Green Key signs a collaboration agreement with Ethik & Trips

Green Key International and Ethik & Trips started a collaboration to support a holistic approach to sustainable tourism.

© Ethik & Trips

About Ethik & Trips

Ethik & Trips is more than a website referencing sustainable accommodations all around the world, it is a collaborative platform whose vocation is to make tourism sustainable on an environmental, economic, and social sphere. With a strong desire to re-establish human contact with short circuits and reconnect people through real and authentic trips, each accommodation page on Ethik & Trips redirects the guests to the official accommodation website, removing any intermediaries between traveler and host and limiting the number of clicks from website to final booking. The sense of community and the taste for travel storytelling is encouraged by Ethik & Trips, which strongly believes in the power of collaboration and co-creation of the touristic experience. On the website each traveler can write reviews for the community, suggest any address that is worth sharing, or, on the contrary, report on flaws in the sustainable approach of the establishments.

The wide range of establishments on Ethik & Trips is concretely taking action toward sustainability and, in some cases, joining certification programmes. In France, Europe and all around the world: travelers can locate the Green Key certified establishments through the visual representation of the Green Key logo on the Ethik & Trips website.

Green Key supports Ethik & Trips efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of business travels. By creating a tailor-made offer for business events and seminars, the Ethik & Trips team helps companies to take more responsible choices: from the location to the means of transport, the collective activities and the menu.

© Ethik & Trips

Ethik & Trips and Green Key recognise that one of the main challenges for companies is to make CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) at the core of their strategy and actions. The challenge is even bigger when it comes to rethinking business trips organisation to make it more sustainable. Whether corporate social responsibility is fully part of company business model or only an objective, Ethik & Trips thinks and builds company events in a new way to make it more ecologic and sustainable. Their approach aims at involving all company co-workers and inviting them to consider and assess their individual and collective impact, changing their approach to travel in favor of sustainability.

Green Key International Coordinator, Chiara Cottone, says:

“We are happy to start a cooperation agreement with Ethik & Trips as we share the same holistic vision about sustainable tourism. This partnership gives us the possibility to raise awareness about the complexity of the tourism industry and shed light on the essential relationship between environmental, social, and economic sustainability, a relationship that is the core of the paths undertaken by our certified establishments.”

For more information about Ethik & Trips click here.

Drinkable Air and Green Key renew collaboration agreement!

After six years of successful collaboration, Green Key is pleased to announce the renewal of its agreement with Drinkable Air Technologies LLC (Drinkable Air).  

© Drinkable Air

Drinkable Air is a US-based Emerging Growth Technology Company that designs, manufactures, assembles, and distributes Atmospheric Water Generators ("AWG's"). Drinkable Air products support a lower environmental footprint by reducing water consumption from other sources and minimizing the production and disposal of single-use plastic water bottles. 

Drinkable Air’s technology aligns with the Green Key criteria by reducing the environmental footprint of single-use-plastic water bottles, reducing reliance on municipal water sources, and reducing waste.  The innovative technology of the company ensures that the water is sourced sustainably, has no effect on the local water supply, and is waste free.

The AWGs of Drinkable Air create an unlimited supply of pure drinking water from "the moisture in the air". Drinkable Air’s technology utilises the principles of condensation (the same way nature creates rain) to generate water. This water is then filtered and purified by a process which ensures the water is free of bacteria, viruses, and other impurities. The purity, freshness and taste of the water are unsurpassed, and the cost savings compared to bottled water can be easily demonstrated.

Finn Bolding Thomsen, Green Key International Director, says:

“We have enjoyed a successful collaboration with Drinkable Air Technologies LLC for six years, and we are excited to renew our agreement to support reducing water shortages, pollution and dependence on fossil fuels.”

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

Ecolab & Green Key move forward on their partnership to support hotels & restaurants, reaching their sustainability goals

According to a survey requested by the European Commission, 82% of European citizens are prepared to change at least some of their travel and tourism habits towards being more sustainable. On that account, Green Key and Ecolab decided to continue their partnership to promote sustainability in the industry.

© Ecolab

Ecolab helps solving the world’s greatest water, food, health, and climate challenges through its commitment to protect the environment, address social concerns and adhere to responsible policies and practices. Therefore, the company is protecting what’s vital for our survival and enables the best outcomes for people, the planet, and business health at the highest return.

Green Key’s partnership with Ecolab will promote the use of sustainable solutions in hotels and restaurants worldwide. This should help tourism establishments to achieve their sustainability goals and achieve Green Key certification.

Philippe Meunier, Senior Marketing Sustainability Manager Institutional Europe, Ecolab, comments on the cooperation agreement with Green Key:

“I am excited to see the collaboration with Green Key moving forward as we share the same vision on the importance of reducing the total impact of hotels & restaurants. Ecolab can do so much in that respect to help them. “

Through programs and services that provide an unmatched value to companies, such as the reduction of water, and energy consumption, as well as the CO2 footprint, Ecolab will support the effort of the hospitality industry to implement the highest sustainability standards.

Green Key International Director, Finn Bolding Thomsen adds:

“We are happy to, once more, sign the partnership with Ecolab. This will help us to increase the awareness of Green Key certificates and sustainable development within the hospitality and tourism industry and gives us a possibility to further work towards a more sustainable future.”

Soraya Hlila, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Institutional Europe at Ecolab comments by saying:

“At Ecolab, we are protecting what’s vital, planet health and people health. Through our partnership with Green Key, we can help hospitality businesses achieve the highest sustainability standards”

About Ecolab

A trusted partner at nearly three million customer locations, Ecolab (ECL) is the global leader in water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services that help protect people, the planet, and business health. With annual sales of $13 billion and more than 47,000 associates, Ecolab delivers comprehensive science-based solutions, data-driven insights, and world-class service to advance food safety, help maintain clean and safe environments, optimize water and energy use, and improve operational efficiencies and sustainability for customers in the food, healthcare, hospitality and industrial markets in more than 170 countries around the world.

To learn more about Ecolab’s sustainability commitments and achievements, click here.

Green Key signs a cooperation agreement with Aurinkomatkat to make the hospitality industry greener

Aurinkomatkat and Green Key have entered a cooperation agreement to increase the awareness about sustainable practices in the hospitality industry and to encourage hospitality businesses to take positive action. 

© Aurinkomatkat

Aurinkomatkat is Finland’s largest tour operator, and the goal of Aurinkomatkat is to assure that future generations can continue to enjoy the diversity of the world. There are various sustainable actions that Aurinkomatkat are taking to reach this goal. One of them is to establish long-term local partnerships with local hotels, tour operators and entrepreneurs to create a source of livelihood for the local community. Another very important aspect of Aurinkomatkat's sustainability work is to cooperate with stakeholders who are taking actions toward sustainability.

Aurinkomatkat has a wide range of hotels holding an environmental certification.  The object of the cooperation agreement between Green Key and Aurinkomatkat is to further increase the awareness about the sustainability certification among Aurinkomatkat hotel partners, staff and customers.

Green Key is a leading eco-certification programme for hotels and other establishment categories with currently more than 3,700 certified establishments in 60 countries worldwide. The certification is based on compliance with a strict set of internationally recognised criteria that are regularly confirmed through on-site audits and a subsequent independent third-party verification. The Green Key programme is managed by the international charity, the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), and its national member organisations in 40+ countries.

“We are excited to start this cooperation with Green Key to increase the awareness about the sustainability certification among hotels. We have over 200 environmentally certified hotels in our selection and our aim is to increase the amount going forward,” says Annika Rusanen, Sustainability Manager at Aurinkomatkat.

Green Key International Director, Finn Bolding Thomsen, added a few words about this cooperation agreement:

“We are very happy to have the cooperation with Aurinkomatkat, which gives us the possibility to increase the awareness about Green Key and the importance of our certification in the hospitality industry. We appreciate this opportunity to further ensuring a greener hospitality industry. The importance of joining a certification programme, such as Green Key, not only shows the commitment of the hospitality and tourism operators towards sustainability but also raises awareness and creates behavioural changes among staff, suppliers and guests.”

To learn more about Aurinkomatkat, click here. 

To learn more about Green Key, click here.

Green Key partner Werner & Mertz Professional undergoing Green Transformation

Werner & Mertz is transforming their professional products to more sustainable versions, by changing their formulas, packaging material, and applying a circular economy model. The importance of the adequate use of cleaning products within the tourism and hospitality sector has already been a part of the Green Key for years, and the recent developments within the company Werner & Mertz are therefore considered as another important step for a more sustainable industry.

© Werner & Mertz Professional

The Professional Division of Werner & Mertz was established in 1971 and specializes in providing high-quality cleaning and sanitizing products for professional sectors, such as Building Care, Kitchen Hygiene, Facility Care or the Hospitality Sector. Their professional products are offered under the brand names Green Care Professional and Tana Professional. The company has already pursued a comprehensive, forward-looking sustainability strategy for years, featuring environmentally compatible and biodegradable ingredients for cleaning products, as well as innovative, recyclable packaging.

In the process of applying the circular economy model, the company has steadily been modifying its Tana Professional products. The next big development of the company is happening in 2022.  As Part of the “Go Green” project, the formulas and packaging of several Tana Professional brand products are being reworked and optimised for a sustainable circular economy.

Green Key International Director, Finn Bolding Thomsen, added a few words on the importance of circular economy for Green Key:

“ The circular economy model is also one of the sub-goals of Green Key’s GAIA 2030 strategic plan, which addresses the encouragement of positive actions on critical environmental issues. We are very happy that Green Key partners are applying this model and showing the importance of the circularity of natural resources and energy. “

The new product formulas contain a greater share of plant-based raw materials, which are biologically degradable and are, therefore, suitable for a return to the biological cycle.

“With our choice of ingredients for Green Care Professional, we are setting standards today for ecological products that often deliver better cleaning performance,” said Dr. Paula Barreleiro, Head of Formula Development at Werner & Mertz Professional.

“We are following this path with “Go Green”. In pursuit of our goals, we are applying our experience and technology of our closed loop sustainability concept for the Green Care Professional brand.”  

In the future, many of the reworked products will bear the respected eco credentials such as the Cradle-to-Cradle certificate, EU Ecolabel and the Austrian Ecolabel.

“These certifications are a visible sign that we are raising the sustainability of our customers to a new level with our product conversions. We see this as the most promising way to a circular future,” says Xiaoming Bai.

 For more information about the “Go Green” project, click here.  

Green Key International and Reza Hygiene enter collaboration agreement

The new Green Key corporate partner Reza Hygiene specialises in a high-quality range of products and services, which can be used by the hospitality sector. Their main products include food and beverage processing, ambient scenting, catering, fine dining, and fabric care.

Credits: Cottonbro (Pexels)

With almost 25 years of experience in providing hygiene and cleaning solutions for all industries, Reza Hygiene is a company with a strong regional heritage in Saudi Arabia that takes a highly responsible approach to chemical production. In line with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, which aims for a vibrant society, a thriving economy and an ambitious nation, Reza Hygiene has also strengthened its sustainable commitment through several international accreditations. In addition, the company has invested in a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant that produces more than 40,000 tones of hygiene chemical products per year under license from leading international partners.

Furthermore, Reza Hygiene has pioneered the use of effective green chemical machinery and products in the housekeeping sectors, some of which include LEED accreditation. As part of its commitment to a more sustainable future, Reza Hygiene favors local and regional manufacturers whenever possible, as well as more natural bio-based and less harmful raw material substitutes. In addition, all products used by the Saudi Arabian company are packaged with locally sourced, recyclable materials. The packaging waste is then separated, returned and recycled by Reza Hygiene.

Finally, the enterprise has also been focusing on reducing its energy consumption through implementing long-lasting LED lights in all its facilities, as well as solar-heated water systems and solar-powered lighting.

The company's cooperation agreement with Green Key International aims to inform about the services and products Reza Hygiene can offer to the hospitality industry in the Middle East, but also to raise awareness about the Green Key certification programme in the Kingdom. Green Key International recognizes Reza Hygiene's high quality services and products for hotels, hostels and restaurants, covering areas such as food and beverage processing, room fragrancing, catering and fine dining, and textile care. About the partnership with Reza Hygiene, the Green Key International Director Finn Bolding Thomsen says:

"Green Key International is happy to enter a collaboration agreement with Reza Hygiene to increase the sustainability in the hospitality sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East.”

Please visit our partner’s website to learn more about the services and products offered by Reza Hygiene.

Green Key's partner helps to reduce single-use bottled water from international hotel chain

Green Key’s corporate partner Purezza Premium Water has signed a global partnership agreement with one of the world-leading hotel groups in hospitality, Accor, which wishes to adopt more sustainable water consumption solutions.

The hospitality industry historically has had a dramatic impact on the environment, which has led to many hotel groups adopting sustainable practices and aligning them with their operations. One of the most effective actions that hotel groups can take is to reduce their consumption of single-use materials and products, such as plastic bottles.

As a global provider of freshly dispensed drinking water solutions that has direct supply and distribution in more than 60 countries, Green Key’s corporate partner, Purezza Premium Water, has played an important role in helping tourism businesses to adopt more sustainable water dispensing solutions, as well as reusable bottles. By making simple choices regarding guests’ and staff’s water consumption, hotels can reduce their negative impacts on the environment and save on delivery costs.

With over 5,000 hotels around the world, Accor is one of those hotel groups that have built a strategy around sustainability to include initiatives which aim to reduce the negative impacts on the environment. A top priority for Accor is to remove single-use packaging from its hotels and this includes single-use bottled water. The hotel’s chain has now chosen Green Key’s partner Purezza Premium Water as a preferred global supplier to assist them in removing single-use bottled water from the supply chains of their hotels.

Purezza provides water dispensers, which filter tap water, as well as reusable, glass branded bottles, in still and sparkling variants. By switching to this alternative solution, a hotel can remove hundreds of thousands of single-use plastic water bottles from all areas of their hotel operations every year!

Scott Mitchell, Global Head of Purezza Premium Water, says: “We are pleased to be partnering with Accor and supporting them in their sustainability initiatives. Our shared goals of eliminating single-use packaging and reducing waste complements our strategic partnership.”

As consumers continue to actively select their accommodation based on the sustainability practices and performance of the properties, it is essential for hotels to build a strategy around sustainability and partner with sustainability-minded suppliers.

To learn more about Purezza Premium Water solutions, visit their website here.

Green Key signs collaboration agreement with TripDoodler

Green Key International and the green-tech platform TripDoodler are joining synergies to empower conscious and curious tourists to make more sustainable travel decisions.

Credits: Magical Pond - https://www.magicalpond.com/en/

TripDoodler and Green Key recognise the increasing global interest of consumers in environmental certifications and how transparent and accessible information plays a crucial role in shaping the tourism and hospitality sector. That being so, there exists a need to invite travellers to become an active part of the solution. 

As part of this collaboration, travellers can now locate the Green Key certified establishments through the visual presentation of the Green Key logo on the TripDoodler platform. This new feature allows all certified establishments, including hotels, restaurants, or smaller accommodations, to claim their business on the TripDoodler app and get acknowledged by the travellers for their sustainability practices.

The sustainability practices integrated on the TripDoodler platform go beyond carbon emissions and enable travellers to rate up to 40 easily visible parameters of environmental, social-cultural, and economic sustainable tourism. As part of the rating process, the tourists are asked different questions such as “Does the hotel provide recycling bins?”, “Is the establishment run by female-led management?” or “Does the restaurant use local produce?”. To find the full list of parameters, visit TripDoodler’s Beta App here.  
 
The Green Key International Director, Finn Bolding Thomsen, and the CEO of TripDoodler, Josephine Piplits, highlight the importance of this collaboration:  

“With Green Key being a leading standard for environmental and sustainable operations within the tourism industry, we are happy to enter a partnership with TripDoodler to help support consumers on their decisions about sustainability and travel. Through this collaboration, travellers can now easily find Green Key certified accommodations on the TripDoodler platform, and certified establishments can benefit from accessing data on how customers perceive their sustainable actions". 
                                                       - Finn Bolding Thomsen, Green Key International Director 

“We are very excited to partner with Green Key and work closely together on translating all the great initiatives that are implemented throughout our industry into a language that every traveller can relate to and make new better decisions based on.”  

- Josephine Piplits, Founder & CEO, TripDoodler 

About TripDoodler 

TripDoodler is an online platform that empowers travellers to easily find, acknowledge, and share verified sustainable travel options, powered by a crowd-sourced certification. With a vision to make sustainable choices the easiest choice, TripDoodler aims to create the world’s largest searchable database of better travel choices, led by first-hand insights from globetrotters across the world. These insights further provide managerial comprehensions to the tourism establishments on how the travellers perceive their sustainable practices. Guided by the 2030 Agenda, TripDoodler offers an easy, independent, and trustworthy solution for travellers and businesses to assist them on their sustainability journeys.  

Greek tour operator to be the first to reduce environmental impact on excursions

The Greek company Avra Tours has signed an agreement with the Green Key National Operator in Greece to reduce the environmental footprint of its transports and excursions to the minimum.

Avra Tours has now a new green strategy, aligned with the Green Key sustainable standard. The company, which is the largest Greek inbound tour operator in the country, has entered an agreement with The Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature, the body responsible for the Green Key programme management in Greece.

The collaboration agreement was officialised by Avra Tours CEO Ioannis L. Dimitriadis and the President of the Board of Directors of HSPN, Nikolaos G. Petrol, also Vice President of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). In a joint statement, both parties manifested their commitment and hope on this agreement, aligning with UN goals. They also emphasised the importance of joining synergies to create short and long term results for the tourism industry.

Avra Tours is further compromising to become the first Greek tour operator with the smallest environmental footprint on excursions and transports as part of this partnership. To achieve this goal, the Greek operator will offset its carbon footprint through the FEE Global Forest Fund, helping plant trees and educating new generations to become more sustainable in the near future.

Additionally, Avra Tours will also have stricter criteria for partnerships by only working with organisations and destinations actively engaging in sustainability practices or strategies. The Greek tour operator aims to encourage the businesses it collaborates with to reduce its environmental impact.