The cooperation between Green Key and SGS is developing

In December 2014, Green Key entered an agreement with the world’s largest auditing company, SGS. Since then, the two parties have been busy developing the cooperation.

Besides mutual recognition, the agreement between SGS and Green Key involves the engagement of attracting additional hotels to Green Key in countries without a Green Key national operator.

SGS auditors in countries in South and East Asia (Indonesia, India, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, China/Hong Kong and Taiwan) and countries in Africa and Indian Ocean (Egypt, Mauritius, Kenya, Zambia and South Africa) have received training in the Green Key criteria and audit procedure.

SGS is already conducting other types of audits in many hotels, and the company will now be able to conduct the Green Key audit to the hotels expressing interest in Green Key. Green Key International will be in charge of the management of the Green Key programme in countries without a national operator, while SGS will be doing the audits for Green Key.

The cooperation has already led to interest from a number of hotels in South/East Asia and Africa/Indian Ocean, but hotels in other countries without a national operator can also now directly contact Green Key International with the interest to join Green Key.

The cooperation between Green Key and SGS is also developing in some countries with a Green Key national operator. In Bulgaria, Green Key and SGS has signed a mutual agreement, where SGS will attract hotels to Green Key and conduct audits on behalf of Green Key in Bulgaria.

If you are a hotel or other tourism facility wishing to join Green Key, please contact Finn Bolding Thomsen (mailto:finn@fee.global) at Green Key International.

You are also welcome to contact SGS national affiliates in South & East Asia and Africa & Indian Ocean:

Indonesia: David Situmorang (david.situmorang@sgs.com)
India: Arup Jana (arup.jana@sgs.com)
Thailand and Cambodia: Wansongkran Naktongtip (wansongkran.naktongtip@sgs.com)
Malaysia: Amy Yip (amy.yip@sgs.com)
Philippines: Emily Pascua (emily.pascua@sgs.com)
Vietnam: Kieu Hanh (hanh.nguyenkieu@sgs.com)
China: Aileen Ma (aileen.ma@sgs.com)
Hong Kong: Miranda Kwan (miranda.kwan@sgs.com)   Taiwan: Eric Huang (eric-gt.huang@sgs.com)
Egypt: Ashraf Elzoheiry (ashraf.elzoheiry@sgs.com)
Mauritius and Indian Ocean: Daniel Julie (daniel.julie@sgs.com)
Kenya and Zambia: Solomon Onyango (solomon.onyango@sgs.com)
South Africa: Marina Sander (marina.sander@sgs.com)
 

Reputable or sustainable: what comes first?

How can hotels benefit from communicating their sustainable activities and why they need to be clear and proactive about doing so? Clare Garnham, Senior Account Director at Speed Communications sets out the case in an interesting article on Greenhotelier.com, a leading source of information on the sustainable and responsible agenda within the hotel industry.

Some Key Points:

• Communicating: responsible business activity is about communicating responsibly. Many business travellers will actively look for an environmentally conscious hotel, some even willing to pay more for the experience, which is encouraging, but equally challenging. 
  
• Sustainable practices need to be evident, recordable and – critically – transparent.
  
• Communicating sustainable practices can’t sit in isolation, a bolt-on, a bit of text in one area of the website; they need to be communicated from all parts and all people in the business.
  

There is no doubt that responsible business strategy will continue to take on an escalating role, as will communicating such activity. For hotels, the challenge is to think about what you want to be known for and what you want your responsible business plan to say about you and your people. Gaining clarity of this and greater confidence in your beliefs will support a braver, a more holistic and importantly, a long-term approach to responsible reputation building. And communicating your sustainability will undoubtedly lead to increased CSR activity across the board.

You can read the full article here

Green Key awarded Sheraton Tel Aviv in the forefront of water and energy savings

The Green Key awarded Sheraton Tel Aviv has been working in the last few years with the latest technologies available of environmental and sustainable development that are environment friendly and cost effective.

The Phoebus system is a groundbreaking technology company that combines new innovation of high-tech technology with old cooling technology. This technology is called Hydra Balance, and is a hybrid water system managed by smart cloud software.

The system is composed of Hydra Balance units, Hydra Monitoring & Control Module, and Hydra Monitoring & Control Cloud Software. The Hydra Balance unit is a designated water source heat pump, which pumps the thermal energy from the cold water A/C loop, and uses it to heat the water in a hot sanitary water loop. The Hydra Balance reduces energy costs not only by producing heat energy, but also by reducing the Air Conditioning electricity consumption. The system’s performance since the installation 15 months ago has shown a saving of 61% in energy and a reduction of 90% in diesel fuel consumption. 

Another example is the SmarTap mixing valve. SmarTap E-Valve technology (patented digital shower system) enables online controlling and monitoring of shower water and inline pressure, that can save water usageand energy, while maintaining a luxurious shower experience.

Last but not least is the water treatment plant, where the hotel is able to control and monitor everything that goes into the sewage system with the help of bacteria and a strainer the separates the substance that goes to the sewage. 

How to Reduce a Hotel's Energy Consumption

BookGreener connected, Green Key partner, is launching a series of free webinars on practical solutions to help make hotel operations more green. The next webinar focuses on energy consumption.

For a hotel, energy bills can quickly become a nightmare, but there are many things you can do. In average, energy saving programs can yield more than a 30% cut in your energy bill for the first year of efforts. To help you better understand what’s at stake and how to react efficiently, BookGreener has invited both an expert and a successful hotel manager.

The webinar includes expert's experience on energy and energy conservation measures, tips, best practices and hacks to reduce your energy bill and a real-life testimony of people who actually applied these tips in real life.

You are thus cordially invited to attend the next Webinar entitled: How to Reduce a Hotel's Energy Consumption.

Taking place on your computer on:
Thursday 18th June 2015, 6 PM in UTC+07. Click here to register.

But if you cannot make it, don't worry! Contact info@bookgreener.com and they will send you all the great tips and ideas from the event!

Camp Kovačine in Croatia, a true Green Key ambassador

Camp Kovačine is truly an amazing ambassador for Green Key in Croatia. Situated in a natural environment in the central part of Cres Island, in the Northwest of the Croatian side of the Adriatic Sea, guests can enjoy the clear sea or relax under one of the many pine and olive trees surrounding the camp site.

The management together with all staff make it their mission to take care of the desires and comfort of guests with a special accent on preserving natural values and the purity of the environment. Maintaining and improving the biodiversity of the surroundings is one of their main focus points.

All Green Key criteria’s are fulfilled and neatly documented. The campsite excels in waste management with their great organized waste separation system and energy management with an incredible energy saving policy. Camp Kovačine only uses "green" electricity. A national certificate with the "green" mark ensures guests that the electricity used throughout the complete campsite comes from renewable sources.

Green Key Croatia is extremely proud of their Green Key ambassador and hopes they will continue to cherish their well known environmental policy! 

Radisson Blu launches Blu Planet – Re-Use to save Lives

Radisson Blu, part of the Radisson Hotel Group and a Green Key partner, is committed to Responsible Business with Blu Planet, an initiative with a specific focus on conserving and protecting the earth’s priceless water supply.

As part of the Blu Planet programme, Radisson Blu has partnered with Just a Drop to help give children around the world access to safe drinking water through the hotel brand’s towel re-use program. At Radisson Blu, choosing to re-use a towel means giving a vital donation to Just A Drop. For every 250 bath towels reused at Radisson Blu hotels, enough safe drinking water will be provided to a child for life. And each year, we estimate this will save 12,000 children. In addition, each set of towels reused saves 15 liters - or nearly four gallons - of water and reduces the use of laundry chemicals.

To help celebrate and launch the partnership, a number of Radisson Blu hotels around the globe held 'Walk for Water' events for three days, starting on Earth Day, Wed 22 April 2015. Funds raised through the partnership will support clean water and sanitation projects in Kenya, India & Peru.

Just A Drop was set up by the founder, Fiona Jeffery, after she learned it costs little more than a dollar to deliver clean water to a child for up to 10 years. Just A Drop operates with a tiny full-time staff and an army of volunteers. They work tirelessly to provide clean, safe water to some of the world’s poorest communities in more than 30 countries.

The Silken Berlaymont Brussels – Education as the basis for succesful environmental management

The Silken Berlaymont Brussels, a 4-star Green Key awarded hotel located in the European Parliament neighbourhood, in the heart of Brussels. The core of their environmental approach is the good collaboration they maintain with staff and suppliers.

This approach is based on the participation of all the employees and on the education of the people in the near context. The focus is mainly on: energy, recycling, sustainable development, transport and green spaces, always keeping in mind that the quality and comfort should never be altered. An impressive list of the accomplishments shows the amazing work that has been done by this hotel. A great Green Key Ambassador!

All the hotels suppliers were contacted to find out how packaging waste could be avoided, reduced or perfected. Products and services are bought locally as much as possible in order to save fuel for transporting the goods.  All supplier were sensitized about the concept.

Without affecting the comfort of the customer, the efforts have enabled the hotel to save 25% CO² over the past year.

Most office materials such as pens, pencils, paper, etc… are made out of recycled materials. Most of the plastic one-way items have been removed and replaced by glass. A container to gather batteries and other electronic devices has been installed at the hotel.

Most regular light bulbs have been replaced by other using 80% less energy.

Last but not least, a lot of water saving procedures were installed. For example flow showerheads and filters in order to reduce the water consumption. This is not only saving water but also salt from the softener and gas as less water has to be heated. Very shortly after the installation, the difference was clear. To give you an idea, by the end of this year, the hotel save a total amount of water that equals to 55 .000.000 liters of water or … 4 Olympic swimming pools!

The Stanhope Hotel in Brussels leads the way to sustainability in Belgium

The Stanhope Hotel, a 5-star boutique Hotel and awarded with the Green Key label since 3 years, continually works to be a Green symbol in Brussels. This year will not be an exception on this rule. The Green Team still has lots of ideas to reduce waste, water & energy and improve green communication.

Throughout the seasons, the Hotel always remains connected with ecologic initiatives by offering Green experiences to their visitors. During the winter, home made recycled heart-shaped candles are offered as a special attention during the Valentine’s dinner. In spring, guests enjoy a Happy Hour at recycled candle light to celebrate the ‘Earth Hour’. Summer is a great time to taste the bio menu during the Bio Week. Autumn is synonym of discovering recycled objects exposed at the Recycling Expo as the major action during the European week of waste reduction.

The Hotel offers permanent green visibility in the Green corner, an original recycled cardboard design; in the showcase with seasonal silhouettes of ‘Les Petits Riens’ (a social economy enterprise organizing second hand fashion shows and selling second hand equipment, for the benefit of homeless and unemployed persons); in the rooms with tips for a green stay; in the recently created biologic herbs garden and through a green guiding tour when booking a Green Package.

Green vouchers now accepted in Green Key sites in Belgium

The “green vouchers” system in Belgium, introduced to promote environmentally friendly products and services, has now included Green Key as one of their services where the vouchers can be used. A great way to introduce Green Key to a wide range of people.

These vouchers (called “ecochèques”) are given by employers to near 1.5 million workers in the country, as fringe benefits, and can be spent for products such as energy efficient light bulbs, organic food, more sustainable transportation, second hand items, etc.

Due to a specific request introduced by the Green Key national operators in Belgium, people will now be allowed to spend their green vouchers in Green Key establishments from the 1st June 2015 on. Green Key establishments have been accepted into this voucher system amongst others because the label is recognized by UN organisations and because it caters for an independent auditing system.

Green Key establishments willing to be eligible have to register with at least one of the two enterprises issuing the vouchers. By introducing the label into this well-known and popular scheme, the Green Key national operators in Belgium believe that they are making it more famous and therefore encouraging its promotion.