Sustainability in the hotel - our certificates and what they mean
The eco-labelled hotel Der Löwe
What is behind the various certificates for sustainability and environmental protection? Why is sustainability important in hotels and tourism in general? What criteria do we have to fulfil in order to receive a certificate?
In this blog post, we have summarised the most important aspects of the individual certificates in order to provide an overview and transparency for our guests. You will also find out what measures we take specifically at Hotel Der Löwe to give you a sustainable holiday.
The Austrian Ecolabel
The Austrian Ecolabel has been in existence since 1990 and is the only comprehensively state-certified environmental label in Austria.
Objectives
- Conscious consumption
- Prudent use of resources
- Sustainable business
- Education for sustainable development
What does the certification stand for?
- High environmental quality of products and services
- Products and services that have a lower environmental impact than comparable alternatives are recognised
- Sustainable business management
- Social responsibility
Umweltzeichen Logo
What do we have to fulfil in the hotel for the Austrian Ecolabel?
In order to obtain and maintain the eco-label, we had to and still have to fulfil strict environmental and quality criteria, compliance with which is regularly checked by an independent expert. There are some ‘must criteria’, such as
- the purchase of electricity from renewable energy sources
- equal rights for employees
- the avoidance of unnecessary disposable products or chemicals and much more.
Other target criteria, which each hotel can choose for itself, are also included in the assessment. Every 4 years, the implementation of the relevant sustainability measures is checked by an independent auditor. Attention is paid to topics such as
- Are local businesses supported?
- Is the food regional, organic and partly vegetarian?
- Is attention paid to the economical use of water (e.g. by using a flush-stop button)?
- Are employees and guests informed about environmental issues
- Is sustainable travel encouraged? and much more.
The European Ecolabel ‘EU Ecolabel’
The EU Ecolabel is the EU Ecolabel recognised in all Member States of the European Union, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland. It was introduced in 1992 as a sustainable eco-label to help end consumers recognise environmentally friendly and healthy products and sustainable services.
EU Ecolabel Logo
What criteria do we as a hotel have to fulfil for the EU Ecolabel?
- Lower energy consumption and CO2 emissions
- Lower water consumption
- Less use of chemicals and pesticides
- Less waste generation and optimised waste management
- Reduced transport-related emissions
- Less food waste (e.g. we have had our kitchen waste checked by "united against waste")
Certification ‘The Blue Swallow’
As the first eco-label for accommodation worldwide, the Blue Swallow has been certifying ecological hotels since 1989.
The following criteria take centre stage:
Ecologically high-quality
Regional & seasonal food
Environmentally friendly travel models and e-charging stations
Implementation of water-saving measures and use of renewable energies
Consistent waste separation
In addition to the hard criteria, soft criteria such as the authenticity of a hotel and respect for people and nature are also taken into account.
What do the certifications mean for holiday guests at Hotel Der Löwe?
In order to offer our guests a sustainable holiday and to meet the criteria for purchasing, waste disposal, procurement and use of materials, energy generation, etc., we have invested and changed a lot in recent years:
Our motto: Green holidays without sacrifice - more conscious regional quality instead of quantity
We are the alternative to mass tourism and, with the support of our family member and business consultant Johann Madreiter, we have made great progress in recent years on the way to a climate-neutral tourism future.
- There is no minibar in our natural rooms.
- If our guests have something to cool, we are happy to provide a minibar or store it in our cold stores. In the colder months, the cold air on the balcony takes care of this...
- This saves us energy and labour, and there are fewer expired drinks that can no longer be used.
- Water-saving shower heads reduce water consumption.
- Switching to low temperatures in our laundry
- In some cases, we avoid foods that require long transport routes or if organic sourcing is not possible. For example, we avoid smoked salmon at breakfast.
- For breakfast, our chef uses organic eggs from regional farmers; the yoghurt and curd cheese also come from Leogang.
- We mainly use organic food.
As a Löwe guest, you can enjoy fresh mountain spring water (Granderwasser) throughout the hotel and we also serve this healthy drinking water in the restaurant.- Our 5-course gourmet menu is themed PINZGAUER KULINARIK
- Löweg guests can look forward to a crispy, juicy Wiener Schnizel, Pinzgauer Kasnock'n, Burgundy roast beef, Leogang salmon trout and much more.
- If you are travelling by electric car, four 11 KW electric charging stations are available for a fee.
- Our electric shuttle will take you to the ski area in just 5 minutes.
- From May to November, Löweg guests can use public transport (bus & train) free of charge throughout Pinzgau
- We promote travelling by train for environmentally conscious travel. Every Löweg guest travelling by train receives a -3% discount on the room rate.
- We support our employees and ensure a good working atmosphere - you can feel this as soon as you enter our hotel and our long-standing employees warmly welcome and pamper our regular guests.
Our vision for an environmentally friendly future
We want to sustainably enrich the world around Leogang with our Löwenteam, locals and guests.
In order to realise this, we are also involved in the following associations:
Membership of Slow Travel Hotels
Recreation, relaxation, change of perspective. In the best case, however, also experience value, inspiration and genuine enthusiasm. Slow Travel Hotels pursues precisely this approach, the original intention of holidays: intimate, intense & mind-changing.
Trees for tomorrow
If our guests do without room cleaning during their stay, we save water and waste water, cleaning agents, electricity and much more together. In addition, a tree is planted in Pinzgau for every day without room cleaning. In this way, we are making a sustainable contribution to regional reforestation in Austria.
Be Social
Book your room online and donate to Lebenshilfe Salzburg
Lebenshilfe Salzburg supports more than 750 people with intellectual disabilities in all phases and areas of life and is committed to an inclusive society. With your online booking, you can actively contribute and decide for yourself how much you would like to donate.
Would you like to find out more about Hotel Der Löwe, our LEBE FREI philosophy and our offers? Then get in touch - we will be happy to inform you.
