Green Key certifies two hotels in the Maldives for the first time

The Sun Island and the Royal Island hotels from Villa Hotels & Resorts group have recently received the Green Key certification. The establishments, located in the Ari and Baa Atolls in the Maldives, are the first to hold the eco-label in the archipelago.

The Royal Island Premium All-Inclusive Resort is located in the protected UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of Baa Atoll (©Villa Hotels & Resorts).

The Villa Hotels & Resorts group from the Maldives has two more reasons to be proud of its sustainability journey: the resorts Sun Island and Royal Island have joined the Green Key network, becoming the first to hold the eco-label in the Maldives archipelago. The certifications were granted to the Sun Island and Royal Island resorts after a rigorous process, where the two establishments were assessed against a high set of standards developed by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). 

For the Director of Villa Hotels & Resorts group Mahamood Shougee, the Green Key certification reflects the resorts' compromise toward a more sustainable future:

"With the vision to work towards carbon neutrality and fully sustainable islands; the resorts are thrilled to be Green Key certified - a testament to the dedication and passionate efforts the resorts have made towards a sustainable future. The resorts support the ecological balance of the islands while demonstrating a commitment to achieving best practices of environmental and social sustainability. Inviting guests to support the resort in maintaining the lush natural environment while being more environmentally conscious allows guests to immerse themselves in an unforgettable adventure that brings them closer to nature and inspires a deeper connection during their vacation."

Bicycle rental services are available to guests on both resorts. (©Villa Hotels & Resorts)

Over the last years, both establishments have implemented several sustainable practices and actions to reduce their environmental impact. For example, on the Sun Island resort, located in the largest of Maldives Islands, and close to the South Ari Marine Protected Area (SAMPA), the focus has been on cultivating and sourcing local produce later served in the resort's restaurant. Moreover, the Sun Island resort has also replaced plastic water bottles with glass bottles and donated all plastic for recycling in a partnership with a nonprofit organization. Among other sustainable initiatives, the resort has implemented eco-friendly techniques to reduce energy and water consumption, and it also organizes regular clean-ups on the islands with staff members and guests.

Also recently certified by Green Key is the Royal Island Premium All-Inclusive Resort, located in the protected UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of Baa Atoll. Like the Sun Island hotel, the Royal Island resort invites guests to adopt energy and water-saving actions. For example, guests are encouraged to only request towels and linen washing when needed and to recycle and reuse as much as possible. The Royal Island hotel also collaborates with the DiveOceanus dive centre, located in the resort, to promote environmentally sustainable practices. The dive centre is 95% paperless, meaning all training material and administration and registration forms are digitally provided. 

The certified Green Key establishments encourage guests to respect and protect local biodiversity (©Villa Hotels & Resorts).

Green Key congratulates the Sun Island and Royal Island resorts for their efforts toward a more sustainable hospitality industry and for being the first Green Key certified establishments in the Maldives.

Visit the Sun Island and Royal Island websites to learn more about their sustainable actions.

7 Mehmet: The first restaurant in Turkey to receive a Green Key certification

Located in Antalya, Turkey, the 7 Mehmet restaurant is a popular choice, not only for its menu of contemporary and traditional Mediterranean dishes but also for its commitment to reducing environmental impact.

For 80 years, the 7 Mehmet restaurant has been a mandatory stop for those seeking an authentic experience in Antalya, Turkey. Visitors are welcomed with an extensive menu composed of more than 600 varieties of Mediterranean fare, including several Turkish traditional dishes. Seasonality is highly embraced, meaning guests will find carefully selected ingredients and a menu that adapts and changes according to the season.

The 7 Mehmet’s philosophy towards a more sustainable and locally sourced cuisine also reflects its commitment to being a Green Key certified establishment. In fact, 7 Mehmet is currently the only certified restaurant by Green Key in the entire country. As a result, 7 Mehmet has consistently implemented sustainable practices to reduce its environmental impact. On a social level, the restaurant managed by Mehmet Akdağ has supported its local community by prioritising local products from women's cooperatives to help women entrepreneurs. Moreover, 7 Mehmet has also contributed to improving the kitchen equipment used by the Gastronomy Department of Akdeniz University in Antalya while assisting the school in building larger kitchens to accommodate more students.

© 7 Mehmet

In the restaurant, there have been multiple environmental-friendly improvements, including the use of renewable energies, such as solar energy, and the adoption of many energy and water-saving devices. Waste management is also a priority for 7 Mehmet, not only through recycling but also by avoiding and properly separating food waste. Finally, the restaurant has also replaced the plastic packaging of the towels offered to guests with more sustainable packaging alternatives.

Green Key International congratulates the 7 Mehmet restaurant on its efforts toward a more sustainable hospitality industry.

Visit 7 Mehmet’s website to find out more about its sustainable journey.

First boutique Hotel to receive Green Key certification in Malta

The 19 Rooms hotel is one of the most recent establishments to join the Green Key network of certified accommodations.

© 19 Rooms

With a long and interesting history that goes back to the 18th century, the 19 Rooms is located at an old palace in the heart of the capital city of Valetta. Before being converted to a boutique hotel four years ago, the building was once a private residence purchased by a Maltese philanthropist and later used for housing unprivileged families living in Valetta. In 1994, the building had to be closed down under the risk of becoming an unsafe place for tenants to live in. It opened again in 2016, at the hands of the current owners, who transformed the building into a stylish boutique hotel.

Considering that sustainability is at the core of its brand values, the 19 Rooms hotel has recently optimised its internal practices to comply with the Green Key eco-label standards. On the importance of receiving the Green Key certification, Managing Director Michael Xuereb has said:

“We are very focused on having an eco-friendly and sustainable operation, where we recognise the realities of climate change and focus on reducing our footprint and being a responsible part of our community. Obtaining Green Key certification was important for us because it demonstrates our commitment to sustainability and also gives us a rigorous standard to adhere to and build processes around. We also hope that, by making this commitment, we will encourage other hotels and hospitality establishments in Malta to pursue a stronger sustainability strategy.”

As part of its sustainability strategy, the boutique hotel is implementing several practices, which include:

• Waste separation bins in all guest rooms and the restaurant (all waste is separated and daily weight)

• Equipping guest rooms with soap, shampoo and moisturiser dispensers to avoid single-use plastic

• Rejecting single-use plastic for drinking water consumption in the hotel, and instead of using glass bottles which are refilled regularly

• Sourcing and buying local ingredients when possible

• Providing guests with clear instructions (in their rooms) on reducing laundry changes, separating their waste, and being mindful of consumption when using the heating and cooling system

• Offsetting the carbon emissions yearly.

Green Key International congratulates the 19 Rooms Boutique Hotel for their efforts towards a more sustainable tourism industry!

Green Key certified cottage goes green on fleet transportation

The 8-hectare Étangs du Francbois holiday estate, where the Green Key certified Le Chalet les Mélèzes is located, offers now two green transportation options to its guests.

The Étangs du Francbois holiday estate

Located in the beautiful valley of river Yves, in the region of Wallonia, Belgium, the Étangs du Francbois is a holiday home perfect for those searching for a peaceful vacation. With nature surrounding the 8-hectare property, there are plenty of outdoor activities to try at Étangs du Francbois, including following the hiking trails, swimming in the Yves River, fishing, wildlife watching or even boat rowing.

Owned by the couple Ann De Vlaminck and Patrick Meirlaen, the holiday site has several accommodation options, including a Green key certified cottage, Le Chalet les Mélèzes, since 2019. As part of their sustainability commitment, the Étangs du Francbois owners have recently upgraded their transportation fleet used in the property for more eco-friendly vehicles.

My wife and I are running a 20-acre [8-hectare] holiday estate with 3-holiday cottages and two unique camping spots. Transport on the estate is one of our concerns as a ‘green key’ certified company. In the past years, we realised it is not a good idea to have our customers parking their cars at their holiday cottage”, explains Patrick Meirlaen. According to the owner, the decision to remove guests’ cars from the central area of the property was motivated by two main factors: “First of all, it is not secure because they could block the road for firefighters. Moreover, it is not very nice for the superb views on the estate to have cars parked in several places in the gardens”.

The new green transportation options offered in Étangs du Francbois can be used during Le Chalet les Mélèzes guests’ arrival, departure, and stay. The first option is an electric all-purpose and all-terrain vehicle with a cargo container, ideal for transporting visitors’ luggage. Moreover, there are also wagon carts available to all guests during their entire stay. These carts have a load capacity of up to 300 kilograms, which can be ideal for transporting children inside the property, but also groceries.

Radisson is the first hotel chain to make meetings and events carbon negative

The Radisson Hotel Group has shared some of its most significant responsible initiatives for 2021.

Radisson Collection Hotel in Georgia

In 2019, the Green Key partner had already set high standards for sustainability after deciding to offset the carbon footprint for every meeting and event from its hotels at a global level. In 2021, the Radisson group achieved a new benchmark by offsetting twice the CO2 emissions from all the events and meetings across more than 400 hotels in their EMEA portfolio, becoming the first hotel chain in the world to make its events and meetings carbon negative. According to the hotel group, the initiative that started in 2019 has allowed for offsetting more than 30,000 tons of CO2, equivalent to taking more than 6,500 fuel-powered cars off the road.

Among other responsible initiatives, the Radisson Hotel Group has also developed two new partnerships that reinforce its position as a green mobility leader. The new collaborations with pan-European Allego and the Indian Sunfuel focus on bringing new electric vehicle options and stations across Radisson establishments in Europe and India. Furthermore, the Group has also compromised to reduce the surplus food from all of its hotels across Europe in an effort to reduce food waste.

At a global level, the Radisson Hotel Group is also one of the 25,000 hotels worldwide that support the creation of the Basic Sustainability Framework, currently being developed by the WTTC and the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance. This new framework will be announced in March 2022, and it aims to provide shared knowledge about sustainability and sustainable practices in hotels across the world.

With a new year ahead, the Global Senior Vice President Sustainability, Security and Corporate Communications for Radisson Hotel Group, Inge Huijbrechts, has reinforced the importance of continuing to develop responsible initiatives in Radisson hotels in 2022:

“[…] Sustainability is a top priority for our industry and our customers. At Radisson Hotel Group, we continue to work on our roadmap to Net Zero and are proud of the milestones we have realized in a challenging year for our industry. 2021 marked an opportunity to harness our focus on responsible business initiatives for both our Group and collectively for the hospitality industry. We look forward to another year of establishing strong strategic partnerships as we all work towards a responsible recovery and return of travel”.

More details of Radisson Hotel Group’s achievements can be read here.

Hospitality group in Mauritius launches their sustainability programme “Now for tomorrow.”

Rogers Hospitality group’s sustainability projects and objectives showcased in a new website and charter. Several of their hotels and resorts have or are obtaining the Green Key certification.

It is vital to think ahead for our future generations and what they will need. On the new “Now for tomorrow” website the Group states that responsible business is about doing things right. Over the last decade, attention has been paid towards energy, water, biodiversity, waste, and social inclusion. It is encouraged that together they can create a better future for Mauritius. 

“Go for it now; the future is promised to no one.” Wayne Dyer

Rogers Hospitality pledge to make responsible decisions within the choices and actions we all make. Their programme “Now for Tomorrow” commits to consolidating resilient development, favouring sustainable consumption, protecting Mauritius’ biodiversity through mindful development, valorising cultural and historical heritage, and maintaining vibrant communities. Their objective is to spread awareness that ‘actions speak louder than words’. They are devoted to making a difference and, as part of that, believe hospitality can and should perform differently.

Rogers Hospitality’s aims to provide exceptional hospitality services, which would be an advantage for the environment as well as increase the value for residing communities and raise visitor experience. A pledge was created towards climate change improvement by focusing on five pillars that individually embrace crucial areas and implement physical results that can be measured to guarantee progress has been made. A priority enforced by the nationwide initiative Pacte Signe Natir to build a sustainable and inclusive Mauritius and reach UN’s SDGs.

(1) Energy transition

From October 2021, Rogers Hospitality offers Carbon Neutral Stays for their guests residing at Heritage Resorts in Bel Ombre and recommend additional offsetting opportunities for guests staying at Veranda Resorts. These actions are geared to shift operations towards a low carbon economy along with other transitioning actions to non-renewable energy sources and zero/low carbon emissions.

(2) Circular Economy

Starting from production up to consumption and eliminating the end-of-life concept, by adopting a no-waste and pollution design. Products and materials are reused in a regeneration system: no waste is produced, and all materials are re-injected into the production stream

(3) Biodiversity 

Referring to the variety of living organisms (animals & plants) present in ecosystems on Earth, each ecosystem is a community (area) within which a group of living organisms interact with each other in a specific environment (on land or in water). Biodiversity plays an important role in our survival and ensuring a sustained future for generations to come.

(4) Inclusive Development

It makes sure that development progress is sufficiently wide for the benefit of most of the population. One important aspect of inclusive development is social inclusion, where individuals and groups, take part in society. Inclusive development covers support in different ways to vulnerable communities and NGOs for the better.

(5) Vibrant Communities

Similarly, the vibrant community pillar relates to communities that have the potential to ensure a good quality of life for their residents—protecting the community’s culture by incorporating their interests into development and encouraging culture, heritage, and arts.

Rogers Hospitality is committed not just to treading lightly, but to making a real difference. Its hospitality brands Heritage Resorts & Veranda Resorts operate in a responsible manner and incorporate principles of sustainable development into the way they provide our guests and clients with real-life experiences.  The group operates seven hotels and resorts ranging from mid-scale to luxury resorts in Mauritius, as well as spas, a golf course, nature reserve, beach club.  Two of their Heritage Resort establishments have been Green Key certified since 2016, and four establishments are in the application process to being approved. 

The additional objectives include from January 2022 to using 100% locally sourced products from Mauritian farmers and suppliers as well as implementing a waste management programme, with a view to recycling 75% of waste by 2022. Another objective is to develop a Conservation Programme with tangible initiatives around Lagoon & Reefs, Forests, Rivers and Wetlands. Reputation and guest awareness are key elements within the Now for tomorrow programme and certification remain a priority, with the objective of certifying by 2024 all business units in the group. In the meantime, Veranda Resorts is undergoing the Green Key auditing, targeting December 2021 for approved certification.

For more information have a look at the website here: https://nowfortomorrow.mu/

Beirholm and Green Key enter cooperation agreement

Beirholm and Green Key enter cooperation agreement to increase the focus on sustainable textiles in the hospitality industry.

The Danish family-owned company, Beirholm, is the leading supplier of industrial textiles to the rental laundries in Europe, which supplies most of the European hospitality industry.  For more than 150 years, the company’s trendy, Scandinavian textile designs have brought joy and life to Europe’s hotels and their guests.

Today, Beirholm’s innovative and durable BeirTex® textiles are engineered to offer the quality, comfort and CO2e-savings desired by hotel guests while ensuring a high return on investment. And through the company’s holistic approach to sustainability, the BeirTex® textiles live up to some of the strictest social and environmental standards. For instance, the BeirTex® textiles are certified according to EU Ecolabel, Green Button, Oeko-Tex® Made in Green and Oeko-Tex® 100 standards. Combined with the company’s support of The Better Cotton Initiative, their BeirTex® textiles are sustainable from the cotton farm to the hotel room.

And don’t just take their word for it! Recently, Beirholm’s innovative BeirTex® bed linen was nominated for the German Sustainability Award (GSA). The bed linen offers revolutionary durability, a lightweight construction, and a sustainable raw materials blend of Fairtrade organic cotton, virgin- and recycled polyester generated from 20 recycled PET bottles. Consequently, the BeirTex® bed linen reduces CO2-equivalent emissions by up to more than 70% over its entire lifecycle compared to the average hotel bed linen in the industry.

The linen is woven in an exclusive, breathable, and soft satin binding quality, which is available in 13 unique designs and can be upcycled at the end of its usable life.

The goal of the cooperation between Beirholm and Green Key is to focus on using sustainable textiles in the hospitality industry. With Beirholm’s knowledge of sustainable textiles and Green Key’s 3.200 members committed to making an impact, the cooperation seeks to make the hospitality industry even greener.

To watch a brief introduction to our new partner, Beirholm, click here.

Andreas Beirholm, Business Development Manager at Beirholm, says:

“Beirholm develops sustainable and climate friendly performance textiles for the hospitality industry. This makes us a great match with the efforts done by Green Key. We are looking forward to the cooperation and to support the continued greening of the hospitality industry.”

Finn Bolding Thomsen, Green Key International Director, adds:

“In our new Green Key criteria taking effect from 2022, we have increased the focus on sustainability through the use of environmentally friendly products, the reduction in use of resources and the recycling of material after use. Beirholm has these components well incorporated in their business structure, so we are happy to have Beirholm as a corporate partner supporting the industry.”

First of its kind methodology to measure waste in the hotel industry

The cooperation of WWF and Green View, as well as well-known hotel groups - Accor, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG Hotels & Resorts and Marriott International- has created an industry-wide waste measurement methodology.

Though efforts have been made to reduce waste in the hotel sector by donating items of value or by implementing inputting initiatives, there has still been a large gap in the market to measure hotel chain waste as there has been no standard measurement methodology. Recently, a new first-of-its-kind method to aid hotels to resolve this difficulty has been revealed by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Greenview, a global sustainability consulting group to help hotels solve this problem.

The Hotel Waste Measurement Methodology has been proposed to deliver a shared approach to collecting, measuring, and reporting waste data within the hotel industry. It is developing a consistent technique for hotels and properties of different sizes to create significant targets that are tracked over time to reduce waste and landfill use. Working on robust current waste tracking strategies and implementing goals standardises numerous data collection methods and addresses any data gaps and challenges.

According to WWF, a priority is addressing the challenges of managing food waste in the various hotel operations and creating change in the noteworthy prospect of improving organisation productivity and beginning development of their social and environmental goals. 

It is agreed that to reach the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the hotel industry is a significant partner to accomplish goals. These include 12.3, which intends to decrease food waste by 50% by 2030 and 12.5, which demands substantial reductions in waste generation throughout prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse. Numerous relevant stakeholders have assessed this methodology to ensure it tackles the specific difficulties different size hotels face.

Madhu Rajesh, CEO, Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, states that “By coming together as an industry, and sharing expertise, we can develop resources that are designed for the industry context and support every hotel to manage and improve their impact – wherever they are on their sustainability journey”. 

Here you can download the full methodology: https://sustainablehospitalityalliance.org/resource/hwmm/

Mattress spring-cleaning without chemicals

The holiday park Landal Bad Kleinkirchheim in Austria found an effective and ecofriendly way to clean their mattresses, peace of mind and sweet dreams for their guests guaranteed. 

Copyright: Landal Bad Kleinkirchheim

After a long winter season without guests due to the Corona pandemic, the holiday park Landal Bad Kleinkirchheim can’t wait to open their doors again. While the tourist industry went into a forced hibernation, the park management decided to make the best out of the time and started their spring- cleaning early this year.  

In February, all of the park’s mattresses were cleaned and disinfected to ensure their guests that they can expect the highest hygiene standards when returning to Landal Bad Kleinkirchheim. And not only that – the cleaning was done without the use of any chemicals, ensuring that it is not only good for the guests but for the environment as well.  

During the processes, the mattresses are put into a cleaning truck that cleans them in four steps. First, they are vacuumed to remove all organic materials. In the second step, the mattresses are irradiated with UC light which kills 99,99% of the bacteria, viruses and mould on the surface. In the third step, active oxygen is used to eliminate the bacteria in the core of the mattress. In the final step, the mattresses are thermally treated to reduce the humidity in the core. The cleaning system is patented by the company SLEEP TIDY.