The Hotel Brandan in Thorshavn is the first hotel and conference centre on the Faroe Islands to be awarded the Green Key certificate. The newly opened 124-room hotel has completely been built by using the Green Key criteria as a standard.
Sustainably designed Hotel Brandan
Copyright: Hotel Brandan
The construction of the Hotel Brandan can be seen as a demonstrative project for sustainable solutions as the hotel has put all its effort into going the extra mile to protect the environment. Therefore, it has been designed with the inclusion of Faroese culture, architecture, history and products. In case replacements or refurbishments are needed, a thorough assessment of possibilities followed by a conscious effort to incorporate new green measures are made. By doing so, the hotel can ensure to build on its sustainable foundation and work in line with Green Key criteria.
From the beginning of the process of designing the Hotel Brandan, it was important for us to guarantee our guests a green stay in a green destination. As we have a strong Corporate Social Responsibility-Policy, it has, from the beginning, been a natural matter for us to consider environmental responsibility, when building a brand new 4-Star-Superior hotel. The contact with Green Key and their guidance through the provision of a “sustainability checklist” has been very beneficial for us. Particularly, to be able to ensure that our new hotel is as sustainable as possible,
says Hotel Director, Pætur Trónd Thomsen.
At the same time, the hotel is helping to push for the sustainable development of the archipelago by making green demands on suppliers. For example, due to the efforts of the hotel, a local brewery started to brew an organic beer on tap and a local artist designed beautiful glass jugs so that Faroese water can be served in the Hotel Brandan. In addition to that, all o its 124 rooms have been named after different Faroese landmarks, “varðar”, and been decorated by the local Faroese artist, Edward Fugloy.
Besides that and in line with Green Key criteria, different initiatives are implemented to minimise the waste of food, energy and water and to find solutions to keep the use of plastic at a minimum.
Hotel Director, Pætur Trónd Thomsen states;
We always try, as much as we can, to support the local community, the local manufacturers and suppliers to strive for a sustainable future, together with them.
The technology and infrastructure on the Faroe Islands also allowed us, to take comprehensive sustainable operations into thought, which made it a natural choice to go in an environmentally friendly way.
As a result, the company’s strategy for future developments is also oriented towards reducing its environmental impacts. For this purpose, the hotels objective is to continuously optimise its routines and procedures, alongside with its products and services. To be able to do so, the hotel came up with different actions and internal regulations such as:
any new technical installations must be in line with the Green Key mindset,
all existing and future products must be environmentally friendly
partnerships are aimed to be together with community organisations working for the environment
set up of a shared staff suggestion box for eco-friendly ideas.
Finally, the Hotel Brandan focuses on supporting local initiatives like Rudda Føroyar, the Faroese instalment of the World Cleanup Day. This event brings together local volunteers to free Faroese nature from rubbish and litter.
