World Tourism Day 2020; celebrating Green Key establishments in rural areas

Today, the 27th of September is World Tourism Day (WTD)! This means that people around the world celebrate a day dedicated to sensitising the international community about the importance of tourism as well as its social, cultural, political and economic values. This year’s theme of the WTD is “Tourism and Rural Development”, and should raise awareness about the industries’ capability to drive economic development outside big cities and to help rural communities in preserving their natural and cultural heritage. Green Key is proud to be part of the United Nations’ (UN) World Tourism Day 2020, by celebrating Best Practice Examples of Green Key establishments in rural areas.

Winery Klet Brda in Slovenia

By 2050, 68% of the world's population will live in urban areas, while 80% of all people living in ‘extreme poverty’ live in rural communities, As a result, rural tourism can be seen as an immense opportunity, as it has the unique ability to facilitate economic development outside big cities. Rural Tourism can therefore be understood as tourism that occurs in rural, non-urbanised areas and that aims to incorporate and benefit rural communities, whilst preserving their environmental and cultural assets.

Or, as stated by the UNWTO General Secretary Zurab Pololikashvili;

Tourism helps rural communities hold onto their unique natural and cultural heritage, supporting conservation projects, including those safeguarding endangered species, lost traditions or flavours.

Tourism can therefore empower rural communities, including women and youth by providing jobs and economic independence. Ultimately, it can hinder young people from migrating to cities and thus, prevent villages to die out and local customs and heritage to be lost. This is particularly important in times of crisis; as rural areas are usually the ones being much less prepared to deal with the direct and indirect impact of uncertain times.  

Green Key would hereby like to introduce and celebrate Best Practice Examples of Green Key establishments in rural areas that have dedicated all their work to going one step further for the environment, the culture and the society of their region.

Poggio di Montedoro Agritourism

The first example of a Green Key awarded establishment in a rural area, is the Poggio di Montedoro Agritourism, which is the first Italian farm holiday establishment to receive the award, due to its outstanding sustainability performance. Thus, the owner of the holiday home, situated in Montefiascone Village, Lazio, in the centre of Italy, has adopted his business strategy to have the least possible impact on nature and the surrounding area. The establishment was an ancient farm with five different houses, and became a tourist accommodation after a complete restoration, whilst respecting its rural tradition.

Besides a professional sustainability training of the manager of the establishment, also the staff and guests are educated in the areas of waste management and water- and energy consumption.  The establishment is additionally closely connected to the agriculture of the region, enabling its guests to taste the local food produced by its own agricultural activity. For more information, click here.

Kasteelhoeve Wang

Another great example of rural tourism is 2017s winner of the Green Key Best Practice Competition. The Kasteelhoeve Wange in Belgium is a seminar location for companies and holiday spot for families and friends. Creating local partnerships is one of the main aims of the establishment and since its origin, about 300 ago, it has always worked together with local suppliers to produce local products.  These products are organic, socially responsible and animal-friendly that support circular economy. Besides that, Kasteelhoeve Wange is continuously putting effort into involving the knowledge of local craftsmen and farmers and plays an active part in restoring and maintaining natural areas in the local surroundings. Because of their continuous engagement in social, environmental and economic sustainability, Kasteelhoeve Wange can be seen as a perfect example of how rural tourism can preserve the natural and cultural heritage of a region. For more information, click here.

Klet Brda

The third example is the world’s first Green Key awarded winery, located in Slovenia. Klet Brda unites 400 families who have been working together for over half a century, capturing in their wine the uniqueness of the Brda terroir. As their vineyards are planted on demanding terrain and steep slopes, cultivation relies almost only on manual labour. This kind of production, known as heroic viticulture, enhances deep respect for nature and its cycles in the winery day-to-day activities.

Klet Brda’s winemakers know that nature is their strongest ally. As they see sustainability as the only right way forward, the vineyards are cultivated according to the principles of integrated production. In the wine tasting tours of the winery, guests can learn about their history, their treatment of nature and sustainable wine production. By preserving the traditional form of cultivation and winemaking and by educating guests from all over the world about the importance of working in harmony with nature, Klet Brda is another great Best Practice Example of Green Key establishments in rural areas. For more information, click here.

Lackan Cottage Farm

The final Best Practice Example is the Lackan Cottage Farm in Northern Island. The self-catering accommodation has been beautifully renovated using chemical-free, natural materials, sourced as locally as possible. The owners of the farm, Steve and Claire, love to recycle, which is why many of the materials they had to use for daily operations, have been reclaimed and given a new life. The farm is powered entirely by renewable electricity, generated on-site using solar and wind power and all the bedding, towels and curtains are organic and fair trade. Steve and Clair additionally manage to communicate their passion for sustainability to the guests, letting them depart the farm with a smile and with the words “Thanks for teaching us how to be better towards planet earth!". To read more about the Lackan Cottage Farmclick here.

Green Key is proud to be part of the tourism industry as an engine of change. This is why we would hereby like to thank all our establishments for developing inspiring new projects, for putting all their efforts into preserving the cultural and natural heritage of rural areas and for raising awareness about social, environmental and economic sustainability.

First Hotel on the Faroe Islands completely built according to Green Key standards

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. 

Superior Room Hotel Brandan

Bathroom Hotel Brandan

Eco-friendly Fitness Room

Eco-friendly Spa

Restaurant Hotel Brandan

Breakfast at the Hotel Brandan

Bamboo Key Card

Sustainable Bags made out of Waste from Furniture.

A pool with a view – but without any chemicals at Quinta Vale Porcacho

At the Bed and Breakfast Quinta Vale Porcacho in the Beiras, the centre of Portugal, you can plunge into a natural pool free of chlorine, salt or any other chemicals.

Copyright: Quinta Vale Porcacho

Quinta Vale Porcacho (Tábua) is situated on the green slopes of the hills along the river Mondego with a tremendous view at the Serra do Caramulo. What is special about this place is that you can enjoy this view from their own natural infinity pool. The pool of all together 200 m2 is a natural outdoor pool completely free of chlorine, salt or any other chemicals. It is integrated in the surrounding rocks and has a spectacular view over the vally of the river Mondego and the Serra do caramulo. The water of the pool is taken from the establishment’s on well. The secret of the pool is the filtering and the circulation of the water. The first filtering takes place in three bassins filled with a kind of lava stone. From there the water is pumped to the area with special plants, where the second natural filtering takes place. The plants supply the water with oxygen and the result is a clear, clean and healthy swimming area. A biologist who tests the water on a regular bases is always satisfied with the quality of it.

Our ecological pool is one of the most appreciated attractions of our quinta and is a very good expression of our green philosophy!

- Jan van Loon, Quinta Vale Porcacho

But the accommodation has even more to offer. Quinta Vale Porcacho is a perfect combination of an ecological Bed and Breakfast and a biological farm with comfortable and luxurious rooms and healthy food. They produce biological oranges, oliveoil, wine and various fruits like strawberry, raspberry, apples and pears.  All the products of the quinta are served in breakfast, lunch or dinner. Since 2018, they have also intensified their biological vegetable garden. 50% of their fruits and vegetables are grown on the premises of the quinta. In five years, they want to increase this percentage to 80%!

Copyright: Quinta Vale Porcacho

Sustainable Cooling Lagoon at The Sheraton Grand Hotel, Doha

Since almost 40 years, the Sheraton Grand Hotel is saving water and energy with the help of a cooling lagoon.

Copyright: The Sheraton Grand Hotel Doha

The Sheraton Grand Hotel in Doha is a truly iconic establishment. Opened in 1982, it was the first internationally branded hotel in Qatar. Due to its unique architecture, it has become a true landmark of the city.

But the hotel does not only impress with its long history and inimitable design, but also with its early commitment to the environment. Already during its construction it was decided to replace cooling towers for the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning with a cooling lagoon right next to the establishment.

But the hotel does not only impress with its long history and inimitable design but also with its early commitment to the environment. Already during its construction, it was decided to replace cooling towers for the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning with a cooling lagoon right next to the establishment.

Usually, cooling towers are needed to extract heat from water that has been used for cooling in chillers. To do so, water and air are brought into contact to lower the temperature of the hot water. During this process, water is lost as humidity while performing the cooling synthesis. This water needs to be replaced by an external water source which increases the water consumption of the establishment. Especially in dry climates, this can put pressure on the water supply.

By replacing the cooling tower with a lagoon, the external water quantity necessitate to complete condensation process in the chillers get replace with seawater.

According to the hotel, this method saves approximately 600,000 kWh of electricity and 100,000 cubic metres of water per year. In addition, there is no need for chemical treatment of the seawater.

Noot Nordik Kitchen leveling up the game against food waste

The restaurant Noot Nordik Kitchen in the Green Key awarded Radisson Blu Scandinavia Hotel, Gothenburg is taking the fight against food waste to another level.

© Noot Nordik Kitchen

Food waste is one of the biggest challenges in hospitality industry and more and more restaurants and hotels try to level up their initiatives to reduce the amount of unused products and leftovers. The most common strategies to minimise food waste is monitoring, diligent planning of the purchases and meals as well as optimising the storage of the products to extend their shelf life.

The Noot Nordik Kitchen, however, is putting an extra effort on reducing their waste that is produced in the kitchen. They use every last piece of a vegetable or a fruit, turning carrot tops into pesto, lemon peel into both a lemon peel syrup for cocktails, a candied lemon peel for desserts and cocktails or as freshly grated flavoring to a cake. Any tops, peels, pumped corners or cut offs go in to making broths for sauces.

They use fresh, locally grown raspberries to infuse an OP Andersson Aquavit (local to Gothenburg) for their cocktails, the berries left after the infusion gets dried and crushed into a powder we use do decorate cocktails and desserts.

Bread that has gone stale become croutons. Fresh herbs that’s looking a bit sad becomes herb butter. Any ingredients left over from their daily lunches gets new life in a salad, a soup, a stew or are served as a topping on a traditional Danish Smørrebrød. In addition, “ugly” and often discarded vegetables are purchased and given a new life in their perfectly composed dishes.

Sofia Roos, restaurant manager at Noot Nordik Kitchen:

"At Noot we love every crooked carrot, every single potato and all ugly peas. They are the soul of our food philosophy. All we want is to create delicious, tasty and climate-smart dishes without crossing it too much.”

© Noot Nordik Kitchen

.Noot Nordik Kitchen does not only fight against food waste but another cornerstone of the restaurant is to buy as local and sustainable as possible. The fish is local and sustainably caught, they always favour locally grown greens and fruits and they bake their own bread and knead their on pastry for cakes and desserts. They support brewers of all sizes across the Nordic countries so that their guests can enjoy a diverse range of real ales, IPAs, APAs, lagers and stouts. On top of that, they only serve Swedish, organic sodas, there is simply no Cola-Cola in their fridges, but a local and natural Cola Blanco from Dirty Fox Water Brewery in Norrköping.

On their mission to be a front-runner in sustainability, this summer they also joint forces with “Fredagspizza”, a food concept started through the initiative Swedish Food Challenge with the aim of spreading knowledge about and increasing the use of Swedish raw materials in everyday life. Fredags.se works with consciously selected raw materials and places great focus on what we can produce where we live, more specifically in Sweden and the Nordic countries.

On July 15-20 you can visit Noot Nordik Kitchen, where they offer four variants of Swedish pizza with different topping such as lard, fresh potatoes, meatballs and air-dried elk. There are plans for a continuation for this Autumn.

© Noot Nordik Kitchen

Apitherapy and relaxation in pure nature

Green Key awarded Želinc Tourist Farm from Slovenia is offering its guests a proximity to nature, locally produced food and healing through ‘apitherapy’

Želinc Tourist Farm is situated at the confluence of the Cerknica and Idrijca rivers, with a vast plain stretching at a distance just perfect to get away from the city noise and embark on an outdoor adventure.

The first known written records of the farm date back to the end of the 14th century. The farm was passed from one generation to another. It was basically self-sufficient, while any surplus was sold to buy fabric and sugar in particular. During World Wars I and II, the farm remained intact thanks to its strategically important military location. In 1995, the farm was renovated and a new building was built to provide for tourist activity. The tourist offer has expanded over the years, therewith changing and further complementing the image of the farm.

Urša, the present owner of the farm, states:

With the new generation of farm owners, the real estate expanded in terms of farming and tourism, and became even more connected with nature and environment. On our farm we produce fruit and vegetables without the use of pesticides and artificial fertilizers, and a large part of the food that our guests receive on our plates are produced with our hands. What we do not have, we buy mostly from neighboring farms or local shops. We care for our surrounding nature, and we regularly maintain it to keep the balance and give us the necessary raw materials for heating the house with wood. As we have our own source of water, we encourage our guests not to buy bottled water but to drink our water from the tap.

The farm has a special walking path around the property with beautiful views on surrounding hilltops, and the farm also offers a possibility for healing with beehive air and other bee products such as honey, pollen and honey liquer, called 'apitherapy'.

Guests of the Želinc tourist farm can be accommodated in 14 different spacious rooms that fully meet the requirements of the Green Key programme.  

Urša concludes:

Because we are lucky enough to be able to live in a nature with clean air, beautiful green surroundings, and because we respect and care about our nature, we decided to acquire the Green Key eco-label, and thus demonstrate to ourselves, our guests and others that we are on the right track.

 For more information about Želinc tourist farm, please visit https://www.zelinc.com.

Weathering the storm with renewable energy

When the Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, the bed-and-breakfast Casa Sol with its solar panels on the roof became a centre of support for the whole neighbourhood.

© Marie Fazio: Ramirez with his solar panels on the roof of Casa Sol.

Eddie Ramirez hasn’t forgotten the reaction when he installed solar panels on the roof of Casa Sol, his butterscotch-coloured bed-and-breakfast nestled on a cobblestone street just two blocks from Castillo San Cristóbal, the largest Spanish fort in the New World.

While Ramirez planned, his neighbours laughed.

“People said, ‘Why are you spending all this money, do you really need it?’” recounted Ramirez, who’s 56 years old and has owned Casa Sol for six years. But thanks to those solar panels, Casa Sol regained power just about 24 hours after Hurricane Maria struck. For months, Casa Sol was one of the few buildings in the neighbourhood with regular electricity. 

“When the storm hit they said, ‘Wow,’” Ramirez recalled of his neighbours. “We didn’t really install it because we thought something like this would happen, we just thought we have to put in our little contribution in order to protect the environment.” 

Ramirez was at the forefront of a push toward renewable energy that has swept over the island since Maria’s passage. Before the storm, roughly 2.5 percent of Puerto Rico’s electricity was drawn from renewable energy sources. Today, that figure is about 4 percent, with some neighbourhoods and towns — weary of unpredictable and enduring power outages — forming their own small-scale power grids.

Even though he was preaching the gospel of solar energy in the face of doubters, Ramirez was far from smug about his foresight or selfish with his good fortune. In the months after the storm, he left the doors of Casa Sol open for anyone who might need draw a bit of energy from the batteries that stored the power his solar panels collected.

Some came to charge appliances and cell phones or do laundry. Families stored breast milk and life-saving medications in his refrigerators. One man powered his sleep apnea machine at night. During one particular stretch, he recalled, as many 100 people a day would visit.

“Casa Sol came to be a centre of support during or after the storm for all our community and our neighbours,” Ramirez said.

Support, and also, it seems, inspiration. Today, more than a few of Ramirez’s neighbours also have solar panels.

Original article by Marie Fazio for Notre Dame Journalism

The Radisson Blu Hotel, Kyiv Podil creates art with plastic straws

The Radisson Blu Hotel in Kyiv-Podil, Ukraine has found a creative way for reusing their unused plastic straws by creating a work of art.

Copyright: Radisson Blu Hotel, Kyiv-Podil

When implementing Radisson Hotel Group’s campaign #RefusetheStraw the hotel wondered what they could do with the unused plastic straws that they had left in stock.

Instead of throwing them in the recycling bin, they found a local artist who created a sculpture of a seabird out of the straws. The original piece of art is now displayed in the lobby of the hotel to raise awareness on plastic pollution.

Mostly birds and sea animals suffer from plastics - they perceive it as a food, eat it, and die in terrible agony. Moreover, many birds are already on the verge of extinction and are included in the red book. It is a symbol of freedom, hope, new life, which must be protected.

- The Radisson Blu Hotel, Kyiv-Podil

Copyright: Radisson Blu Hotel, Kyiv-Podil

Copyright: Radisson Blu Hotel, Kyiv-Podil

XL Green Key Cartoon makes visitors curious about sustainability

The interactive science centre Hidrodoe in Herentals, Belgium came up with a creative and fun way to inform their guests about sustainability and Green Key.

At Hidrodoe, visitors can learn everything about water - from Roman baths to water in space -in a fun and interactive way. The science centre is an initiative of the Flemish water company Pidpa to raise awareness about the importance and value of water. The centre has more than 150 interactive exhibits, covering indoor and outdoor activities.

One of their newest additions is an XL Cartoon that shows the centre with all it’s environmental initiatives, for example their bee hotel, the electric bike charging station and the fair trade café. A Green Key logo on each of the illustrations indicates that this is part of their environmental agenda. At the same time, visitors learn about Green Key and it’s requirements. The creators compare the comic with the well-known “Where’s Wally” children illustrations.

Due to its high environmental ambitions and creative ways to engage visitors in environmental issues, Hidrodoe won the Belgian Energy and Environment award for Sustainable Education in 2018. Moreover, Hidrodoe has been Green Key awarded for 7 years in a row.