Social media posts -...

EU EcolabelNETWORK TOOLKIT

MAY 2018TOURIST ACCOMMODATIONS

Network Toolkit Tourist Accommodations – May 2018

Dear all,

In this document, you will find Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn posts and hashtags that you can publish directly on your respective social media pages. Feel free to copy paste, translate or edit these posts when publishing them. You may also communicate on events going on throughout the month of May.

You also have access to three articles which can be copy/pasted and shared across your website and social media pages we encourage you to share this content with your partners like NGOs, journalists or sustainability and lifestyle bloggers or any other media outlets available in your country. Finally, make sure to follow and tag the EU Ecolabel social media pages when publishing on social media, so that we retweet and share posts on our pages.

Please find the EU Ecolabel contact information below: EU Ecolabel HelpdeskTel : +33 (0)1 40 88 70 88Email: [email protected] Twitter: @EMAS_EUEcolabelFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/EMAS.EUEcolabel/?modal=composerLinkedin: EU EcolabelSite: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecolabel/index_en.htm

Best wishes, The EU Ecolabel Helpdesk Team EU Ecolabel HelpdeskTel : +33 (0)1 40 88 70 88www.ecolabel.euE-Catalogue: http://ec.europa.eu/ecat

Network toolkit – May 2018 – Tourist accommodations 2

http://ec.europa.eu/ecat

http://www.ecolabel.eu/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/euecolabel/

https://www.facebook.com/EMAS.EUEcolabel/?modal=composer

https://twitter.com/EMAS_EUEcolabel

mailto:[email protected]

Contents

I. SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS........................................................................................................................... 4

1) ILOHA SEAVIEW HOTEL..................................................................................................................................42) FOOD WASTE ARTICLE...................................................................................................................................73) EU ECOLABEL AMBASSADOR: CAMPING ESPACE BLUE OCEAN, FRANCE..............................................................104) EU ECOLABEL TOURIST ACCOMMODATIONS BOOKING SITES.............................................................................135) HILTON POST.............................................................................................................................................156) HOTEL LA BARME.......................................................................................................................................17

II. SUSTAINABLE EVENTS ON TOURISM...................................................................................................20

III. ARTICLES............................................................................................................................................ 21

1) EU ECOLABEL TOURIST ACCOMMODATIONS BOOKING SITES..............................................................................212) TOURIST ACCOMMODATIONS FACTSHEET.......................................................................................................243) REDUCING FOOD WASTE ARTICLE...................................................................................................................274) EU ECOLABEL AMBASSADOR: CAMPING BLUE OCEAN, FRANCE.........................................................................301) THE FIRST ITALIAN EU ECOLABEL TOURIST ACCOMMODATION: HOTEL LA BARME................................................33


I. Social media posts

1) Iloha Seaview Hotel

Twitter ‘Having studied at length the reliability of various labels, we chose the @EUEcolabel, the most trustworthy within the #EuropeanMarket, to display our strong, continued and sensible commitment towards a truly #SustainableTourism industry in Reunion Island’ – The Iloha Seaview Hotel

Facebook In 2015, Iloha Seaview became the first hotel on the Reunion island and in overseas France to hold the #EUEcolabel. This #certification is a clear response to consumer expectations, with increasing demands for #EcologicalHolidays.

LinkedIn

To promote its philosophy of sustainable development and protect the natural heritage of Reunion Island, the Iloha Seaview Hotel chose the EU Ecolabel to display the quality of its ecological services. In 2015, Iloha Seaview became the first hotel on the Reunion island and in overseas France to hold the EU Ecolabel. This certification is a clear response to consumer expectations, with increasing demands for ecological holidays. The scalable criteria of the EU Ecolabel ensure a consistent level of quality for the hotel’s sustainable development approach. For example, 80% of light bulbs are class A (low energy) in order to reduce energy consumption and all production of hot water for the central building and Cas’Akéa wellness area is now powered using solar energy. Iloha Seaview has gone even further by taking on an active role in accompanying public policies to preserve the Réunionese heritage.

Suggested tags

#EUEcolabelTouristAccommodations

#SustainableTourism

#CircularEconomy

#SustainableChoices

Relevant social media links

Iloha Seaview Hotel Facebook: @iloha.fr

Zero Waste France Twitter: @ZeroWasteFR

Zero Waste France Facebook: @ZeroWasteFrance

Zero Waste LinkedIn

ADEME Twitter : @ademe

ADEME LinkedIn

AFNOR LinkedIn


https://www.linkedin.com/company/afnor

https://www.linkedin.com/company/ademe/

https://twitter.com/ademe


https://www.linkedin.com/company/zero-waste-france/?originalSubdomain=fr

https://www.facebook.com/ZeroWasteFrance

https://twitter.com/ZeroWasteFR

https://twitter.com/ZeroWasteFR

https://www.facebook.com/iloha.fr/

AFNOR Twitter : @AFNOR

AFNOR Facebook

EU Ecolabel Twitter : @EMAS_EUEcolabel

EU Ecolabel Facebook

BEUC Twitter : @beuc

BEUC LinkedIn

Book different Facebook : @bookdifferent

Book different Twitter : @bookdifferent

Karmenu Vella Twitter : @KarmenuVella

Karmenu Vella Linkedin

Blanca Morales Twitter : @bmoralesbailon

Blanca Morales LinkedIn

EEB Twitter : @Green_Europe

EEB Facebook : @EuropeanEnvironmentalBureau

Twitter influencers

@SustainEurope

@Green_Europe

@EU_ENV

@Green_Hotelier

@greentravel

@ReunionTourisme

@Eco_TourismNews

@ZeroWasteFR

@beuc

@bookdifferent

@bmoralesbailon

@KarmenuVella

@joelgehman

Visuals

(available on the PowerPoint)

Link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iex8BRmqfvg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iex8BRmqfvg


https://twitter.com/joelgehman

https://twitter.com/KarmenuVella

https://twitter.com/bmoralesbailon

https://twitter.com/bookdifferent

https://twitter.com/beuc?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

https://twitter.com/Eco_TourismNews

https://www.facebook.com/EuropeanEnvironmentalBureau/

https://twitter.com/Green_Europe

https://www.linkedin.com/in/blanca-morales-bail%C3%B3n-944b6a37/






https://www.facebook.com/bookdifferent/?fref=pb&hc_location=profile_browser

https://www.linkedin.com/company/beuc---european-consumer's-organisation/






https://www.facebook.com/GroupeAFNOR/

https://twitter.com/AFNOR


2) Food waste article

Twitter In the EU, 20% of food produced is either lost or wasted, and #foodwaste is the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases on a global scale. New #EUEcolabel requirements encourage initiatives from the #tourism industry to take action and reduce their food waste.

Facebook In the EU, 20% of food produced is either lost or wasted, and #foodwaste is the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases on a global scale. New criteria for the #EUEcolabel aim to combat food waste in the Tourist Accommodation industry and have encouraged stakeholders to work towards #SDG123 (halving food waste by 2030).

LinkedInIt is difficult for hotels to communicate on their sustainability initiatives and to create engaging stories for their guests. EU Ecolabel requirements help verify the quality of actions aimed at reducing the environmental impact of activities and preventing green washing. The EU Ecolabel is the solution to show hotel’s efforts in reaching environmental excellence.

New criteria for the EU Ecolabel aim to combat food waste in the Tourist Accommodation sector. With requirements on informing guests about best practices and the ban on using single dose packaging for coffee, sugar or jam, three mandatory and one optional criteria encourage the Tourist Accommodation sector to work towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12.3 of halving food waste by 2030. The compelling business case around food waste reduction can only encourage hotel managers to seriously explore their options. Indeed, a recent report from WRAP – the Waste and Resources Action Programme which helps organisations achieve greater resource efficiency) - actually shows that the average benefit-cost rate for reducing food waste is 7:1. The EU Ecolabel criteria and the aftermath of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development in 2017 may be considered as the triggers the Tourist Accommodation sector needed to make efforts towards limiting food waste.

Suggested tags


#SustainableTourism

#CircularEconomy

#SustainableChoices








EU Ecolabel LinkedIn


BEUC LinkedIn









Twitter influences

@SustainEurope

@EU_ENV

@Green_Europe

@EUrefresh

@EU_Commission

@Food_EU

@WRAP_UK

@FAOnews

@CGF_The_Forum

@V_Andriukaitis

@PhilHoganEU

@Eco_TourismNews

@ZeroWasteFR

@beuc

@bookdifferent

@bmoralesbailon

@joelgehman


https://twitter.com/joelgehman




https://twitter.com/Eco_TourismNews

https://twitter.com/CGF_The_Forum














Visuals



3) EU Ecolabel Ambassador: Camping Espace Blue Ocean, France

Twitter EU Ecolabel is not about austerity but rather about the sensible choices @EspaceBlueOcean saved around 280,000 kW of #energy, which represents €32,000 saved over a span of 7 years.

Facebook Amongst other #EUEcolabel led initiatives, Camping Espace Blue Ocean installed a #solar powered water boiler in 2007 for which it has now reached a positive Return on Investment and acquires 100% of its energy from #RenewableSources.

LinkedIn EU Ecolabel is not about austerity but rather about the sensible choices and experiences that travelers are seeking when looking for sustainable accommodation. Statistics show that demand for green holidays is increasing.

EU Ecolabel certified Camping Espace Blue Ocean, located near Biarritz in the French Basque Country, empowers its guests to make small changes towards a more sustainable lifestyle, by offering eco-friendly care products and locally sourced food, without compromising the quality of their stay. Every year, the hotel is documenting achievements, and reporting new design solutions that are bringing it closer to the set goal. Based on yearly observations, a solar-powered water boiler installed in 2007 has now reached a positive Return on Investment and acquires 100% of its energy from renewable sources. Waste and water management policies have also helped the campsite with immense financial and consumption savings. Mr. Souviraa, the director of the camping site, notes that he has been successful in these implementations thanks to the active engagement of his team of employees, who all have sensitivity towards environmental concerns. Through public awareness and education, citizens can make informed decisions, change their habits on a small-scale and contribute to larger impacts.

Suggested tags

#EUEcolabelAmbassador

#SustainableTourism

#CircularEconomy

#SustainableChoices

Relevant social media

Camping Espace Blue Ocean LinkedIn account

Camping Espace Blue Ocean Twitter: @espaceblueocean


https://twitter.com/espaceblueocean

https://twitter.com/espaceblueocean

https://www.linkedin.com/company/espace-blue-oc%C3%A9an/?originalSubdomain=fr

links Camping Espace Blue Ocean Facebook : @EspaceBlueOcean

ADEME Twitter : @ademe

ADEME LinkedIn

AFNOR LinkedIn

AFNOR Twitter : @AFNOR

AFNOR Facebook





BEUC LinkedIn









Twitter influencers

@Green_Europe

@ZeroWasteFR

@beuc

@bookdifferent

@bmoralesbailon

@SustainEurope

@EU_ENV

Visuals






















https://www.facebook.com/GroupeAFNOR/



https://www.linkedin.com/company/afnor

https://www.linkedin.com/company/ademe/



https://www.facebook.com/EspaceBlueOcean/posts/2005404362807022

4) EU Ecolabel Tourist Accommodations Booking Sites

Twitter Sustainable booking sites such as @BookDifferent.com and @AdventusTravel make it easier to find #EUEcolabelTouristAccommodations and travel sustainably!

Facebook

BookDifferent.com and Adventus Travel were started by passionate social entrepreneurs dedicated to spreading awareness on #SustainableTourism through the promotion of #EUEcolabel #TouristAccommodations.

LinkedIn BookDifferent.com and @AdventusTravel are contributing to spreading awareness on sustainable tourism through the promotion of EU Ecolabel tourist accommodations. These two key Online Travel Agencies and hotel booking websites were launched by passionate social entrepreneurs who believe ecotourism is key in reaching Sustainable Development Goals. Such initiatives encourage people to adopt new ways of traveling and guide them in their sustainable choices.

Suggested tags


#SustainableTourism

#CircularEconomy

#SustainableChoices


BookDifferent.com Facebook : @bookdifferent

BookDifferent.com Twitter: @bookdifferent

Adventus Travel LinkedIn

Adventus Travel Facebook : @adventustravel

Adventus Travel Twitter: @AdventusTravel





BEUC LinkedIn

















https://twitter.com/AdventusTravel

https://www.facebook.com/adventustravel/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/9253348/


https://www.facebook.com/bookdifferent/





Twitter influencers

@Green_Europe

@ZeroWasteFR

@beuc

@bookdifferent

@bmoralesbailon

@SustainEurope

@EU_ENV

Links or visuals

(visuals available on the PowerPoint)










5) Hilton post

Twitter The installation of water reservoirs to collect rainwater and other water saving initiatives by @EUEcolabel certified @hiltonmalta helps the hotel save around €70K/year in water consumption.

Facebook A number of water saving initiatives by @EUEcolabel awarded @hiltonmalta helps the hotel save around €70K/year in water consumption: the installation of water reservoirs to collect rainwater from roofs and terraces is used for irrigation and flushing, seawater is used for the hotel's cooling systems and reverse osmosis plants are used for the production of drinking water.

LinkedIn Following Malta Hilton’s environmental achievements in 2003, which led to local Eco-Certification, Malta Hilton felt that as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, the next step was to be also recognised internationally through the EU Ecolabel in 2006. The hotel’s initiatives include the installation of water reservoirs to collect rainwater from roofs and terraces used for irrigation and flushing, the use of seawater for their cooling systems and reverse osmosis plants for the production of drinking water. Finally, the hotel has solar screens to reduce indoor temperatures and uses energy saving lamps.

Suggested tags


#SustainableTourism

#CircularEconomy

#SustainableChoices





Hilton Malta Twitter: @hiltonmalta

Hilton Malta Facebook : @hiltonmalta

Hilton Malta LinkedIn


BEUC LinkedIn







https://www.linkedin.com/company/18421160/

https://www.facebook.com/hiltonmalta/

https://twitter.com/hiltonmalta












Twitter influencers

@Green_Europe

@ZeroWasteFR

@beuc

@bookdifferent

@bmoralesbailon

@SustainEurope

@EU_ENV

Visuals (available PowerPoint)













6) Hotel La Barme

Twitter The Italian Competent Body has awarded the first @EUEcolabel licence for #TouristAccommodation in Italy to @HotelLaBarme, located in Cogne, a few kilometres from Aosta, the capital of the region of Valle d’Aosta.

Facebook The Italian Competent Body has awarded the first EU Ecolabel licence for tourist accommodation in Italy: to Hotel La Barme, located in Cogne, a few kilometres from Aosta, the capital of the region of Valle d’Aosta.

Hotel La Barme is the first hotel in Gran Paradiso National Park and in Valle d’Aosta to be awarded with the prestigious EU Ecolabel. The hotel fulfills the criteria by using 100% renewable energy and through its ‘green building’, which has a high level of energy efficiency and is designed in harmony with the surrounding landscape. Finally, more than 80% of the waste is recycled and the hotel recovers and reuses rainwater.

LinkedIn The Italian Competent Body has awarded the first EU Ecolabel licence for tourist accommodation in Italy: to Hotel La Barme, located in Cogne, a few kilometres from Aosta, the capital of the region of Valle d’Aosta.

Hotel La Barme is the first hotel in Gran Paradiso National Park and in Valle d’Aosta to be awarded with the prestigious EU Ecolabel. The hotel fulfills the criteria by using 100% renewable energy and through its ‘green building’, which has a high level of energy efficiency and is designed in harmony with the surrounding landscape. Furthermore, more than 80% of the waste is recycled and the hotel recovers and reuses rainwater.

Suggested tags #EUEcolabelTouristAccommodations

#SustainableTourism

#CircularEconomy

#SustainableChoices










BEUC LinkedIn









Twitter influencers

@Green_Europe

@ZeroWasteFR

@beuc

@bookdifferent

@bmoralesbailon

@SustainEurope

@EU_ENV

Visual (available in the PowerPoint)















II. Sustainable Events on Tourism

Date Events

21-25/05/2018

EU Green week 2018 will explore ways in which the EU is helping cities to become better places to live and work.

The week will officially open on 21/5 in Utrecht (The Netherlands) and will close on 25/5 in Madrid (Spain). The high level EU Green Cities Summit will take place in Brussels on 22-24/5. Registration for participants for the high level EU Green Cities Summit in Brussels will be open from the 3rd April.

EU Ecolabel will be presented by Michaela Reitterer, President of the Austrian Hotel Association, Founder of SleepGreenHotels and owner of Boutiquehotel Stadthalle on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 - 09:30 to 11:00

2 - 4/05/2018

8th International Conference on Sustainable Tourism, Vienna, Austria

Sustainable Tourism 2018 aims to find ways to protect the natural and cultural landscape through the development of new solutions which minimise the adverse effects of tourism. This can be achieved through new strategies involving the active collaboration of society as a whole.

23 – 24/05/2018

The 2018 Sustainability Leaders Congress , Berlin, Germany

The Sustainability experts from the world’s largest companies will attend the event to find new partners and to discuss current projects through which they can improve their decision making and leverage the new processes for successful initiatives. The conference has a specific event on water in the tourism sector with the VP Sustainability from Carlson Rezidor coming to speak.

26 – 28/08/2018

2nd International Conference on Sustainable Tourism Management (ICSTM 2018), Amsterdam, Netherlands

The conference aims to provide a forum for researchers, practitioners, and professionals from both the industry and the academia to share their newest research findings and results.

15 – 18/10 : 2018

The Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference, Firenze, Italy

The Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference, now in its 13th year, is a unique annual conference providing practical solutions to advance sustainability goals for the tourism industry.


http://www.ecotourismconference.org/

http://www.icstm.org/

http://sustainabilityleaderz.com/

http://eventsget.com/events/view/austria/conference/sustainable-tourism/NjI2Ng==

https://www.eugreenweek.eu/

III. Articles

1) EU Ecolabel Tourist Accommodations booking sites

BookDifferent.com and Adventus Travel:

It keeps getting easier to travel green!

The launch of the new EU Ecolabel tourist accommodation criteria in January 2017 introduced stricter environmental and social requirements for hotels, campsites, hostels, and bed & breakfasts that wish to be awarded with the prestigious EU Ecolabel. In an effort to help communicate on environmentally conscious tourist accommodations awarded with the EU Ecolabel, the European Commission has worked with two key Online Travel Agencies and hotel booking websites: BookDifferent.com and Adventus Travel. The European Commission has also launched a partnership with French start-up Sumwhere, which displays all EU Ecolabel accommodations in France (and soon in Europe) on an interactive map.

BookDifferent.com: efficient search filters for sustainable tourism indicators

“We, as tourism professionals, should be able to translate sustainability information into something more tangible for the customers, something they will understand.” "

“For consumers, eco-certification doesn’t really mean much. The sustainable tourism professionals know about existing certification schemes, but this is not enough. We had to find some kind of data that would say something about all our hotels, something that is tangible for the customers and scalable for the business.”

BookDifferent.com’s founder, Lonneke de Kort

BookDifferent.com is a sustainable tourism booking website based in the Netherlands, which makes it easy to find EU Ecolabel hotels. The site, who won the Sustainable Travel


Award in 2018 features 7000 eco-certified accommodations. Search filters allow users to identify hotels depending on their certification, country, city and estimation of their CO2 emissions, determined by an applied algorithm. Furthermore, BookDifferent.com contributes 10% of its gross turnover to organisations such as The Travel Foundation, The Global Forest Fund and the WWF. To this day, BookDifferent.com remains the only affiliate of Booking.com that has sustainable tourism at the core of its business model.

BookDifferent.com’s founder, Lonneke de Kort, is a social entrepreneur who believes that sustainable tourism is a key contributor to reaching the global Sustainable Development Goals, meaning that every booking at BookDifferent.com helps promote hotels, hostels, and campsites that have made an engagement towards promoting sustainability within their accommodations. Lonneke was featured as a keynote speaker at the EU High Level Sustainable Tourism Conference in Malta on the 8th of May 2017, in which she shared her desire to transform travel into a more sustainable sector.

Adventus Travel: A Passion Project That Makes an Impact

“Through our own travels and also our day-to-day lives in Barcelona, we have become acutely aware of the environmental impact of tourism. At Adventus Travel, we believe the future of tourism depends on choosing sustainability now, to help preserve the Earth for the next generation.”

Adventus Travel founders.

Adventus Travel is a booking site reserved exclusively for EU Ecolabel tourist accommodations launched by Mauro Sanna and Fiona Goodfellow in late 2017 as a passion project. Adventus Travel, which is a registered travel agency in Barcelona called BarcelonaTours.net, has a long-standing reputation of providing quality services to travellers. Years of experience in online marketing for the tourism industry and the team’s dedication to promoting eco-travel, encouraged a number of EU Ecolabel hotels to


http://www.barcelonatours.net/

https://www.euconf.eu/emas-2017/speakers.html

https://www.euconf.eu/emas-2017/speakers.html

be featured on AdventusTravel.com (click on these links to visit the pages of these hotels here: France & Spain).

Fiona Goodfellow and Mauro Sanna created this site out of sheer interest in sustainable tourism. Fiona Goodfellow is a London-native has fully integrated sustainability within her daily life. She became exposed to ecotourism during her travels in South America and has since sought ways to spread awareness. Mauro Sanna, son of an Italian sustainable agriculture farmer and part of an extremely environmentally conscious family, wanted to start a project that would make a positive impact on society.

They acknowledge that while there is a general awareness of environmental issues on the EU scale, there is a need for more proactivity in promoting sustainability. They both believe there is a window of opportunity for organisations like Adventus Travel to make a difference.

Sumwhere

SumWhere is a recommendation platform, which lets users explore the world according to their areas of interest. The app and website offer a network of thematic maps created by experts, brands, communities and friends. These themes are connected together through a worldwide map, which give users a chance to discover unknown locations based on their interests.

You can easily find the 'EU Ecolabel Accommodation' theme, which compiles all EU Ecolabel accommodations in France (and soon in Europe) on an interactive map.

For further information, and to book your next EU Ecolabel accommodation, please visit their websites:

BookDifferent.com Adventus Travel http://www.sumwhere.co/


http://www.sumwhere.co/

http://www.adventustravel.com/

https://www.bookdifferent.com/en/hotels/fr/city/-1456928/adults:2/label:eulabel/?from=2018-02-18&to=2018-02-19

http://www.adventustravel.com/spain/

http://www.adventustravel.com/france/

2) Tourist Accommodations Factsheet

Tourist Accommodations Criteria FactsheetTourist accommodations must often compromise their green initiatives in order to guarantee a certain level of quality for their guests. The EU Ecolabel tourist accommodations criteria provide efficient guidelines for hotels and camping sites looking to lower their environmental impact while offering enough flexibility to allow proper guest satisfaction.

Tourist accommodations looking to become certified must adhere to twenty-two mandatory criteria, and receive at least twenty points under optional criteria. The criteria focus on environmental hotspots such as the over-consumption of water and energy, waste management and the use of toxic substances.

As EU Ecolabel household appliances and items, furniture and bed mattresses, electronic equipment, coverings, cleaning services, detergent products, paper and textile products as well as rinse-off cosmetics are fully in line with the product requirements outlined within the tourist accommodations criteria, there is great potential to create lasting synergies between various EU Ecolabel product and service groups.

Hotspot 1: Lack of Environmental Engagement: Without a defined environmental action plan, it is difficult for companies to monitor and measure their environmental performance and progress.

The EU Ecolabel helps companies define the right targets for their engagement in favour of the environment and measure the impact of their actions by requiring an environmental management system with a precise environmental policy, action programme and internal evaluation process. For example, training of staff and information provision is required to raise awareness on environmental practices. Data on the energy, water, food and product consumption per guest/night as well as the number of toxic substances used must also be monitored. Registering with EMAS and/or according to ISO 14,001 can aid companies in the implementation of such a strategy. Therefore, companies can obtain extra points (under an optional criterion), if certified with the Environmental Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) or ISO 14,001.

Hotspot 2: Unecessary carbon emission and use of energy: As result of poorly managed energy consumption, tourist accommodations can often consume large amounts of energy, which contributes to carbon emission creation.

To reduce the overuse of energy due to leakage and mis-functioning of installations, the EU Ecolabel ensures that preventive maintenance is performed on appliances and devices. Energy efficiency in seasonal space heating must be above a 98% threshold.


Water heating appliances, household air conditioning and air-based heat pumps must respect at least an energy class A. Similarly, up to 50% (and 100% after two years of certification) of the lighting must be of type class A. Furthemore, temperature in common areas and rooms must be regulated with automatic switch off options, and hotels and camping sites cannot use any heating or air conditioning in outside areas. Finally, up to 100% of energy must be purchased from renewable energy sources depending on the number of contractors in the region, while coal and heating oils with more than 0.1% sulphur content are prohibited.

Hotspot 3: Inefficient use of water: An excessive amount of water can be often wasted in tourist accommodations due to inefficient systems and equipment.

The EU Ecolabel provides solutions to minimise the amount of water wasted in tourist accommodations through requirements on the average water flow rate of taps (which should not exceed 8.5 litres/minutes) and toilet flushing (which should be equal or below 4,5L). EU Ecolable tourist accommodations can also satisfy these requirements through the using of EU Ecolabel toilets and urinals or equivalent ISO type I label products. Furthermore, hotels and camping sites cannot change sheets and towels every day unless explicitly requested by guests. Optional criteria also encourage tourist accommodations to have an optimised pool management policy, to recycle rainwater and grey water and finally to have efficient irrigation systems.

Hotspot 4: Reducing pesticides and chemical substances: From cleaning to restoration services, tourist accommodations can have a detrimental impact on the environment through the use of pesticides and chemical substances.

The EU Ecolabel limits the polluting effects of cleaning services performed by giving certified tourist accommodations the option of outsourcing laundry and cleaning services to providers awarded with an ISO Type I label such as the EU Ecolabel. Tourist accommodations can also decide to purchase detergents, and rinse-off cosmetics with the EU Ecolabel or other type I label which have less impact on the environment. Finally, they can receive additional points by using at least two organic farming produce in daily meal preparations, and banning all use of pesticides in outside areas.

Hotspot 5: Excessive solid waste, and poorly managed waste disposal: Tourist accommodations create large amounts of solid waste which if poorly managed can end up in landfills instead of being properly recycled or recovered.

The EU Ecolabel aims to reduce the amount of waste generated in tourist accommodations and to optimise its management. For example, hotels and camping grounds cannot use any single dose packages for nonperishable food stuffs, and


disposable toiletries items are prohibited unless they are requested by guests. Disposable food service items can only be used if the tourist accommodations have an agreement with a recycler and disposable towels and bed sheets are not allowed. Adequate containers for waste separation must be provided in the rooms or on all floors, and waste must be separated into specific categories for better recycling and disposal.

Hotspot 6: Reducing Transportation Carbon Emissions: The tourism industry often induces a large amount of carbon emissions due to transportation of guests and goods.

EU Ecolabel tourist accommodations limit these emissions through detailing environmentally preferable means of transport, special agreements with transport agencies and by potentially offering eco-friendly transportation such as electric vehicles and bikes. Tourist accommodations can also choose to prohibit combustion motor vehicles in the maintenance of the grounds. Finally, certified hotels and camping sites have the option of providing at least two locally sourced and not out of season food products at each meal and collaborate with local producers.

Hotspot 7: Excessive food waste: With kitchens open 24/7 for room service, and generous hotel buffets, the tourist accommodation industry is a big player in generating food waste.

The EU Ecolabel limits food waste by requiring that tourist accommodations follow a documented ‘food waste reduction plan’, including food waste monitoring linked to an action program focused on optimising both food and packaging waste.


3) Reducing food waste article

Reducing food waste and over packaging: a new trend for sustainable tourism

With lengthy kitchen operating hours for room service, individually packaged portions of jam, butter and sugar, as well as generous hotel buffets, the tourist accommodation industry is a contributing player in food waste generation. New criteria for the EU Ecolabel, published in January 2017, draw attention to the role this sector can play in reducing food waste. It sets voluntary standards for hotels and other accommodation establishments to better manage and monitor food waste and packaging levels.

Today, 20% of the food produced in the EU is wasted while 55 million people live in food insecurity. The waste generated by the food service industry, which includes tourist accommodations, accounts for 12% of total food waste . While this sector is a relatively smaller contributor to EU food waste in comparison to households, which account for 53% of total food waste, reducing food waste in this industry is necessary to lower global food waste levels, especially since the global population is expected to reach 9.8 billion people in 2050 .

Research has shown that guests eating at hotel buffets may only consume about half of the food that they serve themselves. Due to EU food safety regulations, unconsumed food that has been set out on self-serve or that remains on plates must be thrown away. Therefore, only leftover food surplus in the kitchen that respects storage and hygiene criteria can be redistributed to food banks. As there is a maximum redistribution potential of only 10 to 15% of the total surplus food, according to the food use hierarchy, it is favourable to prevent food waste at its source instead of trying to implement recovery solutions after food surplus has already been generated.

The European Commission actively encourages initiatives for the reduction of food waste within the Tourist Accommodation sector through the voluntary EU Ecolabel criteria for this industry. Published in January 2017, this criteria introduced requirements for certified tourist accommodations to establish a food waste management plan, monitor food waste levels, and to communicate on their prevention and management actions to guests. Furthermore, an optional requirement encourages tourist accommodations to recover their food waste via composting or biogas production (a mixture of different gases produced by the breakdown of organic matter and considered to be a renewable resource).

The use of single dose packages for non-perishable foodstuffs (sugar, coffee, chocolate) is also prohibited for EU Ecolabel certified establishments in order to reduce food packaging waste. The EU Ecolabel tourism criteria on packaging and the use of disposable items follows the EU Action Plan for a circular economy adopted by the Commission in December 2015 which identified plastics as a key priority and committed itself to ‘prepare a strategy addressing the challenges posed by plastics throughout the value chain and


taking into account their entire lifecycle’. Indeed, in 2017, the Commission confirmed it would focus on plastics production and use and work towards the goal of ensuring that all plastic packaging is recyclable by 2030.

The introduction of these new food waste requirements in the EU Ecolabel criteria for Tourist Accommodations was adopted at the beginning of the United Nation’s International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. Through this project, the UN pushed for several elements addressed within the EU Ecolabel criteria including resource efficiency, environmental protection and climate change. Furthermore, specific to food waste, by being awarded the EU Ecolabel, tourist accommodations can collectively contribute to meeting the Sustainability Development Goal 12.3 to halve food waste by 2030 (UN SDG 12.3) via compliance with food waste criteria.

In addition, the tourist accommodation sector may encounter several benefits in implementing food waste reduction strategies: tax deductions and fiscal incentives for food donation, cost savings thanks to better stock management or even better reputations for establishments that communicate about these activities.

An April 2018 report published by UK charity organisation WRAP highlights the benefits of taking action to prevent food waste in hotels thanks to its compelling business case. Reducing food waste can represent a large financial opportunity for hotels to lower costs, increase revenues while making a significant contribution to the UN SDG 12.3. Over a three-year time frame, the average benefit-cost ratio for food waste is nearly 7:1 and over 70% of the establishments (42 hotel sites located in 15 countries) recouped their investments within the first year of implementing a program.

With this business case in mind, EU Ecolabel tourist accommodations can therefore take the steps to limit and better manage food waste while reaping business benefits.


Sources:

Stenmarck et al. (2016). FUSIONS Estimates of European food waste levels, European Commission. http://www.eu-

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/hotel-buffets-a-culprit-of-food-waste-get-downsized-a7946996.html

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2017.028.01.0009.01.ENG&toc=OJ:L:2017:028:TOC

https://ciwm-journal.co.uk/wrap-targets-hotel-food-waste-in-new-report/

http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Hotels_The%20Business%20Case%20for%20Reducing%20Food%20Waste.pdf

http://www.greenhotelier.org/know-how-guides/reducing-and-managing-food-waste-in-hotels/


4) EU Ecolabel Ambassador: Camping Blue Ocean, France

EU Ecolabel Ambassador: Camping Blue Ocean, France

The Camping Espace Blue Ocean is recognised as a model for sustainable camping in the tourism industry. In May 2017, the camping site was even selected by the European Commission to represent EU Ecolabel tourist accommodations during the ‘High Level Conference on sustainable tourism’.

The 6-hectare campsite near Ondres, which offers 60 cabins for rent as well as a wide array of leisure activities, was awarded the EU Ecolabel in 2009. Today, Mr. Benjamin Souviraa, the director of the campsite, estimates that over five percent of their new guests specifically stay at their campgrounds because of the EU Ecolabel, and many clients return after enjoying their visit and learning about the EU Ecolabel-related actions.

Camping Blue Ocean supports the ambition to ensure the stringency and relevance of the EU Ecolabel’s tourist accommodation criteria through various actions. In addition to its engagement to undertake new sustainable actions outlined in the optional criteria for EU Ecolabel tourist accommodations within his own camp site, Mr. Souviraa has also played a key role in the revision of the 2017 tourist accommodation criteria by providing an on-the-ground perspective of environmental hotspots within the tourism industry. Furthermore, he has helped guide a number of other tourist accommodations apply for the EU Ecolabel.

Amongst other initiatives, the campsite has a solar-powered water boiler, installed in 2007 for which it has now reached a positive Return on Investment and acquires 100% of its energy from renewable sources. Waste and water management policies have helped the campsite with immense financial and consumption savings. Finally, Mr. Souviraa notes that he has been successful in these implementations thanks to the active engagement of his team of employees, which he selects depending on their sensitivity towards environmental concerns.

Over the years, Camping Espace Blue Ocean has experienced various quantitative achievements and shifts towards sustainable initiatives:


Improving the efficient use of electricity

100% electricity sourced from renewable energy sources

80% of energy-efficient bulbs (A class)

15% of high-energy efficiency (A+/A+++)

280’651kw and €32,000 were saved in electricity.

Reducing Carbon emissions due to transportation

80% of their car travels (internal & external) are made with electric vehicles

New selection of organic produce

Solar panels and heating pump used for heating the pool

Green roof and cellulose wadding for insulation

Decreasing the amount of water wasted

Average water flow from taps and shower: <7L/min

18,407.37 m3 and €64,365 were saved in water.

Cut down on waste and improve recyclability of products

Using 100% EU Ecolabel cleaning products (which prohibit a large amount of toxic substances)


Office paper used is EU Ecolabel certified

14’840kg increase in the amount of recycled solid waste.

*Data collected in 2015, measured over a span of 7 years.

Image is a copyright of Camping Espace Blue Ocean.


1) The First Italian EU Ecolabel Tourist Accommodation: Hotel La Barme

The Italian Competent Body has award its first EU Ecolabel Tourist Accommodation to Hotel La Barme in the region of Valle d’Aosta, Italy

The Italian Competent Body has recently awarded the first EU Ecolabel licence for tourist accommodation in Italy: EU Ecolabel registration number IT/051/001 has been assigned to Hotel La Barme, located in Cogne, a few kilometres from Aosta, the capital of the region of Valle d’Aosta.

The hotel is located in Gran Paradiso National Park, which was founded in 1922 and is the oldest protected area established by the Italian state. The park encompasses over 700 square kilometres of mountainous terrain in the regions of Valle d’Aosta and Piedmont in Northwest Italy.

In 2014, Gran Paradiso National Park was the only Italian park included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Green List, which lists 23 parks worldwide where efforts to conserve and manage protected areas have been particularly successful.

Hotel La Barme is the first hotel in Gran Paradiso National Park and in Valle d’Aosta to be awarded with the prestigious EU Ecolabel. The hotel fulfills the criteria by using 100% renewable energy and through its ‘green building’, which has a high level of energy efficiency and is designed in harmony with the surrounding landscape. Finally, more than 80% of the waste is recycled and the hotel recovers and reuses rainwater.


Image is a copyright of Hotel La Barme


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