36 Climate balanced hotels

7.5kg CO2e*. This is how much is generated in our BIO HOTELS® on average per overnight stay. This makes us an industry-wide pioneer when it comes to climate protection. We regularly have our CO2 footprint calculated by BIO HOTELS® in order to constantly optimize ourselves. Because even if the climate has become a topic of public discussion as a result of "fridays for future", a rethinking begins on a small scale: with oneself.

*Calculated average value as part of the CO2 balance for 2021 & 2022. The new values are currently being recorded.

Our BIO HOTELS^® have been subject to a CO₂ balance since 2011. Since 2019, this has been done in cooperation with the sustainability consulting company Fokus Zukunft GmbH & Co. KG. Their guidelines are based on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Standard (GHG Protocol). The GHG Protocol is the most widely used and recognized international standard for accounting for greenhouse gas emissions from companies.

What's the deal with that? And why is that actually so important? We asked Marion Schuster from Focus Future: "The consequences of global warming are becoming more and more noticeable and the pressure on politics and companies is increasing greater. There is now global consensus that we urgently need to counteract man-made climate change. A success in reducing emissions cannot be achieved solely through the political framework or through a changed purchasing behavior of consumers, but depends to a large extent on the voluntary and consistent action of the economy in the industrialized countries.” Since this naturally also includes hotels, our BIO HOTELS come into play ^® will be happy to take responsibility.

The underlying principle is actually quite simple: First, the hotel has to calculate its carbon footprint. This means that all CO2e emissions from hotel operations are recorded on the basis of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and summarized by Focus Future in an emissions balance sheet - from electricity consumption to the purchase of goods and our employees' commutes. The result is the remaining CO2 emissions, i.e. the CO2 footprint of the respective company. This can then be compensated for.

When the emissions balance has been completed and the CO2e footprint has been determined, the BIO HOTEL can, in a further step, achieve the status of climate positivity or climate neutrality by presenting climate protection certificates from international projects to offset greenhouse gas emissions - or in the case of climate-positive BIO HOTELS® beyond that - acquires. By supporting this concept, the climate-neutral and climate-positive BIO HOTELS® make a contribution to climate protection and help to improve the economic, social and ecological situation in developing and emerging countries. In addition, they support the demanding realization of the sustainability goals of the United Nations.

The following projects to offset greenhouse gas emissions were supported by our BIO HOTELS^® as part of the 2021/2022 CO2 balance by purchasing climate certificates:

• REDD project: Para nutconcessions in Madre de Dios – Peru
• Jiangxi Province Le'an County Forest Farm Carbon Sink Project - China
• GuanaréForest Plantations– Uruguay