Our BIO HOTELS® are pioneers when it comes to climate protection
Save CO2 together with us - on vacation and in everyday life. Because only together can we manage to change something in the long term. We demand a sensible environmental protection policy and global climate justice, but we would also like to take an active part in this ourselves. Together with you. As the most sustainable hotel association, our BIO HOTELS® are already well on the way, because you can already have climate-friendly holidays, meetings and celebrations in our houses!
Every two years, our operations undergo a carbon balance sheet to calculate their carbon footprint. As a result, this is compensated for by purchasing climate certificates and the hotel is looking for new ways to continuously improve and reduce CO2 even more. Why is a CO2 balance important to us? How does something like this work and which projects are supported by the compensation? We will explain that and a lot more to you in the next paragraphs.
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:
Every two years, our operations undergo a carbon balance sheet to calculate their carbon footprint. As a result, this is compensated for by purchasing climate certificates and the hotel is looking for new ways to continuously improve and reduce CO2 even more. Why is a CO2 balance important to us? How does something like this work and which projects are supported by the compensation? We will explain that and a lot more to you in the next paragraphs.