establishment. Looking at their achievements in the past, this goal doesn’t seem so far away.

The information given to the tourists in the Sokos Hotel Ilves says the following: "The energy saved from recycling one bottle will power a 5 watt led lamp for 20 hours (this one changed from original 60 W light bulb-> 5 W led)" and "One recycled aluminum can saves enough energy to power a TV for 3 hours"

From 2015 to 2016, the Sokos Hotel Ilves already managed to reduce the amount of unrecycled waste by over a half from five tons to around 2 tons. To improve the recycling, the hotel launched different initiatives and activities which involves both the staff and the guests. For example, the hotel took part in the waste reduction week, and encourages their guests to recycle their waste with the help of Green Key recycling information in every room. In addition, the hotel tries to raise awareness about food waste among tourists by displaying related information during the breakfast buffet.

According to the hotel manager, Kati Vihma, the biggest challenge in reducing the amount of mixed waste was to encourage the staff to take leadership in the project. However, she is pleased to see that the interest in recycling has risen among the employees, which is reflected in the increased number of staff trainings that deal with this topic. 

Another information sign of the hotel says "The energy used to make one can from raw materials could be used to make 20 recycled cans" and "every year the average dustbin contains enough unreleased energy for 3500 showers"

Start the new year by doing something good: compensate CO2 emissions from your travels through the Global Forest Fund!

The new year usually starts with a list of new year's resolutions. For some, it starts with new pins on the world map. Why not combining your travels this year with some good actions to support saving the climate? Through the Global Forest Fund, you can compensate the CO2 emissions from your travels and support tree-planting and educational activities in schools!

Travelling affects the climate and the environment that we live in and depend on. To protect our climate, we need to try to alleviate the effects of travelling by plane, car, boat, train, etc. The Global Forest Fund has been established by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) to offset CO2 emissions from flight travel. FEE is also the organisation in charge of the international management of the Green Key programme.

The non-profit Global Forest Fund invests 90% of its income directly into tree planting and other CO2 compensation efforts that are combined with environmental education activities.

If you would like to contribute to the Global Forest Fund, you can calculate your CO2 emissions and do your donation here.

Happy New Year - and thank you for helping to save our planet!

. 

Successful year for Green Key's carbon and water measurement tools

In 2016 Green Key launched two new tools for measuring the carbon emission and water consumption of tourism accommodation. The tools were well received by the hotel industry as the statistics for 2016 show. 

The first tool which was launched in March this year was the carbon calculation tool which calculates the total CO2 consumption, the carbon footprint per occupied room on a daily basis and the carbon footprint per area of meeting space on an hourly basis.

In November, the water calculation tool was also published on Green Key's website. Similar to the carbon footprint tool, the water footprint tool calculates the resource use for the total reporting period, per occupied room on a daily basis, and per meeting space on an hourly basis.

In total, the tools on the Green Key website were used over 500 times in 25 countries all over the world. 

The aim of the tools is to help tourism accommodation to get an overview of their CO2 emission and water consumption, and to give them a standardised method for monitoring the changes in the subsequent years. The carbon and water calculations follow the “Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative” (HMCI) tool and the "Hotel Water Measurement Initiative" (HWMI) tool developed by the International Tourism Partnership.

The HCMI tool and the HWMI tool on Green Key's website have been kindly supported by Lucart Group and Radisson Hotel Group.

A brighter future for refugee youth at Green Key awarded Park Inn by Radisson Leuven

The refugee crisis has had an impact all across Europe with thousands of young people suddenly finding themselves in new place. All of them with their own hopes and dreams of a better life. Here we take a closer look at the stories of Hasan, Ajmal and Zia, three young Park Inn team members that each have a powerful story to tell.  

After arriving in Belgium as refugees, social workers placed the boys in Don Bosco, a vocational school which admits youngsters without papers and gives them specialized support and follow-up. In the refugee centers they all learnt and took Dutch classes. All three have since taken jobs at Park Inn by Radisson Leuven where they continue to develop and build a brighter future.

This is the story of how Hassan, Ajmal and Zia found not only a job in Belgium, but a path to a brighter future with the opportunity to learn & develop where everyone benefits.

The “Adding Color to Lives” project at Park Inn by Radisson connects hotels with their local communities. One of the main goals of the project is to give young people from difficult backgrounds, the chance to express themselves.  As part of the project, Park Inn by Radisson Leuven works closely together with local youth organizations and schools like Minor N’Dako and Don Bosco in hopes of making an impact in people’s lives.

Read the full story about Ajmal, Zia and Hassan at http://blog.parkinn.com/a-brighter-future-for-refugee-youth-at-park-inn-by-radisson-leuven/. 

Green Key and EKOenergy enter a collaboration agreement

EKOenergy and Green Key have decided to enter an agreement to promote the use of sustainable energy in the hospitality and tourism sector worldwide

EKOenergy is a non-profit organisation specialised in issues related to sustainable energy. The organisation furthermore runs an international ecolabel for renewable electricity. Electricity with the EKOenergy ecolabel fulfils strict environmental criteria and raises money for new renewable energy projects.

The two initiatives works in different fields but have many characteristics in common: a) the organisations function as an umbrella network of national/local environmental organisations; b) the two initiatives started in Europe, but are now rapidly developing on a global scale; c) both organisations work towards a sustainable future through behavioural change and promotion of sustainable use of resource; and d) both entities are offering an eco-label as a way for clients to communicate about their ecological choices.

EKOenergy and Green Key will actively exchange experiences, provide each other with relevant information and inform each other about opportunities and challenges in the markets. Green Key will use the expertise of EKOenergy in the development of tools for Green Key establishments within the field of sustainable energy, and EKOenergy is planning to set up an international campaign focusing on green energy in the hotel sector.

Steven Vanholme, Program manager of EKOenergy is excited about the cooperation: "Green Key and EKOenergy are healthy, fast growing initiatives, but as the world is confronted with immense ecological challenges, more needs to be done. This cooperation will help both of us do more and move faster".

Finn Bolding Thomsen, International Director of Green Key, adds: “We are pleased to announce this cooperation enabling Green Key to strengthen our expertise as an ecolabel with a big focus on sustainable energy management, and EKOenergy is an excellent partner to support our efforts.”

Contact and further information about EKOenergy: Steven Vanholme, Tel. +358 505687385, Steven.Vanholme@sll.fi, www.ekoenergy.org. 

Talking Point: In uncertain times the tourism industry can promote peace

This year, the International Institute of Peace Through Tourism (IIPT) is celebrating its 30th Anniversary. President and Founder, Louis D’Amore and Prakash Sikchi, CEO of Inspirock, one of the IIPT’s technical partners and keen supporters, take a look back at the work undertaken by the organisation and its achievements.

                                                        International Institute of Peace Through Tourism

The IIPT was founded in 1986 with a vision to make travel and tourism the world’s first global peace industry and to promote the belief that, ‘every traveller is potentially an Ambassador for Peace.’ Since its founding, the organisation has remained dedicated to fostering and facilitating tourism initiatives that contribute to international understanding and cooperation, an improved quality of environment, preservation of heritage, sustainable development, poverty reduction and healing wounds of conflict.

Through the years, the IIPT has achieved a number of landmark firsts as part of its pioneering work. IIPT first introduced the concept of sustainable tourism development at its First Global Conference: Tourism – A Vital Force for Peace, Vancouver, 1988. IIPT also produced the world’s first Codes of Ethics and Guidelines for Sustainable Tourism, 1992; conducted the first international study of best practice, tourism and the environment, 1993; and organised the first major international Conference on Sustainable Tourism: Building a Sustainable World through Tourism, Montreal 1994. Today the IIPT has chapters in regions throughout the world including the Caribbean, Australia, Maldives, India and Pakistan.

It was at World Travel Market, following a presentation by Prakash Sikchi, that he and Mr, D’Amore first met. Prakash immediately identified with the mission of encouraging every traveller to be “An Ambassador for Peace” and to embrace the life changing experience and diversity afforded by travel.

As a result of this meeting, Prakash Sikchi and his colleagues at Inspirock began discussing how to support this valuable part of IIPT’s work and remain connected in a meaningful way with today’s modern traveller. Following these discussions and a subsequent meeting between Prakash and Lou D’Amore it was decided to integrate an online trip planner into the new IIPT ‘Travel for Peace’  website and make it a central component of the new Travellers for Peace campaign thereby providing travellers even more personal independence while arranging their trips and helping them to connect directly with local sights and cultures - while also bringing the IIPT direct connection with travellers and their planned adventures.

Integrating the trip planner to the IIPT’s new site seemed like a very natural way to do this as it offers visitors to the site a chance to plan a personalised travel itinerary that spans towns, cities, countries and even continents from a single source. It also lets travellers delve deeper into the local area and foster an understanding of different cultures. With these ideas in mind, Inspirock collaborated with other partners including the Crist Consulting Group and the International Coalition of Tourism Partners to create an interactive site where people can make their travel dreams a reality.

The Travel for Peace Campaign is the first of several major initiatives that IIPT has planned for its 30th anniversary year. Hotels, Travel Agents, Tour Operators and all sectors of the industry are invited to become charter members of the IIPT/Skal Travel for Peace Campaign. For more information on becoming a charter member of the campaign – contact Lou D’Amore: ljd@iipt.org.

Inspirock provided its online trip planner free of charge and is donating revenue it generates from bookings on the new site to the IIPT to help fund the organisation’s valuable work. For more information visit http://www.inspirock.com/ and contact denise.otero@inspirock.com

Source and acknowledgement: Green Hotelier

Green Key awarded to the second hotel in Romania

The Park Inn by Radisson Bucharest Hotel is the second establishment in the country that proved compliance with Green Key's criteria. The award was delivered during a small ceremony on 25 November.

Green Key Romania which is managed by the Carpathian-Danubian Centre of Geoecology is very pleased about the hotel's environmental and social engagement. Throughout the year, the Park Inn by Radisson Bucharest Hotel has organised plenty of different activities for raising awareness and actively supporting local, national and international initiatives. 

In February for example, the hotel donated bed linen to the Sfanta Irina Foundation, which  takes care of cancer patients in their final stage. In March, the hotel participated in the yearly Earth Hour and encouraged their guests to participate as well. Furthermore, the Park Inn donated care packages to the foundation Our Lady of Mercy for Romania which helps people in need.

Other activities carried out by the hotel were a blood donation campaign for the employees of the hotel, participation in a clean-up day in the forests around Bucharest organised by “Let’s Do It Romania!” , and the organisation of a lunch for disadvantaged children in cooperation with the United Way Foundation. During the lunch, the children painted four pictures which are displayed in the lobby. Guests have the opportunity to buy buy these pictures, and the money directly goes to the United Way Foundation.

Travel market in Finland sees sustainability as key to success: more than 50 Green Key awarded sites in two years

The travel market in Finland sees sustainability as a key competitive advantage. Nature is one of Finland’s main attractions, and concern for its well-being has led to tangible every day actions. Already 52  hotels and restaurants work for the benefit of the environment by joining the Green Key programme.

On  December 1st, four new hotels were awarded with Green Key and two hotels renewed their award, raising the number of Green Key awarded sites in Finland to 52.

The Lossiranta Lodge in Savonlinna, Eastern Finland, and Best Western Plus Hotel Haaga are the establishments that have already started their second year in the programme.

"We have had a super good first Green Key year! Environmental work creates added value for our guests. We have also seen tangible results or our work both for the environment and in saving costs during the first year" says Christine Lund, CEO of Lossiranta Lodge.

The Best Western Plus Hotel Haaga adds to the list of benefits of Green Key: 

"We have a lot of international customers, therefore Green Key was a natural choice. It is  an international eco-label and is recognised by our customers" explains Osmo Suominen, Business Manager of Best Western Plus Hotel Haaga

Furthermore, four new Sokos Hotels in Kotka, Kokkola, Mikkeli and Kuopio were awarded with Green Key. Sokos Hotels is the largest hotel chain in Finland. No less than half of their hotels are Green Key awarded.

"Green Key has made environmental work a natural part of our daily operations. Our aim is to have all hotels in the S-Group Green Key awarded by the end of year 2017" explains Janina Nurmela from S-Group.

In Finland, Green Key is awarded by Green Key juries in Mainland Finland and Åland. The members of the juries are experts within the fields of travel, hospitality, CSR and environmental protection. The constant development in the environmental work is an integral part of the programme. Therefore, all participants reapply every year with reports of yearly achievements. Green Key in Mainland Finland is operated by Suomen Ympäristökasvatus and in Åland by Ålands Natur och Miljö.