Sustainable accommodations during your business trip
The 2030 climate agreement is keeping many people, as well as many businesses, busy. With all of us towards a sustainable new economy! But are we all willing to make concessions? Indeed, in some cases we will have to think and act differently. As soon as we go on a (business) trip and have to choose from the many hotels available on the market, we quickly look at criteria such as the number of stars, the reviews, the pictures, the quality of the beds, etc. Not wrong of course, but little consideration is still given to sustainable accommodations.
Next time, check out the level of sustainability of a hotel or the steps hotels are taking to become more sustainable. To help you on your way towards sustainable accommodations, in this blog I, Jizlia- Business Travel Consultant, will give you some examples of actions that hotels take and actions that you yourself can take during a business trip to become more sustainable.
Sustainability actions from sustainable accommodations
First, I'd like to give you a few examples of actions that sustainable accommodations are taking a lot these days to make their stays more sustainable.
- Minimal impact on the environment: This is therefore immediately the most important feature of sustainability. If a hotel really wants to be completely climate-neutral, this must often be taken into account right from construction. Existing hotels can still take measures to become as sustainable as possible or sometimes go for a complete renovation with sustainable materials and energy-saving interventions.
- Energy conservation: There are several things a sustainable accommodation can consider. Consider good insulation or sustainable lighting in rooms and public areas.
- Electrical and lighting: Many hotels work with so-called key cards. As soon as you enter your room and insert the key card into the designated slot, the TV turns on and the lights come on. This then works the other way around to save money as well, once you take it out and leave the room.
- Refill of shampoo and soap: The cute soaps, shampoos and body lotions that used to go home with you as mementos are now mostly replaced by refillable or plastic-free containers.
- Towels: Previously, new towels were placed in the room every day; nowadays these rules have changed and towels are replaced only when they are placed on the floor or in a separate laundry basket by the guest.
- Ecological cleaning: Housekeeping cleaning carts are increasingly equipped with sustainable ecological cleaning products.
- Rainwater harvesting: Rainwater harvesting is a very sustainable and excellent method of saving water and storing it for future use. The water can be filtered and used for purposes such as cleaning vegetables and laundry.
Sustainability actions from booker & business traveler's perspective
Even as a hotel booker and visitor, you can make "sustainable" choices prior to your trip. Consider the following points:
- Green Key: Check if the hotel you are booking has a Green Key Certificate. Green Key is an international sustainability label for businesses in the tourism, recreation, meeting and conference industry. Accommodations that earn the international Green Key have achieved certification meet strict standards of sustainability, environment and CSR. The goal from Green Key is that companies always go a step further than required by laws and regulations. Green Key is currently known in more than 50 countries and is well known in the Netherlands. In fact, the Netherlands has the most Green Key certificate holders in the world!
- Green Globe: There also exists internationally the Green Globe certificate. Green Globe is designed specifically for the travel and hospitality industry. Often, sustainability certificates focus mainly on the ecological side (saving our environment). With Green Globe, environmental, economic and social measures are well represented. Examples of chains that have a Green Globe Certificate are; Scandic, Clubmed, Radisson, Mövenpick and Intercontinental.
- Bring your own toiletries. Bringing your own shampoo and shower gel is, of course, also very sustainable. The 100 milliliter bottles are allowed in carry-on luggage and also come in a handy 2-in-1 version (e.g. shampoo and conditioner). That's already 1 bottle less in weight in the suitcase, but also 1 bottle less in waste. In addition, your towel can often last an extra day if you hang it on the hook or rack provided after showering.
Fortunately, the step for choosing sustainable accommodations is becoming easier and more insightful. Hopefully the above tips will help you while booking your more sustainable business trip! Oh, and don't forget to offset the CO2 emissions of your flight! At Uniglobe Alliance Travel we offer the option to automatically calculate and offset your CO2 emissions. Want to know more about this? Then check out here How we easily offset carbon emissions for your organization.
There is no plan(et) B!
Travel Well and Sustainable
Jizlia Telussa,
Business Travel Consultant
Update: This blog first appeared on Aug. 10, 2021, and was updated with new information on Jan. 26, 2023.
