News & Stories

Hamburg. The environmental issues of cruise ships can be seen in two ways. On the one hand, the health and climate damaging pollutants from commonly used fuels that were described in last week's Part 1, and on the other hand, the issue of high energy and water consumption as well as waste disposal on the ships. This second part is about the announcements and already implemented measures by cruise lines that should relieve the strain on the environment, especially during the cruise giants' downtimes.

Hamburg. The Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union has just presented their current "Cruise Ranking 2014", with one good and one bad bit of news: The positive is that the protests by the environmentalists are show effecting against the "white giants" who, with their exhaust gases, apparently belong among the greatest environment polluters worldwide. As a frontrunner, the AIDA Cruises cruise line has adopted a hefty 100 million Euro environmental programme and on average, there are clearly improved assessments in comparison the year before. In contrast, the negative is the fact that of the 28 new constructions for the European cruise market in the period from 2014 to 2019, over half will still have no exhaust gas systems and will continue to use the cancer-causing heavy oil that is harmful to the environment. The "floating hotels" must still catch up with the "land hotels" as this article today and another to follow will demonstrate.

Palma de Mallorca.The fundamental values of Spanish Meliá Hotels International have always included a commitment to the environment, sharing local culture, and contributing to cultural integration and society. As part of the 2008-2010 Strategic Plan these values were included as a strategic line of work to help the company to make progresses towards them. The first challenge was to define the Sustainability Policy of MHI. In the new Strategic Plan 2012-2014, sustainability has become a force which underpins all strategic lines of work across the board.

Berlin. The tourism industry will win and lose with the climate change. Regions such as Europe will benefit and become a sanctuary for the "Climate Refugees" and in turn, travel will clearly increase. Strangely, the winners will also be travel insurance companies and risk insurance companies because weather risks will be included in the future. However, the menace of weather is not falling from the sky, but rather is rising from the sea. Scientists are now able to prove that from the end of the nineties, the evaporation of water through the warming of the oceans is driving storms and rainfall. This alters tourism.

Frankfurt/M. Since 2009, Steigenberger Hotels have been following a general sustainability concept. It is called "Steigenberger Corporate Responsibility" and supports the well-known principle "Think global, act local." The concept's primary goal is to significantly improve the group's environmental performance. At the moment, Steigenberger has two role-model hotels: Steigenberger Hotel Berlin operates with a neutral energy balance in the meantime and Steigenberger Airport Hotel Amsterdam even has a "Green & Fair Trade" floor. The group is particularly proud of its recycling quota in the industry.

Munich. A consortium for sustainability had already formed two decades ago in Great Britain – "Considerate Hoteliers" is now also seeking to gain a foothold in Continental Europe. As the first German hotel group to join, the Oetker Collection has bumped up the consortium to 220 members this month. The activities of Considerate Hoteliers have also further developed with the increasing awareness of the subject of sustainability: Today, the hoteliers can choose between different packages and additionally benefit from the knowledge of their colleagues in the form of workshops and seminars. The consortium will introduce a tool in February with which a hotel will be able to measure, benchmark and optimise their "Eco" performance.

Singapore. The programme "Go Green@Ascott" started nearly one year ago and has already been very successful. The hotel and serviced apartments group The Ascott Ltd., based in Singapore, has already achieved a large part of its planning, originally scheduled for 2015. The concept includes, among others, savings in water consumption, intelligent building management and join-in activities for staff and guests. Ascott's vision is to become the world's leading operator of "green serviced residences".

Stuttgart. From now on, the process for the certification of new buildings according to DGNB criteria should become clearly easier: The company has introduced new, free system software.

Zurich. The hotel chain Swissôtel, rooted in Switzerland, leaves nothing to chance. In the last three years, the group has developed and implemented its sustainability programme very strategically. First of all, the business management took a clear position in favour of sustainable management, and based on that, a systematic rollout took place in all Swissôtels around the world. The backbone of the Swissôtel strategy is a sustainable management system, which is supplemented by specific tools as well as supporting documents and a transparent reporting process. The staff's identification with the subject plays a leading role in measures.

Nuremberg. The Germans travel with greater environmental awareness than they did a year ago. Both the older and younger generation set the tone in this behaviour.