ACODAL, the Asociación Colombiana de Ingeniería Sanitaria y Ambiental is taking over the work as National Operator in Colombia. The main focus areas of the NGO are to promote the development and strengthening of the Water, Sanitation and Environment sectors through national and international representation, the dissemination of knowledge, as well as the management and execution of projects in these areas. The launch of the Green Key programme reflects a significant step towards aligning the country's tourism industry with global sustainable practices. The general shift towards more sustainability in Colombia is also reflected by different hotel chains starting to put more efforts in to the certification of their hotels in the country.
One of these chains is the Minor Hotel group, international hotel owner, operator and investor with currently more than 530 hotels across the world. Minor Hotels, a growing chain with extensive experience in the hotel market, has excellent locations for business and leisure travellers and is continuously working to achieve its objectives in terms of Sustainability and Social Responsibility. In Colombia, Minor Hotels can now showcase that they are rigorously following their objectives, through the certification of four NH hotels in Bogota: The NH Collection Bogotá WTC Royal hotel, the NH Collection Bogotá Andino Royal, the NH Collection Bogotá Teleport Royal and the NH Collection Bogotá Hacienda Royal. Minor Hotels’ group will continue its efforts to increase the number of hotels that obtain the certification in 2024.
NH Collection Bogotà Hacienda Royal
Oscar Restrepo, general manager of the Andean region of the Andean region of Minor hotels, explains in connection to the hotel group's objective of developing a sustainable and responsible business that has a positive impact on the planet.
“We are very pleased to have obtained Green Key certifications in four of our hotels in Bogota, thanks to the good practices applied in the hotels, which include recycling actions, environmental certifications, energy efficiency, partnerships with third parties to promote green initiatives and training for our employees, among others."
The NC Collection Bogotà WTC Royal Hotel
Besides that, Accor, one of the largest global hotel chains which has signed a global cooperation agreement with Green Key at the beginning of 2023, is putting more focus on certifying their hotels in Colombia and Latin-America as a whole. As part of their goal of certifying all Accor hotels by 2026, the first two hotels in Colombia, the Sofitel Legend Santa Clara and Hotel Boutique Bovedas Santa Clara have been certified with Green Key in December 2023.