Belgium's Flanders region gets 13 new Green Key establishments

The northern region of Belgium has now a total of 139 sites with the Green Key eco-label.

Camping Houtum is one of the new establishments awarded with the Green Key eco-label.

Sustainability is an increasing concern for business owners in Flanders, a region in Belgium that continues to expand the number of establishments with a Green Key certificate. The organisation responsible for managing the Green Key programme in Belgium, Good Planet, has now announced that thirteen sites from Flanders have received the sustainable eco-label for the first time. The recognition was given in an event last week, which took place in the city of Mechelen. Overall, there are now 139 establishments in Flanders complying with the Green Key programme criteria.

The high number of sites in Flanders with the Green Key eco-label results from a joint effort between business owners, who wish to implement more sustainable practices, and several municipalities from the region. As explained by Good Planet, the city of Ghent and the Province of Antwerp are examples of two public institutions that have been pushing a change for more sustainable tourism by financially supporting entrepreneurs obtaining the Green Key certificate.

The theme manager and board member of Tourism Flanders, Vincent Nijs, has discussed the organisation's role in promoting more sustainability in the region: "Flanders has already taken great steps in the field of sustainability, but there are still many challenges ahead. That is why Tourism Flanders is working on an ambitious vision and wants to contribute in a structural way to a sustainable and flourishing destination by supporting the sector even better in the future. That is why we want to encourage initiatives such as the Green Key and further implement them in our policy". 

The camping site Houtum has now more organic and fair trade products on its café menu.

Camping Houtum in Kasterlee and Porta Superia in Mechelen are two of the new Green Key establishments that have shared their experience obtaining the international eco-label. Vic Van Eyck from Camping Houtum feared a "mountain of paperwork" initially but was surprised by the application process, which went through effortlessly with the help of the Tourism Province Antwerp. Awarded with the Green Key label, Camping Houtum is already making some changes in its business.

"We were already doing, sometimes unconsciously, a lot of efforts but putting organic, fair trade and local products on our café menu was such an extra effort that without Green Key we might never or only to a limited extent have done”, explained Vic Van Eyck.

For Porta Superia owners in Mechelen, getting the sustainable certificate is proof that ecology and comfort can go hand in hand. The new Green Key awarded B&B has solid sustainable practices already implemented, that include using local suppliers and organic products, solar panels, and efficient water-saving systems, including a shower with NASA technology.

76% of travellers pledging to seek out accommodation that has sustainability accreditation

Booking.com’s latest Sustainable Travel Report affirms a growing demand for sustainable travel and reveals how the ‘pandemic effect’ could translate the travellers’ intend to travel more sustainably into impactful action.

For the sixth consecutive year, Booking.com released its Sustainable Travel Report which gives some very interesting insights into the demand for sustainable travel. The results prove that sustainable tourism is not a niche market anymore, but that travellers demand that the accommodation they choose take actions to protect the environment and support the local community.

Some interesting results from the report at a glimpse:

• 61 % of travellers state that the pandemic has made them want to travel more sustainably in the future

• 81% of travellers intend to stay in a sustainable accommodation, at least once in the upcoming year, compared to 73% in 2019 and 65% in 2017

• 76% of travellers pledge to seek out accommodation that has reputable third-party sustainability accreditation

• 73% of travellers would be more likely to choose an accommodation if it has implemented sustainability practices

Travellers are furthermore willing to change their behaviour while staying in a tourist accommodation to reduce their environmental footprint:

• 83% want to reduce their energy consumption (e.g. by turning off air conditioning and lights in their room when they are not in it, for example)

• 79% want to use more environmentally friendly modes of transport (i.e. walking, cycling or public transport over taxis or rental cars)

• 76% are keen to reduce water usage (e.g. by reusing towels or opting out of daily room cleaning)

• 69% are committed to reducing the carbon footprint of their trip or pay to offset this whenever possible

Fortunately, these are not only good intentions. The report also reveals that many travellers already take action to reduce their environmental footprint when travelling. In the past 12 months:

• 45% made a conscious decision to turn off their air conditioning/heater in their accommodation when they weren’t there in the past

• 43% took their own reusable water bottle, rather than buying bottled water while on vacation

• 40% reused the same towel to reduce water usage

• 42% shopped at small, independent stores to support the local economy during their travels.

In addition, travellers place clear demand on the accommodation sector to help them lower their environmental footprint and make responsible choices in the destination:

• 35% believe that having electricity controlled by keycards and/or sensors to reduce energy use for air conditioning or heating should be provided

• 32% consider offering guests information about local ecosystems, heritage, culture, as well as visitor etiquette as a step in the right direction

• 27% believe that accommodations should offer guests the option to opt out of daily room cleaning to reduce water usage

• 27%of travellers would prefer only being offered reusable plates and cutlery for all meals, including room service

However, the survey also reveals that travellers struggle with turning their intentions into actions:

• 72% think travel companies should offer more sustainable choices

• 48% say they find it harder to make sustainable choices while on vacation than in their everyday life

• 41% of travellers indicate that they don’t know how to find sustainable travel options

Eco-certifications like Green Key can help to close this gap and answer the travellers’ demand for sustainable tourism. They provide a framework for making a business more sustainable and help travellers find those businesses and providers that really make a difference.

To read the full report, visit Booking.com

Calculate the benefits of switching to green cleaning products

As climate, energy, and plastics problems are being discussed across the globe, it is getting more important to point out existing solutions of environmental pioneers. The PERFORMANCE CALCULATOR of our partner green care PROFESSIONAL is a tool that shows the exact savings on crude oil, plastics and CO2 when products from the green care PROFESSIONAL line are used.

The green care PERFORMANCE CALCULATOR ascertains the crude oil savings from the packaging weight, product ingredients and the share of recyclates contained in the packaging and converts them into CO2 equivalents. The customer obtains a summary of a measurable, certified value and meaningful evidence of the actual efficiency of green products. The calculator is available free of charge at get.wmprof.com.

After a period of use of green care PROFESSIONAL products, the real savings can be certified and added to any CSR report or used in marketing of a tourism establishments. Many products of the green care PROFESSIONAL range trust on the EU Ecolabel certification and the additional circular label of the Cradle-to-Cradle® Institute.

Even if an establishment doesn’t plan to replace its cleaning products with green care PROFESSIONAL products, the calculator is a useful tool to estimate the environmental footprint of its conventional cleaning products.

The calculation was validated by environmental auditors and acknowledged as one the first footprint calculation tool for recycled plastics:

Nominations include the Amsterdam Innovation Award at the INTERCLEAN exhibition and best practice example at the Circular Economy meeting in October 2018 run by the French government. Most recently it received the silver prize for innovative solutions in cleaning services at the Europrope cleaning fair in Paris.

The manufacturer behind the brand is the Werner & Mertz Group and well known across Europe for its pioneering cleaning eco-brands like “Frosch”, “Rainett” aside green care PROFESSIONAL.

It also received many packaging prizes for its first-time developments of 100% recycled plastic materials and is one of the highlighted partners within the Ellen MacArthur foundation looking to preserve the oceans.

Bookdifferent.com highlights Green Key as "greenest choice"

Green Key awarded accommodations receive highest sustainability ranking with the online booking platform Bookdifferent.com

Bookdifferent.com, which includes 1.1 million accommodations all over the world, makes sure all its accommodations are checked on their sustainability performance while offering the best price guarantee.

On the new user-friendly, fast and mobile-friendly Bookdifferent.com website, the new ‘staygreencheck’ feature ranks the 22 ecolabels (including Green Key) that Bookdifferent displays on their website.

“It is our intention with this new feature to help travellers to make a better informed and more sustainable choice. We believe that consumer demand will motivate the hospitality sector to continue improving their level of sustainability,” says Lonneke de Kort, CEO of Bookdifferent.com.

With the 'staygreencheck' Bookdifferent has monitored how each of the labels perform on the four pillars of sustainability: fair & social, nature & environment, culture friendly and local economy taking the Global Sustainable Tourism Council Standard as the norm. Each of the four hearts in the ‘staygreencheck’ display compliance with one of these pillars.

As Green Key criteria touch upon all four pillars of sustainability, Green Key awarded establishments has been awarded all four hearts and is indicated as the ‘greenest choice’ and shown on top of each search result as a standard.

Finn Bolding Thomsen, Green Key International Director, says: "We are very proud to have the Green Key awarded establishments listed as the greenest choice in Bookdifferent.com. The establishments are deeply engaged in contributing to a more sustainable world through their actions, and we as Green Key strives to support this work through regular updates of our standards as well as supporting the Green Key awarded establishments with ideas, tool and best practice examples from our network.”

Auberge de Jeunesse de Namur - local hot spot for outdoor activities and sustainability supporters

The youth hostel in Namur, Belgium offers both guests and locals many opportunities to discover the surrounding natural areas and enjoy local products and services. 

Auberge de Jeunesse de Namur, Green Key awarded since December 2012, cooperates with many different local stakeholders to offer their guests and also local residents the opportunity to enjoy the natural areas in and around Namur and to buy local products.

Together with the local organisation Empreinte the hostel develops and promotes nature and environmental education tours with the objective of promoting outdoor activities among children and adolescents and of raising awareness about different aspects of the urban environment. Furthermore, the hostel cooperates with Pro Velo, an NGO promoting bicycling and bicycle tours. Guests can rent bikes directly at the hostel and get plenty of ideas for cycling routes right at the reception. 

After spending the day in the outdoors, guests can enjoy a local beer or wine at the bar of the hostel. The establishment is in close cooperation with the local breweries and in general tries to offer as many local products as possible.

Moreover, the hostel has a collaboration with Paysans Artisans, an association of local farmers. Residents can order organic "food boxes" once a week from the local farmers which are then available for pick up at the youth hostel. In addition, the hostel organises an organic food market twice a year where the products of the Paysans Artisans and of other local producers are being sold.

Talking Point: How can hotels switch employees on to energy saving?

Claire Maugham, Director of Policy and Communications at Smart Energy GB says employees are a crucial resource in good energy management at any hotel and keeping them switched on to sustainability is really important. In today’s Talking Point she describes some ways to keep employees fully engaged on the energy front.

Many of the small changes required to save energy in hotels across the globe are the same as those in the home – even if they are sometimes on a larger scale.

Whether it’s turning down the heating and air conditioning, turning lighting and other appliances off, or trying to save hot water, there is a plethora of ways to tap into the behaviours that employees and guests are already aware of. Drawing on experience in the home and topical sustainability events can be a great way to encourage behaviour change and get employees thinking about energy – at work as well as at home.

For example, in Great Britain, the rollout of energy smart meters to every home is providing an opportunity for hospitality employers to engage with their staff on sustainability issues like never before. Some hotel staff are likely to already have smart meters in their homes and others will be offered the opportunity to upgrade shortly.

Smart meters are installed by energy suppliers, and they show consumers how much energy they are using in pounds and pence, in near real time. The new technology is encouraging people across Britain to change the way they use energy, with eight in ten people with smart meters taking steps to reduce energy waste at home.

The national rollout presents the perfect opportunity to inspire energy behaviour change in workplaces. Simply put, behaviour change in the home is vital to make consumers and employees smarter and greener at work too.

Smart Energy GB worked with Hilton Worldwide's Energy and Environment Manager, to coordinate a session at Hilton’s head office to share information about smart meters with their staff. Encouraging employees at all levels to understand the concept of smart energy helps receptiveness for further smart energy initiatives.

A guide for employers

How to engage employees with energy saving is a challenge that the International Tourism Partnership has been working on with the Carbon Trust.

They have produced this easy to use guide for employers. The guide explains how to design and run an energy efficiency awareness campaign in the workplace, including giving practical advice to employees on how they can benefit from getting a smart meter and saving energy at home. You can download a copy at smartenergyGB.org/employers, or get started with the tips below.

Tips for kick-starting engagement with energy efficiency

• To engage employees you need to be creative

Homes, personal experiences and saving money, are topics that can help make a campaign relevant to your employees.

Creative campaigns can provide information on sustainability options outside the office, such as transport or energy saving at home, to make a connection with workplace behaviour.

User-generated content is always popular and effective at bringing campaigns to life – ask your employees for their views and stories to really engage them in the subject.

• Make data visual

People respond well to visual data. If you have smart/half-hourly metering in the workplace you could use the data it provides to help employees feel more connected to their energy use at home and at work.

• Tap in to a range of motivations

Look at people’s existing values and motivations and build specific behaviour change campaigns around those. For example, a campaign around productivity gains from planning and daily routine changes are more relevant to staff than a campaign addressing costs and carbon.

Source: Green Hotelier