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.”

Radisson Hotel Group raises USD 445,000 to provide a better future for children and young people

During its annual Community Action Month in June 2018, Radisson Hotel Group activated its global partnership with SOS Children’s Villages – carrying out more than 900 activities worldwide to help support children and young people.

Radisson Hotel Group, one of the world’s largest and most dynamic hotel groups, is pleased to share the highlights from its 2018 Community Action Month activities around the world. For the last 15 years, Radisson Hotel Group’s hotels, as well as its corporate and area offices, globally have dedicated one full month to make a difference in the communities they operate in by organizing various activities around its industry-leading Responsible Business program. This year, between them, all business units of the newly rebranded Radisson Hotel Group organized more than 900 activities in their local communities, dedicated more than 32,000 volunteer hours, and raised a total of USD 445,000 in cash and in-kind for SOS Children’s Villages and other local charities.

“One in 10 children worldwide has lost or is at risk of losing their parental care. At Radisson Hotel Group, we are lending a helping hand to give some of these children food, shelter and a better future. Every day, more than 95,000 team members strive to make Every Moment Matter for our guests, owners, talent and for our local communities around the world. This special month of June, our teams engaged in fundraising activities, donations and great volunteering opportunities for SOS Children’s Villages,” said Inge Huijbrechts, Global Senior Vice President, Responsible Business and Safety & Security.

“At SOS Children’s Villages, we greatly value the support of our partners in improving the lives of children, young people and families in countries all over the world,” said Patricia Molano, Head of International Corporate Partnerships and Philanthropy at SOS Children’s Villages International. “We are happy to see the engagement of volunteers, supporters and guests during the Community Action Month and we are looking forward to growing the partnership further in the coming years.”

Some highlights of the 2018 Community Action Month included corporate employees of the group’s Americas HQ step-up/step-out to help the communities in the Midwest and beyond. They packed more than 8,500 meals for the local food banks and provided shelter by volunteering on the construction site, helping build homes for families in need and supporting the local shelter.

During the group’s Asia Pacific Annual Business Conference, many of the company’s executive leaders visited a local orphanage and helped donate new mattresses, computers and even a guitar.

Through their ongoing ‘Adopt a School’ initiative, the Radisson Blu® Resort Fiji continued to provide Food.Shelter.Future to 30 local schools. This June, the team visited one of the schools and donated laptop computers and books.

The Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko Hotel, Freetown in Sierra Leone is participating in a range of projects, including a youth employment program via the internationally accredited Youth Career Initiative – making the hotel the first-ever nationwide to implement such a program.

The group’s hotels in Tallinn, Estonia, sponsored and visited children of the local SOS Children’s Village, to offer in-kind donations of clothes and shoes.

Radisson Blu Port Elizabeth Hotel in South Africa provided a ‘braai’ feast and a game of football. Throughout the year, Radisson Blu Hotel, Port Elizabeth has committed to support the SOS Children’s Village in maintenance work required on their property and their recycling program.

The Radisson Blu Hotel, Hamburg Airport in Germany has provided SOS Children’s Villages Hamburg with help for a while. After a successful back-to-school support campaign, equipping the children for the new school year, the team provided food and catered for the local SOS Children’s Villages family day.

The Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel, Oslo in Norway ran a successful Responsible Business lottery. The goal was to make everyone a winner, set SOS Children’s Villages on the agenda and allow our guests to win some great prizes. The lottery raised more than EUR 2,200.

Radisson Hotel Group is encouraging each of its 1,100 hotels to sponsor the upbringing and education of at least one child per hotel and to establish meaningful relationships with the SOS Children’s Villages in their respective countries. The business leadership team of the group is contributing by privately sponsoring more than 50 children from SOS Children’s Villages.

The Community Action Month is a core element of Radisson Hotel Group’s overarching Responsible Business program. For more details about the company’s Responsible Business strategy, please visit radissonhotels.com/responsible-business

Watch our video with the highlights of Radisson Hotel Group’s Community Action Month: https://youtu.be/0IOHFTOuTB8

Media Contacts:

• Lucie Cardona, Radisson Hotel Group, EMEA, lucie.cardona@radissonhotels.com or +32 2 730 7832

• Laura Langemo, Radisson Hotel Group, Americas, Laura.Langemo@radissonhotels.com or +1 (763) 212-0419

• Camilla Chiam, Radisson Hotel Group, Asia Pacific, Camilla.Chiam@radissonhotels.com or +65 6511 9297

About Radisson Hotel Group

Radisson Hotel Group™ (formerly Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group) is one of the world's largest hotel groups with eight distinctive hotel brands, more than 1,400 hotels in operation and under development around the world. The Radisson Hotel Group portfolio includes Radisson Collection™, Radisson Blu®, Radisson®, Radisson RED®, Park Plaza®, Park Inn® by Radisson, Country Inn & Suites® by Radisson and prizeotel. Guests can benefit from the newly rebranded Radisson Rewards™ (formerly Club Carlson SM), a global rewards program that delivers unique and personalized ways to create memorable moments that matter to our guests. Radisson Rewards offers exceptional loyalty benefits for our guests, meeting planners, travel agents and business partners. Radisson Meetings™ offers a variety of fully-equipped meeting and event venues featuring fast free Wi-Fi, A/V technology and on-site contacts designed to make every event unique. More than 95,000 global team members work for the Radisson Hotel Group and at the hotels licensed to operate in its systems.

About SOS Children's Villages

SOS Children's Villages is the largest non-governmental organization focused on supporting children without parental care and families at risk. Founded in 1949, the organization today runs 2,300 programs reaching more than a million children, young people and adults in 135 countries and territories. SOS Children's Villages adheres to the principle that every child grows best in a family environment, with loving parents or caregivers, living together with their siblings, in a place they can call home. SOS Children's Villages works with communities, local partners and authorities to support disadvantaged families, thus preventing family breakdown. We aim to influence decision-makers to promote the well-being of children, especially of those without parental care. SOS Children's Villages also helps care for and protect at-risk children and families in around 20 humanitarian emergencies.

Drinkable Air® and Green Key renew collaboration agreement

Green Key is happy to renew the agreement with Drinkable Air Technologies LLC.  Drinkable Air products support a lower environmental footprint by reducing water consumption from other sources and minimising the production and disposal of plastic water bottles.

Drinkable Air Technologies LLC is a US based Emerging Growth Technology Company that designs, manufactures, assembles and distributes Atmospheric Water Generators ("AWG's"). 

The AWGs of Drinkable Air, Inc. create an unlimited supply of pure drinking water from "the moisture in the air". The purity, freshness, and taste of the water produced are superior to expensive bottled water options with the cost savings easily demonstrated.  Drinkable Air products are now in 40 countries. Today the company offers three scalable (from 10 litres to 280 litres of water per day) products that can extract humidity from the atmosphere. The technology utilizes the principles of condensation (the same way nature creates rain) to create water where there is no water.  These units do not require plumbing or piping. The water is produced, stored and purified by a process which ensures the water is free of bacteria, viruses and impurities and has a superior alkaline value. Water is then dispensed from the units to the end-user as needed.

More information about Drinkable Air® can be found on their website: www.drinkableair.tech

Green Key video explaining application process now online

Green Key International is in the process of making a video series explaining the programme, its criteria and the application process. The second video, on the Green Key Application Process, is now available online!

With the video series, we aim to present our programme and our criteria in a more approachable visual format. This first video, which came out in December 2017, provided an overview of Green Key and its different components. You are more than welcome to check it out here.

In our new video the intention is to explain the four steps of the application process in a way that is easy to understand for establishments interested in applying for the Green Key. The steps, namely the Application, Audit, and Decision leading to the Award are described visually and through audio recording.  

Stay tuned for our coming video in which we are going to explain the Green Key criteria in more detail.

Do you have an idea for a Green Key video or have questions about the existing videos? Let us know by contacting us at the Head Office! 

Kolarbyn Eco-lodge – As close as you can get to nature

Guests visiting the Green Key awarded Kolarbyn Eco-lodge contribute to the nature and culture of Skinnskatteberg municipality (Sweden). The hostel is an environmentally friendly accommodation built in natural materials, avoiding chemicals and toxins. Part of the profits received by the Kolarbyn goes directly to the conservation of nature and culture in different projects.

Sauna at Kolarbyn Eco-lodge. Picture taken by Lennart Trollvad. 

The twelve huts are located in the middle of the wilderness, but just a 45-minute walk from Skinnskatteberg, the nearest town. There is no electricity or running water but the guests can relax in front of a crackling fireplace right next to their hut.

In August 2004 Kolarbyn started a project to reintroduce the tradition of charcoaling, an old-fashioned method of producing charcoal. This method has been used in the area for more than 400 years. The hostel is constantly working on developing additional opportunities to conserve charcoal culture for future generations.

Charcoal hut at Kolarbyn Eco-lodge. Left picture taken by Malin Bruce, right picture taken bu Andreas.  

Sino Hotels announces ban on plastic straws at all outlets

As a further step to support the group-wide pledge of Sino Group to reduce consumption of single-use plastic by 50% from 2017 to 2022, Sino Hotels announced the immediate ban on plastic straws in all of their hotels in Hong Kong last week. Four out of their six hotels in Hong Kong are Green Key awarded.

Sino Group Plastic Awareness Campaign - Kick-off Ceremony held on the 18 April 2018. 

With immediate effect, plastic straws are banned in all food and beverage outlets operated by the hotel group, and upon request, eco-friendly alternatives will be served. This is the latest in Sino Hotels' efforts in reducing single-use plastic consumption, including water bottles and bathroom amenities. 

'Sustainability is integral to our business. In every way we serve and operate, we aim not only to deliver customer satisfaction, but be responsible to the environment. We hope that by taking action in banning plastic straws, we are getting across the important message about sustainability and joining the global effort in creating a greener future,' says Mr. Kevin Chuc, Associate Director & Deputy Group General Manager of Sino Hotels. 

Green Key is proud that four out of six Sino Hotels in Hong Kong are awarded the Green Key

Source: Sino Hotels

Launch of the 2018 Green Lodging Trends Report powered by Greenview

Green Key is supporting the third annual Green Lodging Trends Report, powered by the Greenview Portal and managed by Greenview and Green Lodging News. The report is the lodging industry’s annual exercise to assess and benchmark sustainable best practices across hotels worldwide.

Updated annually, the Green Lodging Trends Report helps discover innovative hotel efforts that should be recognized and can benefit peers, and shows what’s trending each year.

Some reasons for participating in the Green Lodging Trends Report:

•  Get a free compare report! Find out where your property is aligned with best practices, and where it is behind among peers locally and worldwide.
• Discover new innovative practices that hotels are implementing.
• Use information to improve and ultimately outperform your competitors.
• Highlight your innovations to showcase to the world in the annual trends report.
• The Green Lodging Trends Report is the lodging industry's annual exercise to assess and catalyse green innovation, best practices, and awareness regarding the state of sustainability across hotels worldwide.

Answer 100 questions covering the latest in operational practices, facility attributes, and outreach programs to conserve resources, reduce carbon emissions, increase guest experience, and make positive community impact. In year one, there were about 2,000 hotels in the data set.

Sign up your establishment by 10 August 2018.

Nordic Hotel Forum - Tallinn's front-runner in urban beekeeping

The Nordic Hotel Forum in Tallinn, Estonia is the first hotel in the country to support urban beekeeping.

With the help from the Tallinn Beekeepers Society, the Green Key awarded hotel installed 6 beehives with over 60,000 bees on their rooftop.

From the hotel - which has been Green Key awarded since 2010 -  the bees have access to Tallinn’s major parks such as the Tammsaare Park and the historical Kadriorg Park.

Guests can enjoy the best view of the hives from their Leisure Centre or from the guestrooms on the 7th and 8th floors that  look out across the  court yard. But anyone can watch the bees busily gathering honey by watching the set up live stream. Here you can observe the hives and Tallinn’s picturesque Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the background.

As soon as the honey is ready for harvest, it is offered at the breakfast buffet from time to time. 

Read these 8 facts from the Tallinn Beekeepers Society to get to know the bees better!

KolleKolle – more than 20 years of Green Key history

The KolleKolle conference hotel located just 16 kilometers from Copenhagen, Denmark is looking back on a long journey of sustainability. But their ambitions never stop. 

Green Key International with KolleKolle hotel staff in front of the sustainability story in the lobby of the hotel

The conference hotel KolleKolle is one of the few establishments that have been Green Key awarded for over 20 years. During the visit of Green Key International, Berit K. Leth – the hotel’s General Manager, explained that the Green Key criteria is part of the establishments DNA since its first award in 1996. 

The hotel proudly presents their sustainability history and achievements on a timeline in the lobby of the hotel where guests can go back in time and learn about KolleKolle's exciting journey to become one of the most sustainable hotels in Denmark. 

KolleKolle was built 1972 – i.e. before the 1973 oil crisis. Back then, there wasn't much emphasis on energy efficiency, which also influenced the way buildings were constructed. The hotel is still struggling with the decisions made in the past, but is therefore even keener on saving as much energy as possible, both on a daily basis and when extending or renovating the hotel.

In addition to showcasing their sustainability story, the Green Key working group of the hotel, which consists of one representative from each department, has created a "sustainability book" that links Green Key to the many environmental initiatives of the hotel.