Green Key International is pleased to announce that there are now over 2,500 Green Key awarded sites across the globe.
As sustainability becomes a top issue for tourists and the tourism sector, the Green Key programme is continuously growing and expanding on the world map.
For this great achievement we would like to thank the Green Key National Operators for all the hard work, and all awarded sites for their commitment to the environment.
Click here to find information on the awarded sites.
On 26-28 September over 500 sustainable brand leaders will gather at the Radisson Blu Scandinavia Hotel in Copenhagen to share ideas and practical know-how on sustainable solutions. Green Key Denmark is a partner in this conference.
Sustainable Brands 2016 Copenhagen is featured by Sustainable Brands, a global community of sustainable business leaders from different industry branches. Through plenaries, breakout sessions, workshops and networking events global industry leaders will get the chance to exchange their sustainability success stories and to create new partnerships. Green Key Denmark will be attending the conference and is presented as a partner of the event.
The conference will take place at the Radisson Blu Scandinavia Hotel in Copenhagen, which has been awarded the Green Key since 2015.
Water scarcity is one of the biggest challenges of our century. Water quantity and quality are both under threat. The hotel and tourism industry have via joined actions developed a tool that can be of help in this challenge.
The Hotel Water Measurement Initiative (HWMI) is a free methodology and calculation tool that enables any hotel anywhere in the world to measure and report on its water use for guest stays, meetings and events. It provides a consistent measurement of hotel water footprints for corporate travel buyers and complements the very successful Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative which is used by over 24,000 hotels worldwide.
The HWMI demonstrates how competing companies can come together to overcome common water challenges and drive responsible business practices forward in the tourism sector.
The HWMI methodology was developed by a working group of 18 global hotel companies facilitated by the International Tourism Partnership (ITP) with technical support from KPMG and input from a panel of global water experts.
Green Key Sweden attended the launch of the HWMI which was held in connection with the Stockholm Water Week on 30th August.
The HWMI tool will soon also be available to Green Key establishments on the Green Key website, made possible via funding from Radisson Hotel Group.
At the World Water Week experts gathered in Stockholm to discuss the impending water crisis and what needs to be done to tackle it. Towel re-use programmes are all very well but in this Talking Point, Jonathan Benjamin, global president of Xeros says, as a high water consuming industry, the hotel sector needs to do a lot better.
According to the Guardian article by Richard Hammond, ‘Why sustainable tourism is the travel industry’s duty’, the sector as a whole is not particularly kind to the environment, to say the least. Airlines, hotels and their associated suppliers generate huge amounts of waste and pollution, accounting for 5% of global emissions.
Whilst ecotourism is a growing trend with thousands of people each year opting for holidays that have a reduced carbon footprint, the vast majority of people don’t actively seek out these sorts of holidays. Rather, most people are aware of the need to ‘be green’ and care about the environment but they expect airlines and hotel companies to lead the way in terms of helping them fulfil this.
Many hotels have embraced towel reuse schemes, which certainly help establishments save water and energy. Results from a recent survey by Xeros showed 85% of people reuse towels because they care about the environment. However, there are much bigger strides hotels can take in terms of their approach to saving water, energy and waste but still boost customer satisfaction.
Simple ways to reduce water consumption include dual-flush toilets, lo-flo taps and aerator shower fittings. Hotels can ensure housekeeping teams flush toilets only once and kitchen staff know not to leave taps running. Clever landscaping can reduce the need for watering and hotels can collect rainwater run-off to irrigate plants. Greywater harvesting can turn shower water into water for flushing, and leftover drinking water can be deployed in cleaning cycles.
Undoubtedly laundry is a heavy water use area of the hotel, but there is an opportunity to combine laundry with a water saving message for guests to consider the environment.
Savvy hoteliers should consider rethinking the role of towels in their overall brand story. Towels are a relatively unexplored branding touch point in the customer journey – they have the potential to be an emotional tipping point turning a visitor into a loyal customer.
Encouraging guests to reuse their towels undoubtedly has an impact on a hotel’s bottom line as well as the environment. But introducing eco-friendly laundry facilities goes that extra step and is something to really shout about when it comes to telling your hotel’s brand story.
Xeros’ survey showed 77% of people said that when choosing a hotel, they actively search for places that have eco-friendly laundry facilities.
Whilst traditional washing machines rely on high temperatures and harsh chemicals to get fabrics clean, Xeros’ polymer beads help reduce chemicals and water footprint. The Hilton Los Angeles reduced water consumption by 83% as Xeros uses two litres of water per pound of laundry, compared with 12 litres per pound in a traditional washer. The hotel reported annual savings of £15,698, but with California in the midst of a drought, the water saving helps make the hotel that much more sustainable.
Steve Thompson, director of property operations, Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City, said, “The Xeros system is the exact type of solution that many businesses in California need, as it helps to significantly reduce water while improving our laundry cleaning capabilities.
“We are doing our part to meet the state’s water restrictions, and we are actually able to improve our customer experience by providing cleaner linens. It’s a win-win situation no matter how you look at it.”
Hotels can take lots of practical actions to reduce their water footprint but guests are a big part of the story. In some countries hotel guests use up to ten times more water per day than is usual for local people. Encouraging guests to consider the environment, their location and their use of water is an important message hotels can share.
Source and acknowledgement: Green Hotelier.
The travel company México Verde who manages the Green Key certified campsite Resort de Aventura encourages their guests to participate in a beach clean-up after taking part in their sandboarding activity.
México Verde is a travel company that offers different kind of eco-tourism activities, and that also manages the campsite Resort de Aventura which has been awarded with the Green Key since 2015.
One of the activities México Verde is offering is sandboarding, a sport where a snowboard-like board is used to slide down sand dunes. After the activity, the tourists are informed about marine litter and its negative effects on the environment and on the local population of turtles in particular, and are invited to take part in a small beach clean-up.
Green Key awarded Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers from Denmark won the EcoTourism Award in 2010 as the world’s greenest hotel. The hotel has very high environmental standards with a carbon neutral energy system and strong use of organic products.
Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers is using its energy from renewable sources. The facades facing south, east and west are covered with solar panels, and the heating and cooling system is using a groundwater installation. This means that the hotel is using 65% less energy compared to other similar hotels.
Already in the lobby of the hotel can the guests feel the green atmosphere through the presence of thousands of trees and plants. The rooms have been decorated with recycled furniture from the Danish design company Paustian. In the bathrooms products containing natural components from the brand Eco-Boutique are offered.
In the restaurants and cafés the focus is also on sustainability. The coffee offered in the restaurants and cafés comes from a sustainable producer in Indonesia which is also supporting the protection of orangutans in Sumatra.
Crown Plaza Copenhagen Towers is located in convenient distance from Copenhagen city centre and Copenhagen Airport, easily reachable by public transportation. In the spirit of the hotel, Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers offers its guests the possibility to rent electric bicycles and cars.
The Campground “Camping 45” in Torsby, Sweden uses the latest water treatment technology to clean its pool without additional chemicals.
The water purification encompasses four steps and doesn’t need additional chemicals, except 3 kg of salt per cubic meter. In the first step, a coarse filter removes larger particles such as leaves and hairs. In the second step, the water is filtered through a sand filter that removes smaller particles, oils and bacteria. After that, UV light is used to clean the water from bacteria and to prevent algae growth. In the last step, an electrolytic cell produces a small dose of chlorine from the salt which is dissolved in the water. Any excessive chlorine or sodium turns into salt again.
Furthermore, the pool is heated by a sun foil that covers the pool at night and when it is not in use. In winter, a protective screen made of galvanised steel covers the pool and shields it from debris and snow which means that the water can remain in the basin throughout the winter. In this way, it is not necessary to refill the pool in springtime.
Water stewardship is an extremely important aspect of good environmental practice for hotels. Many use reduced flow and flush in bathrooms, but how many are recycling water?
Water re-use is becoming core to many companies’ sustainability efforts and it’s never been more important. Freshwater withdrawals have increased globally by about 1% per year since the 1980s (UN, 2016) and it is estimated that water scarcity now affects 40% of the global population (CAWMA, 2007). Even in the UK some areas are reporting difficulties in meeting demand.
Hotels often do a lot to manage water consumption. Low flow taps and showers or aerators, reduced flush toilets or no flush urinals, sensor activation and good housekeeping practices all help to reduce the amount of water per guest, per room and per stay. But, even with these measures many guests admit to using much water during a hotel stay than they would at home, and in some water scarce areas, the difference in consumption between a hotel guest and the local population can be up to 20 times and dozens of litres.
Anything hotels can do to better manage their water consumption is a good thing, but how many look at recycling water?
Significant water consumption savings can be made from re-use initiatives. Rainwater harvesting can reduce mains water consumption by up to 30% whereas greywater recycling can save as much as 40%. Aside from lower metered water bills, companies can also benefit from reduced risks of storm water flooding, decreased sewerage charges and lower energy costs associated with water supply.
Last month on World Water Day Waterscan unveiled its next generation range of greywater recycling and rainwater harvesting technologies. The new water re-use solutions offer commercial organisations a variety of cost-efficient, reliable and highly effective options to help achieve their sustainability goals.
Claire Yeates, a Director at Waterscan said: “Many companies are aware of the benefits of water re-use but are naturally concerned about payback times and the potential operational impacts of installing new technologies. Add to this reliability issues from early-to-market systems and it’s easy to see why widescale uptake of water recycling has been hindered. We firmly believe that greywater recycling and rainwater harvesting can play a significant role in many company’s water strategies and that is why we are bringing new best-in-class technology to market.”
The various water recycling systems have been developed to give greater system design flexibility in line with customer priorities and requirements, plus a 30% faster return on investment. Waterscan systems now feature:
Barry Millar, Operations Director at Waterscan, said, “Our new water re-use systems are now designed and largely built in the UK using modular components. This enables us to meet clients’ exact specifications in line with individual business strategies and site requirements. Our complete service involving design, supply installation and maintenance of water-saving systems, along with our consultative approach, gives us a unique ability to deliver optimum results across varied client property portfolios. All of this means that our clients will benefit from a faster return on investment and still have complete confidence in their operations.”
Greywater Recycling in Action at Premier Inn
In partnership with its client Premier Inn, Waterscan installed a greywater recycling system in water-scarce Abu Dhabi. The initiative is vastly reducing mains water consumption, saving an average of 735,000 litres (24%) of mains water each month - 60 litres per guest. Over the course of a year, this is the equivalent of 110,000 baths. 100% of toilet flushing at the hotel now uses recycled water.
Greywater Recycling
Greywater recycling captures the water used for showering or bathing and, after treatment through an ultra-filtration membrane system, is fed back into the property for non-potable purposes such as flushing toilets, irrigation and laundry.
Rainwater Harvesting
Rainwater is collected, filtered and fed back into the property through a robust treatment system ensuring that only the cleanest water is utilised for non-potable purposes like vehicle washing, toilet flushing and irrigation. A rainwater harvesting system is suitable for all commercial applications where there is adequate roof space to harvest sufficient water to achieve a good return on investment.
Hoteliers interested in learning more about water risk can read our Global Water Risk Assessment and find tips for taking action on water reduction in our manual Environmental Management for Hotels.
ITP members are acting on water on behalf of the industry by collaborating with member hotel groups to develop the Hotel Water Measurement Initiative. This universally recognised tool and metric will help all hotels of any size, anywhere in the world measure in a consistent manner. The HWMI is currently in the testing phase and will be released as a free tool for the industry in World Water Week at the end of August 2016.
Source and acknowledgement: Green Hotelier.
The Park Inn by Radisson Blu Linz invited some unusual guests to its hotel. Around 150,000 bees checked into the hotel's own beehives. Not only does this provide the hotel with delicious honey, but also contributes to the conservation of these highly useful animals.
In cooperation with the organic beekeeper Werner Münzker, four beehives were set up on the hotel's terrace on the first floor. The bee colony is overseen by Mr. Münzker and the "Stadtgärten Linz", the city's urban garden service enterprise. Guests are informed about the project and related safety precautions through an information sheet in each room. However, the environmental manager of the hotel has ascertained that no guest or employee has been stung so far. Furthermore, the hotel offers an educational trail with guided tours to its guests. The honey that is produced is available at the breakfast buffet and can also be purchased in the hotel.
Bees play a very important role both in agriculture and nature. A big share of our food production depends on the pollinating work of the bees. However, bees are in decline as they face many threats such as the loss of their natural habitats and the use of chemicals in agriculture. Initiatives such as the one of the Park Inn by Radisson Linz help the bees to survive even in highly developed urban environments.
