Purezza and Green Key enter collaboration agreement

Green Key has signed a cooperation agreement with Purezza Premium Water aimed at promoting the use of filtered tap water and reducing the use of plastic bottles.

Purezza Premium Water, part of the global Waterlogic Group, provides high-quality sustainable water dispensing solutions to more than 8,000 restaurants, cafés and hotels globally. Purezza’s leading technologies allows these businesses to utilise their own locally-sourced water supply to offer high quality, on-demand, cold or ambient, sparkling or still water to their customers in refillable glass bottles. These solutions are tastier, healthier, cleaner, more economical and socially responsible than traditional single-use plastic bottled water. Purezza is well progressed on achieving its target of removing 30 million single-use bottles annually from the global hospitality supply chain, while at the same time providing high quality, sustainable products and services to its customers that positively impact their bottom line.

Scott Mitchell, Global Head of Purezza, says:

“Our partnership with Green Key is an important and significant development for our brand. To partner with an organisation that so passionately shares our vision of sustainability in the hospitality sector is exciting, and we look forward to working with them to make a more sustainable future for our industry”.

Finn Bolding Thomsen, Green Key International Director, adds:

“We are happy to enter the agreement with Purezza. We share the ambitions of promoting the use of on-site drinking water while reducing the production and transportation of water in single-use plastic bottles that subsequently have to be treated as plastic waste.”

When respect for nature leads to sustainable practices

Dolce by Wyndham La Hulpe Brussels is a 4-star superior hotel surrounded by 72 ha of forest which has been a source of inspiration for the hotel to introduce a range of sustainable practices.  

©Dolce by Wyndham La Hulpe Brussels

Since its first Green Key award in 2011, the hotel continuously adds new green initiatives thanks to its Green Committee made of motivated and volunteer team members from all departments proposing new ideas to reduce the ecological footprint of the hotel.

‘Guests and team members have the privilege of being face-to-face with nature all day long.  This nourishes the desire and willing of reducing the hotel’s ecological footprint.’ explains Erik Jansen, Area General Manager – Managed Hotels at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.

©Dolce by Wyndham La Hulpe Brussels

Some of the green initiatives of the Hotel include:

• 1067 photovoltaic panels

• a water-treatment plant recycling the hotel’s used water

• the spa uses products made of organic or natural ingredients

• the restaurants offer seasonal and local products for breakfast, lunch and dinner

• selection of suppliers proposing attractive team building and leisure activities in the forest respecting nature

• 10 charging points for electric vehicles

• Shower gel and shampoo presented in dispensers and biodegradable packaging

©Dolce by Wyndham La Hulpe Brussels

How can tourism ecolabels contribute to more sustainable consumption?

Last week, Green Key’s International Coordinator Isabel Lissner represented the Foundation for Environmental Education in an expert panel discussion to share best practice examples of how tourism can contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. She focused on how tourism ecolabels can contribute to SDG 12: Sustainable Consumption and Production.

At this year’s tourism fair FITUR in Madrid, Isabel Lissner was invited to share FEE’s contribution to the achievement of the SDGs in tourism. Isabel has represented FEE in the Affiliate Members Department of the UNWTO’s working party on SDG support since spring 2019. The working party has developed a survey for the tourism industry to evaluate which SGDs are being tackled and which require more attention by tourism stakeholders. The ultimate goal of the working party on SDG support is to collect and disseminate best practice examples that can be easily adopted in different geographical areas and contexts.

At the panel discussion, representatives of IUF-UITA-IUL, the World Leisure Organisation, Chameleon Strategies, FITUR Next, Hosteling International, IATA, NH Hotel Group and FEE were present to share their experiences on specific SDGs. Isabel Lissner talked about SDG 12 – Sustainable Production and Consumption – and how tourism ecolabels can contribute to the achievement of this goal.

She explained that ecolabels like Green Key are a tool for the awarded businesses to monitor their consumption, as many certification programmes ask for annual or monthly water and energy consumption data, for example. The programmes then help the businesses analyse the data and provide tools and guidelines to optimise consumption. In addition, ecolabels encourage their awarded establishments to make more sustainable choices - for example by purchasing local products or those that have a smaller environmental footprint such as organic or fair-trade alternatives.

Furthermore, she explained that ecolabels support sustainable consumption on the traveller’s side. They increase the visibility of sustainable businesses and help consumers distinguish between those that only claim to be green and those that went through a proper accreditation process to prove that they are, in fact, operating sustainably. In addition, ecolabels help consumers adopt more responsible behaviour in the destination they are visiting. Various studies, such as the one from Booking.com, revealed that travellers want to be more sustainable. At the same time, however, they do not seem to be familiar with tourism ecolabels and do not know how to travel more responsibly.

She concluded that there is still an attitude-behaviour gap among travellers but also among businesses, as the low number of awarded establishments worldwide proves. So, while tourism ecolabels have big potential to support sustainable consumption, there are still some barriers that need to be overcome.

She explained that, mainly, certification bodies need to become better at proving the effectiveness of their ecolabels to show businesses that the costs of implementing an ecolabel do pay off. Secondly, certification bodies, tour operators and booking and destination marketing agencies need to better promote ecolabels to raise customer awareness. Establishments will only be willing to invest in an ecolabel if they feel a customer demand for it. Thirdly, the vast number of existing ecolabels is confusing for both businesses and travellers. As there are a lot of less serious ecolabels on the market, it is important for ecolabels to be transparent and verified by a third-party.

The panelists from left to right: Emilio Ferrero Lopez (IUF-UITA-IUL), Cristina Ortega Nuere (World Leisure Organisation), Jens Thraenhart (Chameleon Strategies), Amb. Ion Vilcu (Director of the UNWTO Affiliate Members Department), Mara Balestrini (FITUR Next), Brianda Lopez (Hosteling International), Yue Huang (IATA), Isabel Lissner (Green Key), Marta Martín (NH Hotel Group), Roxana Ashtari (Project Specialist, UNWTO Affiliate Members Department)

Green Key at the "I Meet Hotel" Conference discussing climate emergency and hospitality

On 15 January 2020, Green Key gave a keynote speech at the “I Meet Hotel Conference - Istanbul Edition” about how Green Key can support the hospitality industry in the face of the climate emergency.

I Meet Hotel is the first global industry event connecting hoteliers to the future of hospitality through insightful conferences. The Istanbul I Meet Hotel event was held at the luxurious Intercontinental Istanbul Hotel and was attended by 150 hospitality and travel professionals.

Green Key was represented by Mr Murat Yigitol, the General Manager of TURCEV, the Turkish member organisation of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). He participated in a panel discussion about sustainability in hospitality titled "Climate Emergency and Hospitality: are you on track?" The multi-discipline panel consisted of experts in education, engineering and tourist behaviour.

The focus of the panel discussion was tackling the climate emergency from a hospitality perspective. As the effects of climate change become more visible and begin to impact the world's population, it is vital for the hospitality industry to take concrete actions toward becoming more environmentally responsible. Travellers and consumers are also becoming more environmentally conscious and beginning to demand sustainability from hospitality businesses. Mr. Yigitol presented Green Key as a tool that the hospitality industry can use to adapt to the climate emergency situation.

New Green Key video about Green Key criteria is now available

Green Key International is proud to present our new video explaining the main requirements in the Green Key programme

After a general introduction to Green Key, the application process and the global spread of the programme, the video focuses on explaining some of the main criteria within the 13 sections in the international set of criteria. The video underlines that the international criteria are minimum criteria and some national programmes in some countries can choose to have stricter criteria. It also explains the difference between imperative and guideline criteria, and that Green Key’s criteria for hotels and hostels (one of six categories in Green Key) are recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council.

Finn Bolding Thomsen, Green Key International Director, says: “We hope that the new video is helpful in understanding the requirements for interested establishments considering to join Green Key. For any further information and questions, please do not hesitate to contact Green Key International or our National Operators.”  

The video can be accessed from here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hANI2JSN9Qk.

To ensure full transparency, the international Green Key criteria and its explanatory notes can be downloaded from the Green Key website here: https://www.greenkey.global/criteria.  

La Ville Hotel & Suites in Dubai receives Green Key Certification

La Ville Hotel & Suites, CITY WALK Dubai in the United Arab Emirates has been awarded the Green Key International Certification for its work towards environmental responsibility and sustainable operations within the tourism industry.

This prestigious eco-label represents a commitment by the boutique hotel to adhere to the strict criteria set by the Foundation for Environmental Education. A Green Key stands for the commitment to its guests that by opting to stay with the Green Key establishment, they are helping to make a difference on an environmental level.

Constantly striving to involve associates and guests to be a part of preserving and protecting our planet, the hotel sets a benchmark for other properties in the region focusing on the limited use of chemicals and reduction of waste and energy through various activities throughout the hotel.

 “Such recognition shows proof that we are living with the intent to protect the environment. This may mean changing the purpose of how we live.” explains General Manger of La Ville Hotel & Suites, Anke Glässing.

The chic boutique hotel uses the Marriott Environmental Sustainability Hub where Engineering records the following data:

• Energy Intensity

• Water Intensity

• Carbon Intensity

• SRO%

In 2020, the hotel will see more eco-friendly practices that support sustainability and connect guests to the local culture.

• La Ville Hotel & Suites will be eliminating small plastic bottle amenities with the residential bottles in all guest bathrooms to help reduce Marriott’s global environmental footprint.

• La Ville Hotel & Suites aims to reduce the negative impacts of carbon emissions by committing to carbon intensity reduction by 2025.

• The environmental activities “Serve 360” by the hotel, not only focuses on sustainability during the hotel operation process but also the impact within the local communities.

• In line with “Serve 360” La Ville Hotel & Suites’ guest rooms and apartments are 100% non-smoking.

• La Ville Hotel & Suites drives several initiatives to support the environment and participate every year in events such as Earth Hour, donation of clothes to Al Jalila Foundation, waste collection and segregation, Mangrove Clean Ups in Dubai & Abu Dhabi and more.

Every year, as a part of the Marriott International initiative “Road to Awareness”, several activities are put forward to raise money to help children across the continent.

These initiatives are just a few examples of how the hotel has introduced eco-friendly changes that convey the hotel’s commitment to environmentally friendly practices.

By setting an example of simple yet effective steps towards ‘going-green’ guests of the hotel can enjoy their stay at La Ville Hotel & Suites, knowing that they are also working to reduce environmental harm.

About Autograph Collection Hotels

Autograph Collection Hotels celebrates individuality by curating one-of-a-kind travel experiences at more than 100 luxury lifestyle hotels found in the world’s most desirable destinations. Exactly like nothing else, Autograph Collection properties are hand-selected for their rich character and uncommon details. A personal realization of an individual founder’s vision, these hotels are defined by unique design, differentiated guest experiences and their meaningful role in locality.  Autograph Collection Hotels is proud to participate in the industry’s award-winning loyalty program, Marriott Rewards®, in which members can link accounts with Starwood Preferred Guest® and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® for instant elite status matching and unlimited points transfer. For more information, please visitwww.autographhotels.com, and explore our social media channels on Instagram Twitter and Facebook to learn more about championing the independent spirit that is #ExactlyLikeNothingElse.

Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is the world’s largest hotel company based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, with nearly 6,000 properties in 120 countries and territories. Marriott operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts. The company’s 30 leading brands include Bulgari®, The Ritz-Carlton® and The Ritz-Carlton Reserve®, St. Regis®, W®, EDITION®, JW Marriott®, The Luxury Collection®, Marriott Hotels®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Renaissance® Hotels, Sheraton®, Delta Hotels by MarriottSM, Marriott Executive Apartments®, Marriott Vacation Club®, Autograph Collection® Hotels, Tribute Portfolio™, Design Hotels™, Gaylord Hotels®, Courtyard®, Four Points® by Sheraton, SpringHill Suites®, Fairfield Inn & Suites®, Residence Inn®, TownePlace Suites®, AC Hotels by Marriott®, Aloft®, Element®, Moxy® Hotels, and Protea Hotels by Marriott®. The company also operates award-winning loyalty programs: Marriott Rewards®, which includes The Ritz-Carlton Rewards®, and Starwood Preferred Guest®. For more information, please visit our website at www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com and @MarriottIntl.

Major new study to assess tourism's growing commitment to sustainable development

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), in collaboration with the UNWTO Affiliate Members Working Group on SDGs Support has launched a major new survey to assess how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been incorporated into tourism practices, plans and strategies in destinations across the world. FEE took part in the development of this survey.

As the United Nations specialized agency responsible for promoting tourism as a tool for sustainable development, UNWTO is supporting the tourism sector to become an effective contributor to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 17 SDGs are geared towards reducing poverty and fostering sustainable development worldwide. With the sustainability agenda an increasingly important part of tourism practice, this new study from UNWTO will analyze how the SDGs are influencing practices and policies among its global network of Affiliate Members, drawn from the private sector, civil society, NGOs and academia, to provide their unique insights into the advances being made right across the sector.

Launching the survey, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “2020 will mark the beginning of the decade of action towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and we have 10 years left to make the future we want. Tourism plays a vital role in the achievement of the SDGs and we believe the outcomes of this survey will contribute to further empower tourism stakeholders to incorporate sustainability measures and policies in their daily work and objectives,” he added.

The survey aims to:

• Determine the current levels of awareness and engagement of the tourism sector regarding the 2030 Agenda and achieving its 17 SDGs.

• Identify current business policies and strategies addressing the SDGs.

• Identify best practices and activities addressing the SDGs.

The private sector, academia, civil societies and associations play a significant role in the achievement of the SDGs and they are invited to be part of the momentum for the achievement of the SDGs and share their work through this survey.

The survey is available in three languages: English, French and Spanish.

Landal GreenParks UK recognised for their green credentials

Green Key is happy to present the international environmental award to five Landal GreenParks UK resorts.

Landal GreenParks UK Kielder Waterside Green Key plaque 2019

With four parks in England and one in Scotland, Green Key is delighted to announce that all the Landal GreenParks UK have achieved the prestigious award for their environmental initiatives.

Landal Piperdam in Dundee, Landal Kielder Waterside in Northumberland, Landal Darwin Forest and Landal Sandybrook in Derbyshire and Landal Gwel an Mor in Cornwall now join more than 3,100 Green Key establishments in more than 60 countries.

In England, the scheme is managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy and Chief Executive, Allison Ogden-Newton, said:

We are delighted to award these outstanding resorts Green Key certification for their high environmental standards. Tourism is a multi-billion pound industry in the UK and we need everyone involved in it to ensure that they are doing all they can to reduce their environmental footprint and manage their business in a sustainable way. Their actions can make a significant contribution to the drive to reduce waste and cut carbon emissions.

During the rigorous judging, each holiday resort is assessed against criteria including staff involvement, guest information and sustainable management of energy, waste, water, cleaning and food and drinks. Through making greener choices, each resort is able to significantly reduce their environmental impact, reducing the consumption of energy and water and improve their guests’ experience.

Paul Hardingham, Managing Director of Landal GreenParks UK, said:

We are delighted to have become the first resort business in the UK to have been awarded the Green Key accreditation across all our locations. We look forward to developing this partnership in line with our dedicated Green Pledge to raise further awareness of sustainable travel and drive positive change.

Finn Bolding Thomsen, Green Key International director, added:

It is a pleasure to see the cooperation between Green Key and Landal GreenParks now also being extended to the United Kingdom. Congratulations to all five Landal GreenParks UK and a special warm welcome to Landal Piperdam as the first Green Key awarded establishment in Scotland!

National Green Key management now present in Brazil

Green Key interested and awarded establishments in Brazil can now apply and get support nationally through the organisation, Instituto Ambientes em Rede (IAR).

The growing interest for Green Key in South America has spread to Brazil: the country has now its own National Operator! The Brazilian member of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) has decided to become the Green Key National Operator for Brazil. The Instituto Ambientes em Rede is also in charge of the Blue Flag programme for beaches, marinas and boats in the country as well as other school-based environmental education programmes.

The Brazilian Green Key National Operator, Ms Leana Bernardi, says:

“Brazil is a country of amazing natural beauty that is enjoyed by a large number of domestic and international tourists. We believe that efforts to reduce the environmental footprint in the hospitality industry is very important to maintain our beautiful country. We also see a growing interest among tourists, hotels and other establishments and our national authorities for this direction, so we are happy to now launch Green Key in Brazil.”

Since December 2019, Brazil already has its first establishment with Green Key: Eco Pousada Baia do Joao, located in Buzios near Rio de Janeiro.

Other hotels, small accommodations and other tourism establishments in Brazil interested in Green Key are encouraged to contact the Green Key National Operator, Ms Leana Bernardi at gkbrasil@greenkey.org.br or +55 (47) 99947 0267.